On the road: Santa Fe and Land of Shining Rock

The view of Lake Abiquiu, NM from our campsite

We soaked in this view on the morning we had to leave New Mexico and head back to

Houston, not knowing when we will be able to return to this magical place.

While the first three weeks of our June 2022 trip went according to plan, the fourth week did not.

We cut our time short in Rio Grande National Forest near Antonito, Colorado when our excursion on the Cumbres & Toltec Historic Railroad was canceled due to wildfires. Back up plan? Campsite at Cochiti Reservoir was available so we headed south, and spent two nights there while exploring old Santa Fe on foot. We have made brief visits to this lovely city, but delved a little deeper this time.

If you have read any of our previous posts, you may know we typically awaken before sunrise and have found getting an early start to our day results in getting parking in a busy area and beating the crowds. We made it into the oldest part of Santa Fe a full hour before needing to feed the parking meter. The drawback, however, some of the buildings were not open yet. No problem - we did a walking tour first, then returned to locations of interest later in the morning. The benefit of being geocachers is we had plenty to entertain us while sightseeing.

adobe bricks drying outside San Miguel Church

The galleries were not open early in the day, but we saw several wonderful art pieces on the sidewalks.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

Quick peek inside before a funeral started

Loretto Chapel and the famous staircase - exquisite craftsmanship and legend

We like to visit state capitol buildings and had to take time for the unusual one in Santa Fe. Built in 1966, it is the only round capitol building in the country. From a bird's-eye view, it resembles a Zia sun like the state symbol. We roamed the circular hallways to view the extraordinary Capitol Art Collection.

looking down on the floor of the rotunda ...

... and looking up

Impressive fellow on the capitol wall

The monsoon came early this year and we couldn't think of a better rainy day activity than visiting the Museum of International Folk Art, part of a complex of museums on the outskirts of Santa Fe known collectively as Museum Hill. After two hours, we were overloaded with visual stimulation and left. A person could visit this museum repeatedly and not see it all. Perhaps we will return someday.

part of a special exhibit displaying masks

armadillo body guitar

Our campsite at Lake Abiquiu

It rained the day we arrived. Luckily, we did not need to use our traction mats here.

Day is done

Early morning view of Cerro Pedernal. We learned on our tour of Ghost Ranch the next day

that this mountain is where Georgia O'Keeffe's ashes were released to blow toward Ghost Ranch.

I love how the morning sun can light up rock formations, canyon walls, and mountaintops.

Abiquiu Dam without water reaching the foot of the dam

On the bucket list since first driving through the Rio Chama Valley years ago - Ghost Ranch. We went on the Georgia O'Keeffe Landscape Tour. Awe-inspiring and we can now understand what drew Ms. O'Keeffe to Piedra Lumbre - "Shining Rock" - where Ghost Ranch is located.

Entrance Gate

We were a bit disappointed that we had to cut our visit to New Mexico short and return to Houston to help with my 90 year old father. We are grateful to have the time we did have to explore our beautiful country, History, geography, art, architecture, geology, and culture . . . we love it all!

Seen while geocaching: