Updates from May 14 (?) May 21.

Holy Cow!  It's already May 21st so I have a little catching up to do.  One thing about the great Southwest is that it's big.... with WIDE open spaces .... that don't have ATT cell coverage or any kind of online servers.  Even the hotels ( at least our kind of fun hotels!) don't have any kind of service.  

We spent some time in Santa Fe and the architecture is so different than anything that I've ever seen.  It blends with the landscape and the fact that nothing is over 2 stories makes for an intimate setting. 

I know that not everyone is a "foodie" but this was so pretty I just had to include it.  We were overlooking the Square, enjoying the breeze and feeling pretty spoiled.  Yahoo! 

This is the mysterious staircase that has no obvious supports.  I wish the lighting was a little better but you get the idea. Superb piece of craftsmanship.  It's in Loretta Chapel, and we could see the Chapel from our balcony at La Fonda (our hotel).  We got a great deal on the room because it was under construction.  However .... we were assured everything stopped at 5 o'clock.  NOT!!!!  When John went down to the front desk, the very nice young woman said, "Oh no.  They must have been mistaken.  The workmen have stopped their drilling at 9 o'clock since they started the renovation!"  Oh well.  We enjoyed the stay anyway! 

This is a stunning statue of St. Francis of Assisi in front of the large Cathedral.  Way to much to cover about Santa Fe.  Just GO!  And by all means, do not miss the Indian Market on the Square at the Palace of the Governors.  The actual Native American artists are there selling their work, can explain the process and sign everything.  This is truly a plea for "buy American". 

Moving on to Abiquiu, New Mexico! Marilyn has always been entranced by Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings and we had a blast staying at the Abiquiu Inn and taking a tour of her home.  Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures so I don't have anything to share with you.  But we also visited Ghost Ranch (her place about a 15 minutes away by car ... 1 hour away when she lived there) and took a horseback ride.  It was awesome!  One of the  guides gave us a flip chart review of the places we would be seeing so we would recognize the actual location in relation to her paintings.  Pretty eye opening. 

A couple of cowboys if I ever saw them.  Our horses were very polite and just slowed down for any pictures that we wanted.  Nice guys!! 

Ok.  We can't exactly remember the name of this place but it's so spectacular that I have to include it. John thinks it's Plaza Blanco.  Anyway, it's natural formations that are a quick climb down some sliding rocks.  Can you see John in the foreground in a red shirt for perspective? 

An Abiquiu evening.  Great skies.

Recognize some of Georgia's images? 

We went out to Ghost Ranch and this is a cabin on the property when you come into the general facility.  Looks like hard living to me! 

Next was Chaco Canyon.  Holy Toledo!  It's a most amazing place.  We hiked quite a bit, seeing the ruins of different  Great Houses.  Again, it's too much to cover in a blog, but here are a few pictures to whet your appetite. 

These are on the walls when we took a morning hike on the Petroglyph Trail.  So curious to see the actual messages left and try to interpret what they mean.  It could take a lifetime, I'm sure.  Stunning. 

This is one of the Great Houses at Chaco Canyon.  It's a civilization that there is all kinds of speculation about why they moved.  But having been there, I think the water became the issue.  Lack thereof.  Even in Santa Fe now, buying property is a dance because you want to have water rights.  Yep.  You are not guaranteed fresh water.  It's really something to think about.  

I'm running out of power so will publish this much.  More to come.  Hope everyone is well and happy!