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Santa Fe Food Carts

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 by Santa Fe Red

Santa Fe, NM, is definitely a town on the radar of foodies everywhere for fine dining and unique regional cuisine. But sometimes, a street snack is just what the tummy ordered. Given the significantly smaller size of the City Different, it hasn’t graduated to the status of another state capitol, Austin, TX with its impressive food cart scene, but you can definitely get a good feed on the fly.

The One and Only Roque

The grand-daddy of them all – and we know for a fact that he is indeed a well-loved abuelo – has to be Roque’s Carnitas, grilling on the Santa Fe Plaza for over twenty years. Roque Garcia and partner Mona Cavalli continue to cater to locals and visitors alike with beef and chicken carnitas packed with grilled onions, peppers and spicy secret sauce. You can get tasty tamales, pork or vegetarian green chile, and a refreshing homemade “Jamaica,” a Mexican sweet iced tea, which Roque brews himself with hibiscus flowers. A recent visit found me enjoying fresh grilled corn on the cob, one of the summery joys of street eats. Roque’s Carnitas parks on the corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and East San Francisco Street, Wednesday through Monday.

Roque's Famous Carnitas

Chicken Fajita from El Molero

Yum, Yum, Grilled Corn = Summer!

A short hop to the opposite end of the Plaza, on West Santa Francisco Street and Lincoln Avenue, you’ll find the competing grill of El Molero Fajitas, similar to the carnitas, but sluiced with sour cream, guacamole, lettuce and salsa instead of onions and peppers. Tamales are available here, too, along with fresh lemonade. While Mona and Roque head south to their Mexican home to feed the ex-pats over the winter, the El Molero grill crew reliably toughs it out on the Plaza most of the year.

Slurp Up Some Savory Soup

Maybe you’ve had your fill of Southwestern food and want something simple and comforting like a bowl of soup. That can be accomplished! Slurp Santa Fe is parked on Galisteo, around the corner from the state offices, and ladles up a variety of fresh soups daily. Served with a moist slab of chewy bread, this reasonably priced option fills that empty feeling at lunchtime in a quick and satisfying way. I scarfed down that Caribbean Black Bean in a hurry! You’ll find Rebecca smiling, and tweeting today’s specials @SLURPSantaFe, in the Slurp Airstream weekdays on Galisteo Street just north of the Paseo de Peralta.

Le Pod!

Buckwheat Crepe with Chicken

French food sound good? It did to me, and I could have eaten that delicious buckwheat crepe even without the juicy filling. Le Pod, another rehabilitated Airstream, is parked in the parking lot at the southwest corner of Paseo de Peralta and the Old Santa Fe Trail. A selection of hot andwiches, filled crepes, frog dogs (hot dogs with a French twist), and a daily soup selection ensure a variety of choices. And the natural Rieme sodas from France are a refreshing change of pace in a Coca-Cola society.

The Nile Cafe Cart

A Heroic Gyro

If you find yourself out of the Plaza area looking for a quick feed, head for the Nile Cafe cart @NileCafe on Rachel’s Corner at the northeast intersection of West Alameda and St. Francis Drive. I had hoped to try the waffle fries with chipotle hummus that I have heard so much about, but alas, out of waffler fries! I settled instead on a classic gyro and was duly satisfied. Juicy and thick with plenty pf sauce, this was a lunch. Gigi mentioned that she is opening up an Egyptian breakfast and lunch cafe in the spot on the Old Santa Fe Trail where the Dish and Spoon was located, and that is something worth anticipating! News is sure to follow on their Facebook page.

And if you simply want dessert and a seat on the Plaza, let your nose lead you to the sweet smell emanating from the Kernel’s Kettle Korn Kart…just be sure all your dental work is current.

Dessert, Anyone?

HAPPY SANTA FE SNACKING!!!!

Posted in Santa Fe, Santa fe Plaza, What To Do in Santa Fe, new mexico food, santa fe dining, santa fe food | No Comments »

Santa Fe Independent Bookstores!

