A Special Birthday

Happy birthday today to Joann Bush. Looks like her children did remember her special day.

Taos

Roberta Myers is a woman of many personalities and she shared some of them with us on our tour of Old Taos. Here is the history of Taos according to Roberta:

The town was founded in the early 1700s by Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. When they got to the area, they found the Spanish had gotten there first, so they converted in order to survive.

Though Santa Fe was the major trading post, Taos had long been a trading center for pueblo people. In the 1897, artists, enchanted by the light, formed a visual art colony. With over 1800 resident artists, Taos has the highest number of visual artists per capita in the US. Among the founders of the colony were Joseph Sharp who turned a chapel into his studio and the Couse family who acquired his studio and the land.

Josepha Carson, wife of Kit, AKA our tour guide, explained the story of her marrying the explorer/soldier. One of family’s objections was that his first two wives were Indian. In spite of the nasty haranguing by her spinster tia (aunt), Carson persisted in courting this daughter of wealthy Spanish landowners. Maybe they were also influenced by his ability to speak thirteen Indian dialects, Spanish and French, while unable to read any language. In their twenty years of marriage, they had eight children of their own and ten adopted pueblo children. Josepha died in childbirth one month before her husband succumbed to a heart aneurism. First buried in Colorado, their graves are now in the Kit Carson Memorial Park.

In the town plaza stands a statue to Padre Antonio Jose Martinez (also buried in Carson Park). After his wife died, Martinez became a priest and committed himself to providing schools for the children of the area. He also published a local newspaper. French Bishop J.B Lamy opposed Martinez and excommunicated the "heathen" Spanish priests. Lamy tithed the church members to build the church in Santa Fe.

Mabel Dodge Lujan acted as a patron to authors of the 20s. Frida Lawrence, wife of D.H. aka our guide, shared her story of living in Taos and returning in later years with her lover. She also introduced Georgia O’Keefe and Ancil Adams to Taos. After an early visit, O’Keefe packed up a bunch of dry bones and sent them to her husband in New York. Back in New York City she created what some call The Great American Painting, Cow’s Skull: Red, White and Blue.

Jewish New Year

In honor of the Jewish New Year, we enjoyed challah and apples dipped in honey for a good new year. We ended our day with another fabulous meal prepared by the red team under the direction of Mich and Barb.

Birthday Celebration

Tonight was the night to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. Congratulations to all those who are a year older and married a year longer.

Native American Festival

Yesterday we took the low road to Taos. Today we took the high road from Taos to Bandelier National Monument. The drive was through the beautiful canyons of compressed volcanic ash. Wind and water erosion have left tuffs and columns standing before pink tinted canyon walls.
We were fortunate to be at Bandolier for a native feast day that included dancing, bread baking, and the sale of pottery and jewelry.

Bandelier

Bandelier is the site of cave dwellings seven to eight hundred years old. The trail leads past the remains villages and up to the caves. Using pole ladders we climbed into the small caves sensing the protection the caves afforded.
Beyond the caves is the 800 foot Long House with its hand carved caves and petroglyphs.
We were fortunate to be at Bandolier for a native feast day that included dancing, bread baking, and the sale of pottery and jewelry.

In our quest for more native crafts, we headed to Chimayo to learn about Navaho weaving from the owners of Ceninela Traditional Arts. There we saw award winning examples of the several patterns of weaving. Irwin, an 8th generation weaver, explained both the traditions of weaving and the modern business of rug merchandising. He dyes his own yarn, designs the rugs and has weavers prepare some of the rugs in their homes. His wife, also an award winning weaver, is shown on the loom.
The yarns used come from the Spanish Churro and Merino sheep. The male Churro can have four or more horns.

