Santa Fe, New Mexico

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

Santa Fe, New Mexico (for folks who have never been there) is a tri-culture (Native American, Mexican and "Anglo") city on the Northern edge of the desert. Santa Fe was founded by Spanish explorers in 1607. It is the last stop on the Santa Fe Trail...

Adobe structures with red, blue, pink, green etc. door and window frames are the norm in the older parts of the city. This aspect of the architecture makes the city unique...Modern shopping-centers, malls and office-complexes have "sprung up" in the last few decades.

Santa Fe is the Capital of Western Art. Galleries are quite numerous and resplendent with Native American paintings, sculpture, jewelry and craft-work. Many non-native artists also live, work and show in the area. The Art scene runs the gamut from naive to very sophisticated. On The Plaza, rows of jewelry sellers display their Silver: Think R.C. Gorman's "round native ladies in colorful native dress," sitting on Navajo blankets - or sweet tired ladies dressed more casually...

Jewelry Seller in Santa Fe Market - photo from Cecil Greek

[click for larger image]

There's magic in them, thar hills!!! The desert surrounding Santa Fe is filled with magic...The "Sage Forest" just North of the city is an area of thick Sagebrush that one can hike through - hopefully to revitalize one's spirit (you might spot a tipi amid the sage.) The other areas of the desert (South toward Albuquerque) are the more typical baron-sand-dune type...

A tipi of the Nez Perce tribe, circa 1900. - from Wikipedia