Monday, April 16th, 2012 by Santa Fe Red

In an age where we’ve become inured to the news of one huge company swallowing up another, a streak of independence will shine brightly. While Amazon may be convenient, there is nothing quite like walking into a bookstore to hold a book and leaf through it before buying. Santa Fe has always been a book-loving town, one that appreciates and supports its independent booksellers, as well as its authors and their output. And you can hone your interests ahead of your book-buying in what we believe is the prettiest library reading room in the southwest!

The Southwest Reading Room at the Santa Fe Public Library

Need a book on the southwest or Santa Fe itself? Check! Engaged in a philosophical search for the meaning of life? Got it. Just want a quaint children’s book for a present? No problem. Santa Fe Cookbooks? Easy as pie!

Garcia Street Books, on Garcia Street, Of Course!

Not only have our independent bookstores survived the economic downturn, they have also broadened their horizons to include readings and book-signings by local and notable authors alike. Collected Works Books, right in the heart of downtown, hosts the Muse x Two Poetry Readings, particularly vibrant in April, which is National Poetry Month. Tucked away in a residential neighborhood, The Ark brings spiritually-inclined authors in person to elucidate on matters sacred and profane. Nicholas Potter Books will help you find that out-of-print Southwestern tome you’ve been seeking. Garcia Street Books is conveniently located next to one of Santa Fe’s most popular independent neighborhood coffee shops, and the adjacent Photo-Eye Gellery, has an online bookstore that features over 30,000 fine-art photography books. The Travel Bug, right next door to the Inn, puts world travel at your fingertips, with travel guides and maps galore. All of the Museum of New Mexico gift shops have a section of books that mirror the exhibitions they host. And if you have a car, and you’re simply looking for airplane fodder to get you home, Book Mountain has thousands of used paperbacks you can read and leave on the plane for the next hapless traveler.

Collected Works Books...and Coffee Too!

And, as befits such a dedicated reading town, we also have the good fortune to have the Lannan Foundation Readings and Conversations Series, which has treated the City Different to appearances by a broad spectrum of authors, from poets like W.S. Merwin to the multi-faceted film auteur, John Sayles.

John Pen LaFarge Dissects Santa Fe

If you’re a book-lover, this is definitely your kind of town to visit…..so after you settle in to your Santa Fe hotel for a relaxing weekend, pick out something special to read, turn left at the sleeping dog, and head to our sunny Plaza for a literary escape!

The Santa Fe Plaza, a Perfect Place to Perch

Posted in Santa Fe, Santa fe Plaza, What To Do in Santa Fe, santa fe books, santa fe travel | No Comments »

Bear Canyon

Monday, March 26th, 2012 by The Santa Fe Naturalist

Looking up into the branches of a Ponderosa in Bear Canyon

Springlike weather has reached high-altitude Santa Fe at last, creating that notorious restlessness that has you planting seeds in the garden too early and heading out to hiking trails up in the mountains still treacherous with ice. There are plenty of walks closer to town to enjoy, however, when you feel that urge to get outside and enjoy the strengthening sun. Just up the road from the Inn on the Alameda is the perfect jumping off place for an easy early hike: the Randall Davey Audubon Center.

There is always plenty of parking at the Audubon Center, and plenty more at the Santa Fe Canyon Nature Preserve lot at the top of Canyon Road. The Audubon maintains a looping trail through the pinon-juniper forest that backs up against its buildings, and a spur of this trail leads into a little tributary of the Santa Fe River that flows down Bear Canyon, just behind Picacho Peak. You can be enjoying a wilderness walk here in literally minutes from downtown Santa Fe.

In spite of its rather ominous-sounding name, Bear Canyon is a gentle place, and it gives you the opportunity to have a walk among shady trees that normally grow at much higher elevations. A pleasant little brooklet trickling over mossy boulders of gneiss and granite keeps you company, and the spicy fragrance of Ponderosa needles warming in the sun fills the canyon.

A walk in Bear Canyon

A little sign points the way:

The shaded and relatively well-watered environment here supports an example of the mixed conifer forest more characteristic of higher elevations, up along the Ski Basin Road.

Ponderosa pine and White fir growing together in Bear Canyon

There’s even a little Old Man’s Beard clinging to the firs, here and there:

Old Man's Beard on a fir tree

Nearby, sunny spots host plants more common to the pinon-juniper community, like this datil yucca, pushing its way up through the pine needles:

A yucca growing in Bear Canyon

Altogether it’s a very pleasant place to have a walk.

Looking up the slopes of Bear Canyon into the forest

Back at the entrance to the canyon you’ll rejoin the looping path through the sun-loving pinon and juniper trees, where the Audubon guides host many of their Saturday morning bird walks. It’s a completely different setting:

A bench along the bird watching trails

Later this Spring there will be plenty of wildflowers among these trees. Even in the winter, the odd, parasitic Juniper mistletoe will no doubt catch you eye, with its distinctive waxy, lime-green branches; its tiny white berries are an important food source for certain birds that flock in this pygmy forest.

Juniper mistletoe

The trail begins just behind the classroom and nature store at the Audubon Center. There a little entrance stop where they ask you to make a $2 contribution to have a walk – a small price supporting a good cause. And there’s no charge to park, nor to walk around their extensive grounds or down along the Santa Fe River with its beaver dams and cottonwoods.

The old Randall Davey House at the Audubon - a true Pink Adobe

So keep little Bear Canyon on your list for a quick escape from the cultural delights of Santa Fe. It’s short, it’s close, it’s kid-friendly, it’s easy to find, and it’s free from snow and ice now. Our Front Desk staff will point the way!

Posted in Beautiful Day Hikes, Santa Fe Day Hikes, What To Do in Santa Fe | 2 Comments »

SITE Santa Fe: Time-Lapse

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 by Santa Fe Red

Time-Lapse at SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta (505)989-1199

Exhibit runs from February 18-May 20, 2012

In addition to satisfying a taste for the the artistic permutations brought to us by our Museum of New Mexico system, with its panoply of offerings from folk art to photography, a hunger for the cutting-edge can be sated without a trip to the East or West Coast. How? SITE Santa Fe, of course!

SITE Santa Fe in the Railyard Arts District

Since its inception in 1995, SITE has become a valuable resource in the Santa Fe art world. The ample layout allows for installations and large-scale works, and the curatorial staff understands their mission well. February brought the opening of the newest offering from SITE, Time-Lapse 2012.

With an aim of demonstrating the mutability of art, Time-Lapse brings together four artists whose work are specifically intended to change over the course of the exhibition. And an opening event on February 17 also gave Santa Fe art-lovers the chance to enjoy the artistic antics of the Meow Wolf collective, a loose and exuberant confederation of multi-media artists who staged a happening (for lack of a better term) in the Time Capsule Lounge. They did not disappoint!

Meow Wolf: An Old-Fashioned Overhead Projector

Flash Theater by Meow Wolf

Curated by Irene Hofmann, Director and Chief Curator of the Phillips Collection, along with Assistant Curator, Janet Dees, and thanks to much-appreciated support by our local Barker Realty, this examination of change over time features work by artists Byron Kim, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Eve Sussman/Rufus Corporation and Mary Temple.

Ms. Temple engages the viewer immediately with her Currency Series, begun in 2007, and continued with a drawing every day, inspired by the current news and headlines. She creates a portrait of a news-worthy political figure and accompanies it with text that elucidates its relevance. Laid out in a timeline, the drawings challenge us to remember what happened yesterday, a week ago, a month ago, and in so doing, remind us how quickly we consume the happenings of the day and move on. The drawings are proficient, and threads of content re-emerge as events wax or wane. A great concept, well-executed and well worth visiting, as the artist has committed to adding images throughout the run of the show!

A Familiar Face in the News

Byron Kim’s Sunday Paintings, have a similar intent, although his skyscapes have a weekly format, with a painting of the sky every Sunday in whatever locale he finds himself. The work was begun 25 weeks before the opening, and each week during the exhibition, he will send a new painting after it is completed. The skyscapes include a textual diary of his musings, and it will be interesting to see how the sky changes and to wonder where he has been.

Artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is represented by two works from a body of tech-savvy pieces he calls Recorders, which invite viewer participation. While these artworks originated in the artist’s mind, the completed pieces depend on interaction from the viewers for their final content. An apt reflection of the digital world, his work asks for a commitment to engage and leave a ghost of oneself behind. Probably not for those already discomfited by the encroachment of social media!

Eve Sussman is repsented by whiteoinwhite: algorithmicnoir, the most recent of her films in collaboration with the Rufus Corporation. Highly experimental, the work runs continuously with a changing narrative that never presents the same juxtaposition of image and words. Edited in real time by a computer algorithm drawing on over 3000 film clips and assorted voice-overs and music, the film revolves around a protagonist named Mr. Holz, placed in an evocation of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal film of 1956, Alphaville. Having seen a tantalizing tidbit from this work in NYC, I welcomed the opportunity to actually sit down and contemplate it more thoroughly. Advice: Sit in the front row of seats, in case someone tall plops down in front of you!

Look Into the Time Capsule!

The Time Capsule Lounge, comfortably outfitted with floor and stool seating and futuristic lighting, will be welcoming other public events: Musician Brian Mayhall will present a performance on March 30 at 5pm; Brendan Carn and Colin Woodford will perform a live/Skyped internet piece on May 4 at 5pm; and on May 12 at 11am, Axle Comtemporary Art celebrates a book launch for E Pluribus Unum, a composite portrait of Santa Fe. The Lounge also features a four “timely” films from the past, A Trip to the Moon (1902), La Jetee (1962), Powers of Ten (1977), and Primer (2004), organized by Jason Silverman of the CCA Cinematheque and screened continuously on a loop (thank you, Mr. Silverman, most enjoyable!).

Movies from Times Past

A final touch is added by our beloved Collected Works Books, which supplied a selection of science fiction books, curated by Cynthia Melchert, in the Time Capsule for visitors to read and ruminate on. If you don’t finish before you leave, some titles will be on sale at the SITE bookstore, so you can continue your time travel at home.

SITE Santa Fe consistently presents work that invites contemplation of modern issues that confront not just artists but all of us. I welcome these opportunities for consideration and am grateful for the free Fridays that let me return repeatedly to see such interesting work!

Free Fridays: a Great Time to Bring the Kids to SITE

Posted in Art Museums, Art in Santa Fe, Museums, Santa Fe, Santa Fe's Museums, What To Do in Santa Fe, art travel, contemporary santa fe art | No Comments »

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith at Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe

Monday, February 13th, 2012 by Santa Fe Red

Jaune Quick-to-see-Smith at Georgia O’Keeffe Museum 217 Johnson Street Santa Fe NM

It’s actually hard to remember back before the O’Keeffe Museum was here. Of course, the Santa Fe lightbulb joke asks how many Santa Feans it takes to change a lightbulb (Answer: three, one to do it and two to reminisce about how it used to be!). But, truly, a trip to the O’Keeffe is so ingrained in a Santa Fe visit now, that it seems like the museum has always been here….and for that we are very grateful.

Georgia On My Mind, Oil 1986, Collection of Yellowstone Art Museum

We are also grateful that the O’Keeffe continues to highlight the work of contemporary women artists, a commitment that one imagines O’Keeffe herself would approve. On January 26, the fourth exhibition of the Living Artists of Distinction series, entitled “Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Landscapes of an American Modernist,” opened in the rear galleries of the museum. How perfect that exhibit shows that Smith had Georgia on her mind!

The Great Divide, Oil 1987; Collection of St. Paul Travelers

A Native American artist from the Salish band of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai nation of the Northwest, Ms. Smith was born in 1940, received an M.A. at the University of New Mexico, and is a familiar presence to art-going public of the Southwest. Her modernist impulse is played out in active brushwork and expressive imagery, vastly different from O’Keeffe’s technique, but still posssessing that same sense of place found in the still landscapes painted by O’Keeffe.

Like O’Keeffe, Smith works in a variety of media, and the pastels and oils on display present a compelling demonstration of her abilities. The artist says, “My work comes from a visceral place – deep, deep…,” and the work says so.

