Santa Fe

Drove down from Taos to Santa Fe. The road follows the Rio Grande river most of the way. It still has a gorge much of the way. Jean called ahead and got us a space at a campground in the city. The directions didn't seem to match the maps she has. Tried calling back but got a recording, the lady had already left for the day. Eventually we figured out that "Serio" was actually Cerrillos St.. When we got that straightened out, we still couldn't find the campground. We found it on a app on Gene's smart phone and got the GPS coordinates. The campground is behind some buildings, and the sign is covered by trees. It turned out to be a good spot, quiet and  right on the bus line to downtown.

So next morning, after a good breakfast at a local cafe, downtown we went. We wanted to spend some time in the Plaza, the old part of town. Jean was especially interested in the Indian vendors that set up in front of the old Governor's Palace. It turns out they were all selling jewelry.

We learned about a nearby Wells Fargo, so we walked two long blocks from the plaza. It was cool and restful inside, so Gene rested while Jean did her business. Santa Fe is at 7,000 feet elevation, and we (especially Gene) tired easily and a little bit of walking led to heavy breathing. So the rest was welcome.

Next we walked several blocks to the Georgia O'Keefe museum. Gene went through two rooms, and then retired to the film where he could sit down (no benches in the rest of the museum). Jean continued on through the rest of the exhibit, then joined him and watched the film.

Back to the plaza, we enjoyed ice cream on a shady bench; and being well-rested, took a tour by the shops around the edge. Most (but not all) of the shops here are high-end and very expensive. There is lots of turquoise, they even cover skulls with it.

The view up one of the streets is to the cathedral. We didn't go there, just enjoyed it from a distance.

In Santa Fe, they like to hang long ropes of red chiles out front as part of the decoration.

We also spotted a mural that covered the whole side of a small building.

The bus took us back to near the campground. We paused in our walk back to have sandwiches at a Schlotzsky's, which we haven't seen since Newport News.  All in all a tiring but enjoyable day. Tomorrow we are off to Albuquerque.