October 2022: Santa Fe Part III

We made the trip north to Taos on a beautiful morning for a visit to the Taos Pueblo. They were burning weeds in the pueblo cemetery, so there was a thick cloud of smoke covering the area for a few minutes; face masks helped a bit. Debby bought some fry bread for us to sample: delicious, and there was some native jewelry that was irresistible. We had a late lunch in a nice little restaurant at Ranchos de Taos near the splendid sculptural adobe church of San Francisco. The Rio Grande Gorge south of Taos was fall-beautiful with bright yellow cottonwood trees. October 29 was Kris's birthday. We celebrated with flowers, gifts, lunch, and a raspberry cream cake from Clafoutis. And later that evening, Clara went to her homecoming dance. We had yet another New Mexican meal as Debby's visit wound down, before she flew off to Texas. We replaced some of Debby's Talavera that was broken in shipping and reshipped with much better wrapping. Our final fling was an evening at Santa Fe Prep watching Clara's performance as the murdered cook in Clue.

Taos Pueblo church: San Geronimo, 1850

Hlaukwima (South House) 

Hlauuma (North House)

Fry bread with honey

North House

Native crafts

Charming seller

San Francisco at Ranchos de Taos

Primative reredos in the apse at San Francisco

The girls seated in the plaza at San Francisco

Colorful cottonwoods along the Rio Grande

The Rio Grande

Birthday flowers for Kris

Gifts for the birthday girl

Birthday lunch at Vinaigrette

Birthday cake 

Looking fantastic for the dance

Late lunch at La Choza: last Mexican fling

So surprisingly good!

Mexican metal art at Camino Real, the Talavera warehouse

Curtain call for the cast of Clue

The best cook and corpse ever!

We rarely saw Clara who was busy with school, play practice, homework, dances and a Halloween party, but it was fun to be with her when we could. It was delightful sharing all we love about New Mexico with Debby. That's a wrap on the Santa Fe trip, but the holidays are at the door, so there will be more.

OXO

D.

October 2022: Santa Fe Part II

The adventures continued with a visit to the Santa Fe Railyard for some shopping, a movie, and lunch at Second Street Brewery. The first snowfall of the year dropped on that chilly day. The next day we ate lunch and sampled pastries at Clafoutis, and because Debby is also a Longmire fan, we drove to Los Alamos and up into the Jemez Mountains to Valles Caldera. That was followed the next day by trip over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from Mora to Chimayo. Of course we stopped at Rancho de Chimayó for an early supper. The following day, a visit to Pecos was a first for me. The weather was windy and cold, but the skies, clouds, and ruins were spectacular. Back on the outskirts of Santa Fe, we had a late lunch at Harry's Roadhouse, one of of my many favorites.

First snow

Movies at the Violet Crown in the Railyard

Clafoutis is an authentic French bakery

Delicious apple tart

Early winter in Valles Caldera

Beautiful farm-scapes near Mora at the foot of

the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

The remnants of huge summer fires

Came here decades ago with Tony

Kris and Debby at Rancho de Chimayó

Pecos National Historical Park

Pretty little nameless (to me) flowers -- where is

Anders when you need him?

What a beautiful pile of melting adobe

Slivers of blue

Wild and beautiful New Mexico skies

I love NM

Meatloaf and pie at Harry's Roadhouse

There were a few more days in Santa Fe; they will follow in Part III. This is all for now.

OXO

D.

October 2022: Santa Fe Part I

The first half of October this year was pretty tame. We had family dinner with those who were around, and we hosted Group Dinner at our house. The only thing different from the usual routine was Kris making Halloween costumes for the Colver kiddos. Mid October, Debra Sue Darling Gibbs arrived in Provo to join us on a visit to Santa Fe. We had enough time in Provo before the trip to do some leaf-peeping in Provo Canyon and on the back side of Timpanogos. We went to New Mexico to stay with Clara who really needs no help besides some chauffeuring. Rob and Anna were off to Spain for a couple of weeks. The themes of our Santa-Fe visit were food and some serious shopping! We took Debby to all our favorite spots. We enjoyed some incredibly beautiful fall drives and visits to some wonderful sites.

Family Dinner

Group Dinner

Kris works her magic

Ta da!

"Banjo" the stingray boy

Provo Canyon

Near Upper Falls

Stewart Cirque without a trace of snow this year

Back of Timp looking toward Cascade Mountain

The colors were perfect

The aspen trunks take center stage

Off to Santa Fe: Navajo tacos in Cortez, Colorado

Debby's shot of the beautiful mesas along NM 599

Anna headed to Spain with Rob (and Lucy Jane)

The start of the food tour

This is how I like think of myself

New Mexico gave us beautiful sunsets night after night

More Mexican food at Tesuque Market

Tesuque Market

Lunch at the Tea House on Canyon Road in Santa Fe

Quintessential adobe-style building on the Old Santa Fe Trail

Dickie and Clara waiting for the shoppers

I had my turn at the Rainbow Man on East Palace Avenue

The courtyard of the Rainbow Man store was where the folks who

made the atom bomb met for their ride to

 Los Alamos northwest of Santa Fe

The Rainbow Man is my favorite Native American craft store, and

our favorite supplier of Pendleton blankets

Off to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum where we 

had a reservation for an afternoon visit

Not all the art in Santa Fe is in museums and galleries

O'Keefe's work is readily recognizable 

But this piece is quite unusual

Parts II and III will follow, but this is all for now.

OXO

D.