Trees are Burning, Pastel 1991; Courtesy LewAllen Contemporary

No doubt, viewers will have favorites. The pastels appear more restrained, both in palette and and activity, while the large oil paintings feel agitated and full of color. I found myself in reverie by the Wallowa Water Hole pastels, with their more limited palette and simple lines. And I enjoyed the contrast of colors between two large canvases, Playground, which is painted in the primary, clear colors to which children most easily respond, juxtaposed against the lively Great Divide, soaked in the rich pinks and turqouise associated with our desert landscape.

Playground, Oil 1987; Private Collection

When I viewed the show, I headed directly to the galleries, so as to see the work with fresh eyes, then wandered back through the O’Keeffe’s. One of the things that is so enjoyable about these exhibits is how they make one notice different O’Keeffe works that one my not have been pulled to previously. After spending time in the Smith exhibit, a deceptively simple O’Keeffe watercolor and graphite piece from 1918, House with Tree – Green, suddenly drew me to a halt. Fresh eyes are a good thing!

Go see the Jaune Quick-to-See Smith show…it’s up until April 29, so you can make more than one trip and discover for yourself the pleasures of this small museum and its big mission.

Posted in Art Museums, Art in Santa Fe, Native American Art, Santa Fe, Santa Fe's Museums, What To Do in Santa Fe, contemporary santa fe art | No Comments »

Super Bowl XLVI? SOUPER Bowl XVIII Santa Fe!

Thursday, January 26th, 2012 by Santa Fe Red

Santa Fe Souper Bowl XVIII

Santa Fe Community Convention Center 201 West Marcy Street

Saturday, January 28, 2012 11:00 am – 1:30 pm

Once a year, Santa Fe addresses the issue of hunger, because we know it exists in our community just as it does in others. How to make it fun? A Souper Bowl! For the 18th year, Santa Fe welcomes sippers and slurpers to taste the concoctions of the City Different’s best chefs, all to benefit the Food Depot, New Mexico’s food bank.

Participating restaurants are invited to compete in one the following categories: Best Cream Soup, Best Savory Soup, Best Seafood Soup, and Best Vegetarian Soup, and all of the chefs ultimately compete for the overall title of Best Soup. The list of food mavens is long and includes everything from the high end to caterers and pizza joints, and even a retirement home, all intent on keeping our fellow New Mexicans from going to bed hungry.

AAAAHHHHH.....soup!

Soup lovers will find the following Santa Fe kitchens in attendance: Anasazi Restaurant; Blue Corn Café & Brewery Southside; Bon Appetit; Café Pasqual’s; Café Café; Chef Nuevo Caliente Catering; Dinner for Two; Jambo Café; Kingston Residence of Santa Fe; La Casa Sena; La Plazuela at La Fonda on the Plaza; Nath’s Speciality Catering; Palacio Café; The Pantry Restaurant; Pizza Etc.; Plaza Café Southside; Pueblo Deli; Real Food Nation and Supper Club; Red Sage at Hilton Santa Fe Resort & Spa at Buffalo Thunder; Rio Chama; Santa Fe Bar & Grill; Santa Fe Capitol Grill; Sup; Tune-Up Café; Turquoise Trail Bar & Grill at Buffalo Thunder; Whole Foods Market; Whole Hog Café; and the Zia Diner.

The bar is set high, since last year’s 2011 winner also won in the previous year, 2010, and is rated #1 on TripAdvisor for Santa Fe restaurants. That’s Jambo Cafe, where owner Ahmed Obo says that his winning soups, Black Bean and Sweet Potato from 2011 and Chicken Peanut from 2010, fly out of the restaurant as fast as they are prepared. So not only is this a benefit for the Food Depot, Santa Fe diners also score by discovering new culinary adventures, and restaurant chefs have the chance to create new devotees.

Attendees can taste 4 oz. of soup at as many stations as the belly can handle, and the Boy Scouts will be on hand as runners to collect the ballots from each table. A scoreboard will keep a running tally, so that the fans can keep tabs on who’s ahead. Hmmmm, wonder what are the odds that someone will have created a betting pool? There will also be a silent auction with some tasty items, soup recipes to try at home, cookbooks for sale, and even a cooking demonstration by chef Megan Tucker of Amavi.

