Glad you returned
for Part 2 of our Santa Fe adventure!
Taos
Highway
This day we drove
the High Road from Santa Fe to Taos through territory that is spectacularly
beautiful and historically and culturally rich, an adventure we will long
remember.
The High Road is a
scenic byway that meanders through stunning mountain landscapes and tiny
villages. It is initially lined with
cottonwoods and winds through the Nambe River Valley past the Nambe Pueblo,
then opens to the huge New Mexico sky and rolling high-desert “badlands.” In the isolated communities along the way you
can still feel the influence of the early Spanish settlers who arrived four
centuries ago. Along the route there are
numerous galleries and art studios.
Santuario De Chimayo
Sharon loves to photograph churches and so we stopped at the Santuario De Chimayo, a 200-year-old pilgrimage church that annually draws tens of thousands of visitors. Because its legendary sacred dirt is said to bring healing and miracles, the Santuario has been called the “Lourdes of the Southwest.” The “dirt” found at the room known as the “pocito” (well) is considered holy because in this spot the crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas was found by Bernardo Abeyta in 1810. The village of Chimayo itself was founded near the end of the 17th century and is built around one of the oldest surviving plazas of Spanish Colonial origin. The church and grounds with old cottonwood trees were amazing. It was well worth the stop.
Ortega’s Weaving Shop
Before leaving the
village of Chimayo, we stopped at Ortega’s Weaving Shop, a tradition with roots
deep in Old Spanish Colonial New Mexico.
In the early 1700s, Gabriel Ortega passed his knowledge of weaving on to
his son Manuel Pablo, beginning a family weaving tradition that has continued for
eight generations.
The shop offered distinctive rugs, blankets, purses, jackets
and vests, as well as Navajo jewelry and Santa Clara black pottery. We found a set of woven placemats that
complete our table setting nicely!
Village of Truchas
Next we stopped in
the village of Truchas. It was founded in
1754 by the Spanish to serve as a buffer against Apache and Comanche raids and
the village is now home to an eclectic community of artists. As we approached the village, we saw a sign
with a large crow in silhouette that directs you along a one-way narrow
driveway to the studio of Bill G. Loyd who creates bells and sculptures. We have been searching for some chimes to
hang outside of our RV.
We were greeted
by the resident dog and by Anna Karin who also has a studio featuring her fine
art collection in a refurbished adobe that was once the main building of a
250-year old compound. Bill was not on
site, but we got to talk with Anna. Bill’s
deep-toned wind chimes, temple bells, gongs, and recycled metal sculptures were
all so beautiful, but too large for the RV.
The Sugar Nymphs Bistro
You may remember
our bicyclist encounter with Paul in the Santa Fe Railyard. We stopped in Penasco at another one of his
“dessert” destinations that he bikes to called The Sugar Nymphs Bistro,
featured in Gourmet magazine. We enjoyed
the most delicious sandwich and soup and ordered one their mouth-watering desserts
to take home for a midnight snack! One of the featured artists in the bistro was Leigh Gusterson. Her work depicts New Mexico in bright, bold, colorful acrylic paintings. And as we left, we noticed a huge bell hanging outside, created by Bill Loyd.
The High Road continues to Taos, but we turned around and headed home the way we came, leaving Taos for another day. On the way home, we made one last stop to Camel Rock.
Jemez Mountain National Scenic Byway
It was a beautiful sunny day with blue skies, a good day for a drive! The Jemez Mountain National Scenic Byway is a two and a half hour, 132-mile loop between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The byway features some of New Mexico’s most spectacular scenery with an abundance of scenic, natural, cultural and historic sites. The road leads up more than 1,000 feet through dense forest, cresting at an elevation of 9,000 feet.
The first stop was
the Pueblo of Jemez / Walatowa Visitor Center to gather information for the
places we might want to stop and explore. While here we toured the Museum of
History & Culture to learn about the history and culture of the Jemez
People. The exhibits portrayed Jemez ancestral
lands, a national treasure in need of protection, and the traditional tools and
crafts created by their ancestors. The museum featured artifacts from the
Robert S. Peabody Museum in Andover, Massachusets. Tours of the Pueblo of
Jemez were not allowed.
Walatowa means
“This is the place” in the Jemez Towa language.
Located at the southern end of the majestic Canon de San Diego, the
present site of the Jemez Pueblo has been occupied since the 16th
century, with many buildings dating to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.
