#243: Had Green Chile Beer

While in Taos, went to a little pub and was told I had to try it. YUCK. and the food was bad too... But it was a new thing, so had to do it!

#242: Hiked up to an elevation of 9000 feet

See new thing #237.

#241: Learning Italian while running errands

Supposedly going to Italy in November, so I purchased a CD set to learn some basic Italian while driving around town. I can confidently say thus far:

Io sono Americana. Capisco un po 'italiano, ma non molto bene.

#240: Purchased authentic Native American-made jewelry

Here's one of my purchases... a ring made by Thomas Charley --


Here's a snippet from his bio:


Thomas Charley is full blooded Navajo Indian. He was born in 1952 into the Navajo Reservation and has been creating jewelry since 1977. He specializes in his own unique contemporary style that he has developed on his own. His style is both stylish and very dramatic while still having all the character and ethics of his forefathers that introduced him into the business. His earrings, watches, rings, bracelets, concho belts, and bolo ties are all easily recognized by his beautiful sterling silver designs. His masterpieces are very stylish, elegant, and oh so sophisticated.


This ring was a favorite. The shop owner sold 3 of these rings to ladies in our group!

#239: Had a bird encounter at DFW Airport

Bird in the DFW Airport, originally uploaded by amber365.

Waiting around for my connection on the way home from Santa Fe -- Birdie just flew in and hopped around my gate area. As soon as got the shot he flew off.

#238: Saw the mother church of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, originally uploaded by amber365.

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

The cathedral was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 and 1886 on the site of an older adobe church, La Parroquia (built in 1714-1717). An even earlier church on the same site, built in 1626, had been destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The new cathedral was built around La Parroquia, which was dismantled once construction was complete. A small chapel on the north side of the cathedral is all that remains of the old church.

#237: Hiked the Aspen Vista Trail in the Santa Fe National Forest

Aspen Vista, Santa Fe National Forest, originally uploaded by amber365.

On this trail, I got an altogether different view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains than while at Tent Rocks.

#236: Enjoyed a first-rate view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

At the Top of Tent Rocks, originally uploaded by amber365.

Truly awesome.

#235: Climbed to the top of a mesa

At the Top of Tent Rocks, originally uploaded by amber365.

I also learned the following:

A butte is taller than it is wide.
A mesa is wider than it is tall.
And a plateau is great big mesa.

#234: Saw me some hoodoos and cap stones

Tent Rocks, originally uploaded by amber365.

These are the "Tent Rock"s. Being among these was like being on the set of Star Wars.

From Wikipedia:

A hoodoo (also tent rock, fairy chimney, earth pyramid) is a tall thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. Hoodoos are composed of soft sedimentary rock and are topped by a piece of harder, less easily-eroded stone that protects the column from the elements.

#233: Hiked Slot Canyon

Slot Canyon, Tent Rocks, originally uploaded by amber365.

In the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. On lands owned by they Cochiti Pueblo, the canyon loop trail is amazing. With every twist and turn, there is something incredible to behold.

#232: Visited Santa Fe, NM

Boy, did I ever. In addition to the physical activities, I definitely did my patriotic part to prime the consumer economy engine!

The jewelry purchases got a little out of hand: a necklace, a bracelet, earrings, and a ring. The earrings and ring were actually purchased Taos, but still. I rarely treat myself in this way. Love everything I got!

#231: Stayed at the Inn on the Alameda

peppers, originally uploaded by amber365.

Fantastic! Well-placed on the edge of old Santa Fe, excellent service, great rooms, complimentary wine and cheese in the afternoon, great breakfast in the morning.

HIGHLY recommended.

Here's a link to their site.

#230: Dined at Doc Martin's

Photo Credit: Sue Crawford

Well, like everything in Taos, there's a story there:

About Doc:

Dr. Thomas Paul (Doc) Martin, came to Taos in the 1890s and bought the largest of several adobe houses which at the time surrounded a small plaza. The plaza is now the Inn's lobby, complete with community well in the center. Doc himself was a popular man, well-regarded for his concern for people of Taos.

The ghost story (full article here):

After Doc Martin passed away, his wife Helen bought the neighboring adobes and, with help from doc's former patients, connected them all under one roof and opened "The Hotel Martin" in 1936. The hotel's name changed in the 1940s when it was bought by Sam and Mary Albright. But it was the property's first owner, Arthur Manby, the man who sold Doc Martin his home, who is the inn's most active spirit.

Taos natives are well acquainted with the tales of Manby's strange death. It seems after he sold the house to Doc Martin, Manby resided next door in what is now the Stables Art Gallery. One day, a few years after taking up his new residence, a headless body, presumed to be Arthur Manby, was found on the floor of Manby's home.

This home shares a kitchen wall with what is now Doc Martin's restaurant in the Taos Inn, and likewise this seems to be where a lot of phenomena occurs. Pots, pans and kitchen appliances have been known to fly from their resting places and crash unexpectedly on the floor.

#229: Toured Santuario de Chimayo

Chapel, Santuario de Chimayo, originally uploaded by amber365.

Believed to be built on sacred earth with miraculous healing powers, Santuario de Chimayó is probably the most visited church in New Mexico.

The legend:
Somewhere around 1810, a Chimayó friar was performing penances when he saw a light bursting from a hillside. Digging, he found a crucifix, quickly dubbed the miraculous crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas. A local priest brought the crucifix to Santa Cruz, but three times it disappeared and was later found back in its hole. By the third time, everyone understood that El Senor de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayó, and so a small chapel was built on the site.

Then the miraculous healings began. These grew so numerous that the chapel had to be replaced by the larger, current Chimayó Shrine -- an adobe mission -- in 1816. The crucifix which began the original shrine still resides on the chapel alter, but for some reason its curative powers have been overshadowed by El Posito, the "sacred sand pit" from which it sprang.

Each year during Holy Week thousands of people make a pilgrimage to Chimayó to visit the Santuario and take away a bit of the sacred dirt. Pilgrims walk a few yards or a hundred miles. Many claim to have been cured there of diseases, infirmities and unhappiness. The walls of the sacristy are hung with discarded crutches and before-and-after photographs as evidence of the healing.

Note: I have a bag of dirt. Awaiting shoulder pain to disappear.