Advanced tickets are available online at $25 for adults and $10 for children from 6-12 years of age. Tickets will also be available at the door for adults,$30, and children, $10. Sponsors santafe.com and Hutton Broadcasting will also be giving out Santa Fe Winter Fiesta passes to those who help meet the food-scarcity challenge by attending.

Does this sound tasty? All you have to do is put your money AND your mouth together at the Santa Fe Community Convention this Saturday to indulge in this great cause!

Posted in Annual Events of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, What To Do in Santa Fe, new mexico food, santa fe dining, santa fe food, santa fe travel | No Comments »

Happy Hanukkah Santa Fe!

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 by Santa Fe Red

The world holds many faiths, each with special holidays that we are glad to celebrate, and one begins today….it’s Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah!

New Mexico, like so many western outposts, has its Judaic history, with both travelers and businessman from the Old World and the eastern states streaming westward over the centuries for a variety of reasons. Some were Spaniards whose descendants trace their lineage back to “conversos,” Jews who converted by force or necessity to Christianity in Spain, pre- and post-inquisition. More recent times brought artists who thrived in the laid-back culture of northern New Mexico. And a community of Jewish merchants, mostly German, also traded in the state, particularly east of Santa Fe in Las Vegas, New Mexico, where heavy rail traffic made commerce easier. Las Vegas, NM, even maintains its Jewish burial ground, the Montefiore Cemetery, named for the noted British philanthropist, Sir Moses Montefiore.

Chabad's Ice Menorah Takes Shape Today on the Plaza

Santa Fe’s Plaza area certainly benefitted from the energy, enterprise, ingenuity and generosity of its Jewish residents. Local lore holds that the first indoor bathroom in the city was in the home of a Jewish businessman who lived in the building now housing Peyton-Wright Gallery. And La Posada de Santa Fe grew out of the residence of the Staab family and even boasts the ghost of Julia Staab as an eternal resident. Longtime Santa Fe residents remember doing much of their holiday shopping at the downtown department stores begun by Jewish merchant families. And even above the massive front entrance to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis, one can see Santa Fe’s multicultural history, in a Hebrew inscription placed there by its guiding force, Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, after Abraham Staab very generously donated additional funds to help finish the project.

Santa Fe Embraces All Faiths

Visitors to the City Different can find holiday worship services in a number of Santa Fe synagogues:

Congregation Beit Tikva (Reform), 2230 Old Pacos Trail, (505) 820-2991

Temple Beth Shalom (Reform), 205 East Barcelona, (505) 982-1376

Chabad Jewish Center of Santa Fe (Chabad Lubavitch), 242 West San Mateo, (505) 983-2000

Ha Makom (Conservative), 1601 South St. Francis Drive, (505) 992-1905

Pardes Yisroel (Modern Orthodox), 1307 Don Diego, (505) 989-771

We honor the contributions of our past and present Jewish residents, who have added so much to the rich cultural mix that Santa Fe exemplifies.

Happy Hanukkah….Hanukkah Sameakh!

Posted in Annual Events of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, What To Do in Santa Fe | No Comments »

Las Posadas: A Santa Fe Holiday Tradition

Thursday, December 8th, 2011 by Santa Fe Red

The holiday tradition of Las Posadas takes place on Sunday, December 11, at 5:30pm at the Palace of the Governors

So much of the holiday season seems so familiar and so relentlessly repetitive, and once-only experiences are becoming a rarity. That’s one of the reasons that Santa Fe loves Christmas Eve and the annual farolito display, a quietly moving spectacle that those who have come to the City Different over the holidays have no doubt seen.

Farolitos Light the Way

Less well-known, however, is the unique tradition known as Las Posadas, also a one-night-only event. A re-enactment of the Holy Family’s search for lodging, this annual holiday happening takes place each year in and around the historic Santa Fe Plaza. While the Plaza hardly looks Biblical, having already been lit with holiday lights and a Christmas tree, and the staging includes some details not found in the usual account, the story nonetheless comes to life in a very local way.