During first
European contact in 1541, Jemez was one of the largest and most powerful of the
pueblo cultures. Numerous pueblo villages were strategically located on the
high mesas and canyons surrounding the village’s current site. The Pueblo of
Jemez is one of New Mexico’s 19 Pueblos.
Currently, the majority of the 3,400 tribal members live in the village
of Walatowa. Today, only the Jemez speak
the Towa dialect; passed down orally and remains unwritten.
The Jemez artists
are world-renowned for their art. Their inspiration comes from the beautiful
surroundings in which they work.
Exquisite Jemez pottery includes bowls, seed pots, wedding vases,
elaborately hand-polished and engraved graffito pieces, holiday ornaments and
storytellers. Jemez artisans also create
basketry, traditional embroidery, weaving, sculptures, paintings, moccasins,
and jewelry.
We were high in
the Jemez Mountains and we came upon a quaint little town with two restaurants
and the historic Jemez Springs Bath House. The town was selected as the
smallest ever All-American city in 1995.
It was an indication that we better eat lunch now or never. We decided on the Jemez Stage Stop Cafe. Sharon delighted in a rueben sandwich while
Mike ate rabbit food. There was even a
two man band, hippy transplants, who never really played during the time we ate
lunch. But the rooster was the best entertainment!Jemez National Historic Landmark
We toured the
stone ruins of a 500 year old ancient pueblo village of the Jemez people known
as Giusewa, and the remains of a 17th century Spanish mission known
as San Jose de los Jemez dating to 1621. The village of Giusewa was built in
the narrow San Diego Canyon by the ancestors of the present-day people of Jemez
(Walatowa) Pueblo. The name Giusewa
refers to the natural springs in the area.
In the 17th century, the Spanish established a Catholic mission at the village. The mission was short-lived, and, in time, the people abandoned the site and moved to the current location of Jemez Pueblo. The massive stone walls were constructed about the same time the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. A 1,400-foot interpretive trail winds through the impressive site ruins.
Battleship Rock
Jemez Falls
We picked up a
brochure on wild black bears. General H. Norman Schwarzkopf is the spokeman for
the Bear Conservation Education & Wildlife Stewardship Campaign and says
that seeing a wild black bear is an exciting and memorable experience, but
awareness is the key should you encounter a black bear! Sharon says she is going to tie bells to her
shoes, and Mike says he is not walking with her!
If you hike, don’t
ever hike in the dark, read all trail head signs, hike in groups, make your
presence known (call out), make extra noise when near moving water and on windy
days, and carry EPA registered bear pepper spray and don’t ever run! Sharon
also carries her stunt gun device that also has a loud siren. So when
approached by a bear, the plan is to back away slowly, make noise, stay close together
to make us appear bigger and wave our arms, and at Mike’s direction, Sharon is
to sound the siren, and if that doesn’t scare him away, then plan B. If the bear gets closer than 30 feet from us
and shows signs of aggression, at Mike’s direction, Sharon is to aim the pepper
spray at the feet and move up to the head of the bear, and if her aim isn’t too
good, them Mike will shoot his pepper spray.
If that doesn’t work and the bear stands up and comes closer, stand your
ground, it may be a bluff. Never look the bear in the eyes. If he backs down and walks away, get the hell
out of there. If he attacks, protect your head and stomach and fight for your
life!
According to a
recent “Backpacker.com” article, there were 27 fatal incidents in North
American since 2000. Fifteen were in Canada.
Three were in Alaska. Two were in
Tennessee. A single fatal attack in each
of the following, NY, CA, PA, CO, UT, MT and New Mexico. Seventeen of those
attacks were by black bears and the rest were by Grizzly bears. By comparison,
26 people are killed by dogs every year and 90 people are killed by lightening
every year. Goes to show you that there
are not that many fatal bear attacks! Nonetheless, Be Bear Aware!
The vast grassland
now filling the Valles Caldera is both awe-inspiring and disorienting. It is
difficult to imagine a volcano this massive.
The rim of the crater stretches for miles in a panoramic view, yet the
far northern border is hidden by Cerro del Medio and Redondo Peak, two volcanic
domes that formed within the immense bowl after the main crater collapsed.
