Before leaving the hotel, there was quite a stir in the lobby area. They had the Mass Ascension! Looked out the window! Balloons!!! After checking out of the hotel - we made our way to a shopping mall parking lot. It provided a great view of the balloons as they began their ascent. What a treat! We were able to sleep later PLUS we got to see a sky full of hot air balloons - just what we came to Albuquerque for!!!
After about an hour drive, we were in the town of Santa Fe, New Mexico. What a wonderful town! Many said, "I want to come back here!" During our visit in Santa Fe, we saw the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral, it is a Roman Catholic cathedral that was built between 1869 and 1886 in downtown Santa Fe. Outside the cathedral are statues of St. Francis and Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680). She is the first North American Indian to be beatified, and is to be canonized in October 2012. She was an Algonquian-Mohawk woman of New York State. At an early age, she converted to Christianity.
During our visit to Santa Fe, we also made our way to the Loretto Chapel - only to discover that it would not be open until 10:30 a.m. (bus departs at 10:10 a.m.). Why did we want to go inside? Two mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the chapel: the identity of its builder and the physics of its construction. When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small chapel. Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers. The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today. The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails - only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction. Needless to say, we wish we could have seen it.
Several made their way to 109 Palace Street - the site where many intelligent human beings entered into a world of a new identity and secret - the world of the Manhattan project.
Leaving Santa Fe, our drive took us by several sites:
- the Santa Fe Opera House,
- Camel rock - which looks like E.T. when looking back at it as you pass (the inspiration for Steven Spielberg while living in Santa Fe),
- the town of Espanola - the original capital of New Mexico and now the low rider capital of the world,
- the Abiguiu area or "Georgia O'Keefe country" - and The Pedernal - Georgia O'Keefe's "private mountain"
Around noon we made a stop at a welcome center - before getting off the bus we realized it was closed so we visited the facilities at a small cafe and gas station. (45 folks with basically 4 toilets - not as quick as you'd think).
Moving on we drove for about an hour before arriving at Pegosa Springs, Colorado for lunch. Pegosa Springs is a tourist destination due to the hot springs located there. You could smell the sulphur in the air. Several ate at Black Bear Creek Saloon - hamburgers and patty melts!
After lunch we drove to Mesa Verde - a beautiful drive - sites along the way included Chimney Rock and the town of Durango where we had a restroom stop at the train station. Reaching Mesa Verde we drove to the top of the mesa to look out before checking in to the lodge. The view of 4 states was incredible!
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