El Paso-Santa Fe Pix

Who says that the desert is hot and dry? The last couple of days have proven that this is not always the case. When I first called the El Paso campground for reservations, the owner told me that I don't need one. He indicated that they don't get to many visitors when the temperature goes over 100. We left El Paso with the temperature in the low 70s and cloudy threatening skies. As we proceeded towards Santa Fe, the temperature never exceeded 80 degrees F. The threatening skies proved that it was not an idle threat... we had showers on and off for most of the way. Fortunately the showers were light.

The route took us through downtown El Paso, where we experienced the morning rush hour Texas style... bumper to bumper 60-65 miles per hour. Once we got through downtown, we crossed over to the western side of the Guadalupe Mountains. The road took a turn to the north and that was our course for the rest of the trip. We paralleled the Rio Grande River all the way to Santa Fe. We left Interstate 10 at Las Cruces, NM and picked up Interstate 25. The highway either rides in along the lower reaches of the valley where we could see the green fields and citrus orchards or on ridges overlooking the valley. As we headed north, there were always mountains to the east. We were now in the high desert. El Paso is at an elevation of approximately 4,000 feet. When we passed through Albuquerque we were at 5,000 feet and we reached 6,500 feet at the Santa Fe campground.

We both like the high desert. Where a lot of people see lifeless desolation, we see a certain beauty that is hard to describe. My first trip to this region, about 25 years ago, took me to the high desert of northern Arizona. As I drove from Las Vegas, I was constantly in awe and commented on it to the other passengers in the car. With one exception, they thought I was crazy. I told them it was a genetic marker left from 40 years of wandering in the Sinai Desert. Ordinarily, the hills, mesas and vegetation take on a different look as the light changes. Today's experience was a little different because of the rain and clouds. The browns were much darker and the greens more vibrant. We even saw plants flowering (the flowers will probably be gone within a couple of days as the sun and heat return). The other by product of the rain was rushing water in the normally dry washes. The power of the water was evident by the amount of sediment and debris it carried.

This afternoon we drove to downtown Santa Fe, a few miles from our campground. We walked around the historic Plaza, past the Palace of Governors (the oldest government building in continuous use in the US) and through some of the shops and galleries that can be found around the Plaza. Susie, who loves Pueblo ceramics (particularly storyteller dolls), didn't find anything of interest. I breathed a sigh of relief as we headed back to the campground.

Who says that the desert is hot and dry? The last couple of days have proven that this is not always the case. When I first called the El Paso campground for reservations, the owner told me that I don't need one. He indicated that they don't get to many visitors when the temperature goes over 100. We left El Paso with the temperature in the low 70s and cloudy threatening skies. As we proceeded towards Santa Fe, the temperature never exceeded 80 degrees F. The threatening skies proved that it was not an idle threat... we had showers on and off for most of the way. Fortunately the showers were light. The route took us through downtown El Paso, where we experienced the morning rush hour Texas style... bumper to bumper 60-65 miles per hour. Once we got through downtown, we crossed over to the western side of the Guadalupe Mountains. The road took a turn to the north and that was our course for the rest of the trip. We paralleled the Rio Grande River all the way to Santa Fe. We left Interstate 10 at Las Cruces, NM and picked up Interstate 25. The highway either rides in along the lower reaches of the valley where we could see the green fields and citrus orchards or on ridges overlooking the valley. As we headed north, there were always mountains to the east. We were now in the high desert. El Paso is at an elevation of approximately 4,000 feet. When we passed through Albuquerque we were at 5,000 feet and we reached 6,500 feet at the Santa Fe campground. We both like the high desert. Where a lot of people see lifeless desolation, we see a certain beauty that is hard to describe. My first trip to this region, about 25 years ago, took me to the high desert of northern Arizona. As I drove from Las Vegas, I was constantly in awe and commented on it to the other passengers in the car. With one exception, they thought I was crazy. I told them it was a genetic marker left from 40 years of wandering in the Sinai Desert. Ordinarily, the hills, mesas and vegetation take on a different look as the light changes. Today's experience was a little different because of the rain and clouds. The browns were much darker and the greens more vibrant. We even saw plants flowering (the flowers will probably be gone within a couple of days as the sun and heat return). The other by product of the rain was rushing water in the normally dry washes. The power of the water was evident by the amount of sediment and debris it carried. This afternoon we drove to downtown Santa Fe, a few miles from our campground. We walked around the historic Plaza, past the Palace of Governors (the oldest government building in continuous use in the US) and through some of the shops and galleries that can be found around the Plaza. Susie, who loves Pueblo ceramics (particularly storyteller dolls), didn't find anything of interest. I breathed a sigh of relief as we headed back to the campground.

	Guadalupe Mountains east of our route			Rio Grande Valley
	Santa Fe Plaza Area

	Cathedral of St. Francis of Assissi			East San Francisco Street lined with shops and galleries

	La Fonda Inn (l) shows the style of buildings found in Santa Fe. The zoning code requires that all buildings within a certain area of the city be made of adobe or appear so. This includes private homes, businesses and the La Fonda garage (r).

	The Palace of Governors was built in 1610 and is the oldest public building in the United States. Native American vendors sell their crafts (r), consisting mostly turquoise, copper, silver jewelry, woven products and ceramic pottery.

	Museum of Contemporary Arts			Museum of American Indian Arts

		Santa Fe Plaza, viewed from San Francisco Street

	These statues of readers were of obvious interest to Susie the Librarian and were found in one of the shopping arcades off the Plaza

			Susie and friend on West San Francisco Street

Santa Fe Plaza Area