The Santa Fe Plaza Dressed in Snow

Originating in Spain as a religious observation, Las Poasadas is actually a novena, a nine-day event, occurring from December 16 through December 24. Although celebrations of Las Posadas are not uncommon in Northern New Mexico towns, places deeply rooted in the Spanish Catholic tradition, the one-night Plaza re-enactment grew out of a 1970′s era neighborhood campaign against development that sparked an annual celebration, which subsequently outgrew its original San Antonio Street location and moved to the Plaza.

Costumed participants portray the mortals who, in the biblical account, refuse lodging to a humble young pregnant woman and her carpenter-fiancé. As the couple circumnavigate the Plaza from the Palace of the Governors (the oldest government building in the U.S.), seeking rest and shelter, they stop on each corner to seek lodging and comfort, finding instead denial and disappointment.

Taking Off Winter's Chill by a Luminaria at the Palace of the Governors

The devil, who ridicules and taunts the seekers from perches on the portals on the Plaza, is in turn treated to the boos and hisses of the assembled crowd, their faces illuminated by candle light. The supernatural power possessed by the devil purportedly allows him to magically appear at each of the Plaza locations designated as the “inns” where the couple tries to obtain a warm and dry spot in which to shelter. Four mortals portray the tormenting demon, crawling out of second-floor windows to discourage the weary travelers.

After numerous refusals stating that there was no room at “the inn,” thanks to the appearance of an angel who blesses the crowd and provides guidance, the couple and their entourage finally find respite from the chilly night in the courtyard of the Palace of the Governors for the denouement of this holiday event. Once inside the courtyard, the procession warms up with hot cider, cookies, and a round of Christmas carols.

Sound interesting? It is! Just be sure to bundle up, since the winter Santa Fe weather has definitely arrived, and it’s nothing like Bethlehem temperatures. This year, Las Posadas takes place on Sunday, December 11, 2011, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Please note that the New Mexico Museum of History will close early at 3:00 p.m. to prepare for and accommodate this holiday tradition.

The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie dePaola

And if you cannot attend, you can still create a special holiday reading tradition, thanks to noted author/illustrator, Tomie dePaolo, proof that an unusual event like this is indeed inspirational!

Posted in Annual Events of Santa Fe, Annual New Mexico Events, Hispanic Culture of New Mexico, New Mexican Culture, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Weather, Santa fe Plaza, What To Do in Santa Fe, santa fe travel | No Comments »

From Stardust to Sardine Cans: a guided walk in the Cerrillos Hills

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 by The Santa Fe Naturalist

One of the most common cultural artifacts found in the Cerrillos Hills

Consilience. That’s the word I suspect was trembling on the lips of our guide for the afternoon, Ranger Sarah Woods, as she led us for a walk with that eye-catching title, along a dusty, juniper-dotted trail in Cerrillos Hills State Park, Sunday afternoon. Consilience literally means a “jumping-together” of knowledge, and when you’re wanting to link stardust with rusty old sardine cans from late 1800′s, while standing in the arid hills of the oldest mining district in New Mexico, you need all the jumping together you can get.

The biologist E. O. Wilson revived that unusual word in his 1998 book “Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge“, and appropriately enough, Sarah’s background is ecology, one of those sciences that concerns itself with the way organisms relate to each other and their environment. Perfect for taking the big-picture, “how does this relate to that” viewpoints so necessary when you need to relate stardust to sardine cans. Or to turquoise, or bald-faced lying miners, or old holes in the ground, or State Parks in New Mexico, for that matter.

We met in the parking lot of the Cerrillos Hills State Park, about half an hour’s drive south of Santa Fe, just off the famous “Turquoise Trail“, NM Highway 14, the picturesque back way to Albuquerque from Santa Fe.

That's Sarah Wood, our ranger and guide for the afternoon

Cerrillos Hills State Park is the newest park in New Mexico’s state park system, and its network of trails is dotted with helpful interpretive signs. The park also features a remarkable calendar of guided walks with naturalists and historians for the daylight hours, and, for those of you wanting to explore the night sky, a dedicated ranger-astronomer with telescopes hosting frequent evening excursions into the Universe.