Lourdes of New Mexico

New Mexico’s version of Lourdes is Santuario de Chimayo, the most visited church in New Mexico. There believers seeking medical miracles gather sand from a pit near the ground where tradition says that Don Bernardo Abeyta was performing penances. He saw a light near the river, went there, and dug finding a buried Crucifix. This was then placed in a nearby church where it vanished during the night, returning to its original location. A sanctuary was built on the spot. The sanctuary has five brightly colored Reredos, altar pieces. Outside are stone arches topped with Crucifixes.
Continuing our exploration of the food of New Mexico, we ate at what Kim calls the "funky" Sugar Nymph restaurant cum theater. As usual we ate well.

Taos Pueblo

We started our tour in the 150 year old Chapel to St. Jerome. Members of the pueblo follow Catholicism or their traditional religion or both. Because of that Mary is the dominant figure on the alter as she also represents mother nature. The colors within the church change with the seasons, white for winter, green for summer, pink for spring and yellow or orange for fall.

A casket at the side of the alter represented Jesus. In their own burials, members of Taos Pueblo are dressed in native clothing, then wrapped in a blanket and buried without a casket. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed in the church.

Behind the church is an old cemetery with the remains of a church that housed members of the pueblo in their revolt against the Spaniards in 1610. It was shelled and all but destroyed in the 1847 Mexican/American War.

There are 2800 people enrolled in the pueblo. Most live in or near the village, though they can live anywhere else in the world. One hundred older members live in the village and have no modern conveniences like electricity or plumbing.

The Red Willow Creek runs through the pueblo and is an all purpose provider of water for washing, cooking and drinking. There are no pumps so the water is carried in buckets to each home. The source of the creek is the Blue Lake up in the mountains. This area is sacred to the people.

In 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt took control of the lake and surrounding land, forbidding the pueblo members to go there. Under the “Freedom of Religion Act,” President Richard Nixon returned the land to the people and they continue to treat it as sacred land.

Many of the buildings in the old section of the village are shops filled with jewelry and artifacts created by members of the pueblo.

Still wanting more opportunities to see local crafts, most of the group went to the Taos Arts and Craft Fair in Kit Carson Park. On our way to dinner, we stopped by the San Francisco de Asis Church that was made famous by having been painted by Georgia O’Keefe and photographed by Ancil Adams. We again worked up our appetites and enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner at the Trading Post Cafe.

Dinner at Bobcat Bite

And we eat again.

Buenos Dias from the Hacienda

We visited El Rancho de las Golodrinas, a hacienda dating back to at least 1710. Today it is a living history museum of 200 acres. Located on Camino Real, it was used by travelers going to and from Santa Fe. With water from springs, a creek, and acequia (drainage and irrigation ditches), the location was excellent.

Our docents, Russ and Jerry, dressed in period clothing told us the details of life on the hacienda. Families lived in one minimally furnished room. Even the ranch owner only had a larger room with a few benches and the alter for use by the itinerant priest. Later homes had larger rooms. There was frequently a bed over the fireplace to be used by anyone ill and by the shepherd who spent over half the year in the hills with the sheep.

Baking was done in a horno, an outdoor adobe oven. After about three hours of burning wood within the horno, the fire died down and the ashes were removed to be used for roasting meats. Then the bread was put in the oven, the smoke hole was plugged and the door was covered. The bread actually bakes faster than in a conventional oven. The samples of bread that we tasted were delicious, especially topped with a butter/honey spread or with sorghum (much like honey).

The laundry consisted of a creek, a pot to boil the clothes, and a washboard. The blacksmith shop is used today to replace or repair items on the ranch. Churro sheep with their double coat of wool produce the wool used by both Spanish and Navaho weavers. Leather, sisal and horsehair were all used to make rope, though all are unpleasant to work with.

The two-room schoolhouse dated from 1878. Both the teacher and the students followed harsh rules, but only the students faced physical punishment. The second room was the teacher’s residence. Male teachers were allowed one day for courting (two if they went to church on Sunday). Female teachers were fired for unseemly behavior, such as getting married.












In a plaza were the butcher planks, an adobe brick making site, a butchering table and a store. Nearby was a wheelwright shop. Mills on the property were used to grind corn and wheat into grain.
Our guide, Russ, explains the butchering process.

