Train Ride to Santa Fe (Thursday)

Well, we are still in Albuquerque.  Our excellent adventure on Thursday was a round trip train ride to Santa Fe, a day pass for $7 each.  Someone yesterday on the tram ride told us about it, so we decided we should do that.  Joe has never really been on a train, except for little touristy ones, so he got to enjoy this 1 1/2 hour-ride (each way) from a passenger seat.  The train station is just a little southeast of where we are staying, and we began the ride east of I-25, and for a very short time alongside the Rio Grande River.  Then we crossed under the freeway and were west of I-25.  Then we went through a short tunnel, and were right in the middle of I-25, between the northbound and southbound lanes.  We stayed in between all the way into town.  Interestingly, the train ride took us next to or through several Native American communities, and we were not allowed to take pictures during that part of the trip.  Mostly, there were trashy mobile homes, shacks and junk, so I'm not sure what they were "preserving" there, but we complied anyway.

We took it to the last stop, then caught a free shuttle to the State Capital building, which was very beautiful.  The walls and floor are travertine marble, which is native to this state.  Congress was not in session, so we got to step into those chambers, and walk through the entire building, with just a few exceptions.  There is a tremendous amount of very beautiful art on display in this building, and we all know Santa Fe is know for its art and artists.  One sculpture caught our eye, a unique bust of a buffalo, made out of materials relevant to the buffalo era.  And the Governor wasn't in, but her receptionist invited us into her lobby where you get an education about the history of the chili.  A very enjoyable tour.

This is the floor and ceiling of the rotunda, which was beautiful as well.

Next we stopped at San Miguel Mission, regarded as the oldest church in the U.S., built a few years before 1628.  Though damaged and rebuilt numerous times, the church's original adobe walls remain intact.  Across the street from this Mission is "The Oldest House in the U.S.," also called the De Vargas Street House, reportedly built around 1646.  But it was closed so we didn't get to see inside it.

We stopped for lunch, and to rest, then walked on down toward the Historic Plaza, passing the Loretto Chapel, no longer in use as a chapel but now as a museum and wedding chapel.  Inside is the "miraculous spiral staircase" which goes up to the choir loft.  It is to this day an architectural wonder because it has no support.

This church was one of those "oh wow" things when you stepped inside.  Not only was the spiral staircase amazing, the altar was beautiful as well.  There was a miniature version of the staircase on display for photo purposes, so you can see the entire staircase in that last photo. 

We finally reached the Historic Plaza, and finally located the Palace of the Governors Museum, one of the things Joe had read about.  Local artists had taken up residence all along the front patio of this building, selling their jewelry and other wares, or as the brochure states, "during the daytime, Native Americans artisans sell authentic American Indian jewelry beneath the Palace's long portal."  Reminded me an awful lot of Mexico, except they aren't in your face trying to sell you something.

We couldn't take pictures inside the Palace, but is is now a History Museum.  The oldest continually occupied government building in the U.S., it was built in 1610 and currently houses numerous exhibitions, collections and artifacts reflecting the area's nearly 500-year history.   It is an extensive museum, and we joined a walking tour for a while, then did the rest on our own.  It has many rooms of artifacts and art work, and a lot of archeology information.

 By the end of that tour, we were pretty tired, but we walked out to the plaza.  It was established around 1610 originally as a presidio (fort) surrounded by a wall that enclosed barracks, a chapel, a prison, a few homes and the Plaza of the Governors. 

By now we were tired, so we checked out a couple of shops, then took the free shuttle back to the bus station.  We had taken jackets with us and were glad of it, although by mid-afternoon we were able to take them off.  On the way back, the wind kicked up and by the time we ate and got back to the RV, it was probably gusting 50 mph.  Our RV was rocking and rolling for a while, and we were glad we were not out on the road.

This was a good trip, and even though we are eventually heading to Santa Fe, we will not have to go downtown now.  Which is good, because the streets are crooked, narrow, and many are one-way.  We were told it is a pain to drive in the downtown area, even in the car, and we could see why.

By the way, the tram ride we took the day before was the world's longest aerial tram ride.  And after we signed up at the casino for their rewards membership cards, for which we each got $25 on our card, we came out $70 ahead.