Santa Fe and Taos New Mexico
My recent visit to Santa Fe was an art immersion trip. The very air is filled with creativity and it’s such a beautiful place.
And not that you asked me, but I think I am Camp Green Chili. I love the red too, but if forced to choose, I’m going green.
I loved the vibrant blue color of the sky in Santa Fe, the adobe architecture, the museums from MeowWolf which BLEW MY MIND to the Georgia O’Keeffe which inspired me, to the contemporary art along Canyon Road.
I loved the clouds, which are somehow so full of drama, the excellent margaritas (mix? I don't know her), and the mysterious (and slightly creepy) history of the Loretto staircase and the crazy gift shop it spawned.
I loved the doors and the hand-forged hardware that is ubiquitous all around Santa Fe.
I did not love the local wine. Don’t do it. Stick to margaritas.
I loved Love Apple in Taos, a restaurant in a beautiful old adobe and courtyard, formerly a church, with locally sourced food.
I also loved the breakfast burritos with green chili, especially when consumed while people-watching and eavesdropping. I loved the slow-start days and the wandering around without an agenda, absorbing the vibe of Santa Fe. More trips like this please!
The Rez Dogs of Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is many things. It’s a World Heritage site and a National Historic Landmark. It’s one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the United States. It is a place with a complicated history with the Catholic Church, the Spanish, and the US government.
My favorite thing about the Taos Pueblo was the church. There is an older church in ruins, crumbling amongst old wooden crosses marking graves. The church still standing is a striking example of Pueblo architecture, and it is easy to see why so many artists, including Ansel Adams and Georgia O’Keeffe, have been drawn to it. It has blue stained glass windows, which, when inside, give the place a beautiful light. No photographs are allowed inside, but that’s okay; it’s the outside that's spectacular. The courtyard and its entrance frame the Taos Mountains, which had just a bit of snow when I was there.
While visiting the Pueblo, I hoped to sample some food that may have been typical of the Tiwa diet. Instead, I was introduced to the Rez Dog, which was the only thing on offer the day I was there. I entered the low, small, dimly lit room with a dog lying outside, and encountered a very modern ice chest and a little curtain, behind which a mysterious female chef was at work. I tried to engage her with questions about the Rez dog. She was not conversational, so all I learned is that we got the last two. We took the Rez dogs, fry bread, and a little plastic cup of mustard and went looking for a place to sit. I am a person not in the habit of eating hot dogs, or fried hot dogs on a fried piece of dough. I sat down with my white paper plate, which was growing a round, translucent grease stain. Like a genie, an actual Rez dog appeared, with his snout very close to my plate. I considered that it would be the healthier choice, for me, to give my dog to the dog. I picked up the mustard and, shocking my travel mate, ate that delicious Rez dog, hoping that it would not rebel against me since there was no indoor plumbing, electricity, or running water inside the Pueblo and I had more exploring to do.
Later that day I had a very different kind of meal, in the courtyard of an old adobe church that is now a restaurant called Love Apple. The meal was lovely, made from locally sourced, in-season produce and game; the menu incorporated local chilies in some creative ways. No dogs of any variety were present. Two Taos meals in one day, low and high, with some spectacular scenery between them. I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience both.
Santa Fe Doors
I loved being able to walk around Santa Fe and look at the architecture. I learned that much of what looks like adobe is stucco, and feels very different. Adobe is soft, almost velvety. So yes, I walked around feeling up the walls. I was enchanted by all the doors and the color palette of rose, pink, orange, brilliant blue, turquoise and natural aspen wood, punctuated by the deep red of the chili ristras hanging all over. I took a lot of photos of doors.
New Mexico Funky
Not everything in New Mexico is polished, pink and arty. There is some grit, some junk, some alien (meaning outer space alien, not human alien) culture, and one of the most wildly creative museums I’ve ever set foot in. And there is the Rio Grande too, where you can go rafting. There is a whole area of earthships, and there are caves where the Penitencias hid from persecution. There are some amazing murals on buildings in towns that look abandoned. There are signs that say “Bad shit will happen to you if you park here” which is a useful warning and could be helpful for my nephew.