High-quality
obsidian was produced by Cerro del Medio’s cooling lava. Obsidian can be traced to its source by its
geochemistry. Therefore, the Jemez
Mountains surrounding the caldera contain multiple sources of artifact-grade
obsidian. Cerro del Medio obsidian is,
and was, only found in the caldera itself, and early peoples had to visit here
to acquire it. Arrowheads made from
Cerro del Medio obsidian have been found as far away as western Mississippi,
revealing prehistoric trade networks that once existed.
The preserve
offers 54 miles of hiking trails, 30 miles of trout streams, and a variety of
activities including mountain biking, equestrian trail riding, hunting,
cross-country skiing, snow shoeing and sleigh rides.
On our way home
from the Jemez Mountain, we drove through the security checkpoint at Los
Alamos. Sharon was driving and had to show her license, which shows RVUSA,
Sarasota, FL as our address, which could have raised suspicion, but we made it
through after she vouched for Mike. Los
Alamos is the place known for “The Manhattan Project” where the nuclear bomb
was developed during World War II.
We both love
taking cooking classes, so we located the Santa Fe School of Cooking and signed
up for a class. www.santafeschoolofcooking.com The class we chose would give us an
appreciation of New Mexico cuisine and the menu sounded amazing and
delicious. Our friend from Sarasota,
Laura, joined us. 
Our Chef was Lois Ellen Frank who is a renowned photographer, chef, and author based in Santa Fe. She has worked with world renowned chefs, scientists, and academicians and published more than 15 culinary posters, and over 20 cookbooks. She has a Masters degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of New Mexico with a focus on Native American Foods and Plants and is presently working on her Ph.D. She is a featured cooking instructor at the Santa Fe School of Cooking where she teaches about Native foods of the Southwest of Mexico.
While Chef Lois
cooked, she weaved in the history of the chile. The most commonly used chiles
in the Southwest are the New Mexico green, harvested in its unripened state,
and the New Mexico red, which is often harvested and then dried in strands
commonly called ristras and has become an icon of the Southwest itself. The jalapeno is almost always harvested
green, and the chipotle is a jalapeno that has been smoked and then dried. The serrano, cayenne, guajillo, chile de
arbol, and chile pequin chiles are also widely used today throughout the
Southwest. Chiles have been a part of
the Southwestern diet for hundreds of years and are closely identified with the
food of this region today. In the United
States, or at least in the Southwest, chiles are truly the spice of life!
Our menu consisted
of Three Beans, Roasted Corn and Feta on Romaine Leaves with a red chile honey,
mustard, lime juice and olive oil dressing, along with Smoked Chicken with a
Mole Sauce. The Mole Sauce was quite
involved and flavorful. Chef Noe demonstrated the smoker.
Arroz Verde, a
basmati rice with onion, garlic, roasted pablano chile and cilantro was a nice
side dish to our meal. We also purchased
a stove top roaster for roasting chiles, tomatoes and other veggies to add a unique
flavor to any dish. Get the stovetop pepper/tortilla roaster at www.surlatable.com
The Red Chile-Glazed
Carrots with Sweet Pickled Onions was one of our favorites and Sharon has
already made these and they were equally delicious.
The class ended with
a Flourless Spicy Mexican Chocolate Torte with Raspberry Chile Jam Glaze with a
Red Chile Pecan/graham cracker crust.
Needless to say, the entire meal was a culinary delight! We now have an
autographed book by Chef Lois Ellen Frank called “Foods of the Southwest Indian
Nations” and look forward to creating and enjoying many unique Southwestern dishes
in our RV kitchen.
Our friends,
Jackie and Bob, from Tucson decided to visit us in Santa Fe as they drove
through to Kit Carson, Colorado to discover some of Bob’s family history at the
local cemetery. Sharon worked with
Jackie in Sarasota many years ago and have kept in touch over the years. We spent hours talking in our RV living
room. We decided to get dinner at a
local Mexican restaurant called Tomasitas.
The meal was delicious and so were the Sopapillas with honey! We plan to visit Jackie and Bob in Tucson in
March on our way North to Yellowstone!
Stay tuned for Part
3 of our Santa Fe adventures!
Enjoy your winter!
Enjoy your winter!
“Yesterday is a cancelled cheque; tomorrow is a promissory
note;
today is the only cash you have – so spend it wisely.”
today is the only cash you have – so spend it wisely.”
Kay Lyons