First with the Spanish, then under Mexican rule, the Catholic Church had a strong presence on the hacienda and in the area. The Oratoria St. Ysidro, chapel to St. Isodore, has a reredos, altar screen, dedicated to saints invoked for pastoral and agrarian lifestyle in Spanish Colonial New Mexico. One the walls are pictures of the stations of the cross.


The Descansos, a mound with crosses, is a resting place along the way to the cemetery for bearers of coffins.




Most prominent is a Morada, a Penitente meeting house. It is a reproduction of one at Georgia O’Keeffe’s ranch at Abiquiu. There a society of Nazarene Brothers existing only in New Mexico and Colorado hold meetings, lead processions for Good Friday and Easter, and help with church ceremonies other than sacraments. The Morada is always located near a cemetery. On the alter are statues of Jesus carved by Santeros. A skeletal statue of Donna Sebastiana is featured. She carries a bow and arrow symbolizing that death comes to all.


The tour of the hacienda is extensive, so we enjoyed a mid-tour break of barbeque beef, salad, "grandma’s" potato salad, and carrot cake, all delicious.

We are crafty

After dinner Shelly gave an indepth lesson in both Navaho rugs making and tourquoise jewelry. We are ready now to take out the credit cards.

The rest of the evening was dedicated to crafts. The men learned to make soapstone fetishes to keep us all safe, healthy, and wealthy. The women added bead work to scarves so that we all have adornment appropriate for the area.

Yatahai from Pogeh

Hello from Santa Fe
Twenty-seven of us have gathered here from as far east as Connecticut, south as Florida, west as California and north as Idaho. Some of us have been here before; for others this is a new adventure. We are novice and experienced caravaners. We are all going to have a great time in this beautiful land of forested mountains, ancient history, and brilliant sunsets. We hope you enjoy following our journey as much as we enjoy taking it. The Land of Enchantment Caravan began as many gatherings do, with food. Strawberry margaritas primed our appetites then we enjoyed a traditional southwestern meal prepared to perfection by Chefs Mitch and Barbara. Well sated, it was time to meet our fellow travelers. We shared what we have in common and what is unique about each of us. We all look forward to the jokes and stories to be told over more food and drink.

Local Art Work

Santa Fe is one of the world’s premier art centers. Bronze statuary of native peoples as well as modern life can be found all over town, but best on Canyon Road.

Local Character

The program for day one was a trolley ride orientation of Santa Fe, the second oldest city in the US (St. Augustine is the oldest). We learned how adobe was used in the past and how it is modified for modern Santa Fe. The "43 shades" of brown of all the buildings provide a lovely background for the purple, pink and yellow flowers as well as the greens of the conifer trees. Every town worth visiting has at least one local character. Doc stopped by our trolley to tell us about the dozens of movies in which he has appeared.

Half the group

Entering Museum Hill (more about that on another day), we paused to take a half-group picture. Museum Hill has a life size bronze statue of mules drawing a Conestoga Wagon across the Santa Fe Trail. Ed, who holds the prize for valuable trivia, noted that Conestoga Wagons did not come over the Santa Fe trail, a fact confirmed by research and a cause of some embarrassment to local historians.
The museum houses three of the five outstanding New Mexico museums of Santa Fe. We will have time to visit them on our own and will share our experiences later.

Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

With Spanish exploration and colonization came the Catholic Church. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Loretta Chapel and San Miguel Mission Church are all sites for contemplation and examination. Stained glass windows, a floating staircase, and a 650 year old bell are among the notable features in these churches. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi dates back to 1869 was constructed with the combined funds of the Catholic Church and the Jewish Community.

Loretta Chapel

Legend has it that a stranger enter Loretta Chapel and erected a free floating staircase from the sanctuary floor to the choir loft. Parishioners consider this a miracle; all consider it impressive. The banisters were added more recently for safety reasons.