I had reconnected with a college friend through Facebook, Carol Graebner. Carol is a lawyer who lives in Santa Fe and commutes to Albequerque. I arrived at her house in the nearby mountain community that she lives. It is hard to tell exactly which houses are the nice ones and which ones are not as they have such a unique style of architecture from what I am use to. The adobe (and fake adobe) homes are truly different and their low profile blends them into the landscape as they seem to have almost grown out of the ground as opposed to having been built.
But Carol's home is one of the nice ones and as we sat down on her portale (Santa Fe-ian for porch) with a glass of wine, she laid out her thoughts for our couple of days together. I was staying downtown at the Inn on Alameda, one of many quaint hotels that dot the downtown and surrounding area. Santa Fe is really not all that big so just about everything that we did was no more than a ten to fifteen minute drive.
After our glass of wine we headed down to the Plaza, which has been the social and shopping center of Santa Fe for centuries. A grassy courtyard dotted with trees was filled with all kinds of activities. From people playing instruments and music to the selling of wares. The Plaza is surrounded by a very trendy and upscale shopping district and we had the chance to visit many stores. As we came around the one corner Carol pointed out to me "The Portale" a covered sidewalk on one side of the square. Every day Native Americans participate in a lottery for a chance to get one of the coveted spots under The Portale. Here they sell their artwork, and by artwork I mean jewelry and handcraft, a lot of it silver, copper and turquoise. Beautiful stuff and I even bought one or two things.
We walked around the plaza, browsing and shopping and then headed over to friends of Carol's, Tom and Candy. Like many people here including Carol, Tom and Candy had moved here from Houston. Another glass of wine led to all of us going out to dinner. Extracted promises from me keep me from saying exactly what mayhem went on at dinner. Suffice it to say, What happens in Santa Fe stays in Santa Fe :)
The next day I arose to a wonderful breakfast at the Inn.
Carol had planned a hike for us with Ken and Lauren, two close friends of hers who are hikers and also are transplants from Houston. So after breakfast, I picked Carol up and we headed out to the trailhead to meet her friends. They are also Meetup hikers so it was fun to compare notes as we walked along the trail. So different is the terrain from what I was use to back home. Though not a difficult hike it was fun and I had the chance to talk with both Ken and Lauren about hiking in the Santa Fe area. The biggest difference being the elevation as we were hiking at 9,000 feet which if you are not use to it can be a challenge.
About half way through the hike we stopped at the Conservancy Center in our quest for hummingbirds. We did see one or two. The architecture of this place is stunning to me, maybe just because I am not use to it yet.
On our way back we came upon a bull snake sunning himself right in the middle of the path. I don't know if he scared us or we scared him, but he (why are snakes always called "he") slithered off into the brush as we got real close.
After all of us enjoying a wonderful Mexican lunch, Carol and I went up to Canyon Road, the art district of Santa Fe. Canyon Road for block upon block is lined with spectacular works of art and an array of sculptures, many water and wind. It was a very fun afternoon.
Dinner found us back on Canyon Road at a restaurant called "Geronimo" where we dined outside on "the portale" :) A dinner of tuna and prawns with risotto cakes and a glass of wine was the order of the day.
Santa Fe was a fun adventure and it was nice to see Carol. I will be back here as I felt as though I barely scratched the surface of what this town has to offer. The only alarming part of the trip, to me, was again the wild fires. Off in the distance you could see the plume of smoke reaching up into the sky.
"I can hardly imagine how Santa Fe is supported. The country around it is barren. At the North stands a snow-capped mountain while the valley in which the town is situated is drab and sandy. The streets are narrow... A Mexican will walk about town all day to sell a bundle of grass worth about a dime. They are the poorest looking people I ever saw. They subsist principally on mutton, onions and red pepper".
A lot has changed since 1849......I can't wait to go back.
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