One of the new signs at Cerrillos Hills State Park

Soon we were off on the Jane Calvin Sanchez trail, up a dusty path of crumbling shale, the once-murky, muddy floor of an ancient sea, now baking in the New Mexico sun.

On our way

Sharp eyes can find marine fossils from the Cretaceous Period in these fragments of shale. And while these rocks are baking in the sun these days, it wasn’t long ago – geologically speaking – that they were broiling in the heat of violent intrusions of scalding magma, forced up from the lower crust as New Mexico began to decompress after all that “building the Rocky Mountains” business. I mean, 34 million years ago is the new 20, don’t you agree?

The forcefulness of these intrusive episodes can be gauged by the completely upended strata – shouldered aside by wedges of magma – that you see on your drive down to the park, at New Mexico’s little “Garden of the Gods”, on Highway 14 just before you get to the village of Cerrillos:

Colorful tilted strata along the edge of the Cerrillos Hills intrusive complex

These magmas carried up the traces of gold, silver, lead, copper, and other elements which gave birth to the Cerrillos Hills and Ortiz Mountain mining districts.

All of this is stardust, you know. Giant stars, bloated with hydrogen and contaminated with the 91 heavier elements born via long-acting and complex thermonuclear reactions, carry the seeds of their own destruction by virtue of their massive size (And we’re talking big – Sarah showed us pictures). When these stars finally implode/explode under their own stupendous, self-inflicted gravity, they fling these elements as dust and gas out into the universe. And in the course of time, some of this material is gathered into new stars and planets, among which is one system with a modest star and a planet we call home.

Peering at the Ortiz Mountains in the glare of our own little star

To find out what this has to do with rusty sardine cans littering the New Mexico desert, you’re going to have to go on Sarah’s walk, yourself. There are all sorts of fascinating side-tracks related to these cans, such as these holes in the hills:

A mineshaft dug into bleached rock in the Cerrillos Hills

And the presence of this rather attractive mineral:

Fragments of turquoise found in these hills - and mined for centuries

Plus it’s pleasant just to be out here, under the vast – turquoise – skies:

A walk in the Cerrillos Hills

So have a look at that calendar of events and choose something that piques your interest. It’s all related, one way or another. It all hangs together. Sarah quoted John Muir: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” Muir also made this happy observation: “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”

And to that I say, Amen.

Posted in Beautiful Day Hikes, New Mexico Day Hikes, What To Do in Santa Fe | 1 Comment »

Soaring on Raven’s Ridge

Thursday, November 24th, 2011 by The Santa Fe Naturalist

A Gray Jay enjoying the view from Raven's Ridge

The other weekend I just had to get out for some exercise, and since my thoughts lately have been occupied planning some hikes up in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado next summer, I decided to head up to Ski Santa Fe and get a good workout on Raven’s Ridge, the spur of the Santa Fe Range that divides the Tesuque watershed from the headwaters of Nambe Creek, and which makes up the northern boundary of the Aspen Basin, which we enjoy seeing from Santa Fe nearly every day.

The mountains have been getting light snows most weeks lately, but typically the high country trails are firmly packed this early in the season, and snow shoes aren’t necessary. So I put on my layers, made a thermos of my favorite tea – Formosa Oolong No. 8 from Adagio Teas, grabbed a breakfast burrito from La Montanita Co-op, and headed up the mountain.

On a clear and sunny day the normally sombre spruce forests above 10,000 feet in elevation literally glow with an inner light, fragrant and invigorating, putting one in mind of Christmas and the holidays.

Looking up into towering Englemann Spruce on the Winsor Trail

There simply isn’t anything nicer than walking through these Snow Forests on a calm and sunny late morning, taking in the pure air and radiant light.

Packed snow on the Winsor Trail above Ski Santa Fe

The section of the Winsor Trail from the parking area of Ski Santa Fe up to the saddle on Raven’s Ridge is always a bit of a test – sort of the dues you have to pay to gain entrance to the Nambe Creek watershed and the peaks beyond. You gain over 800 feet in less than a mile, and since the trailhead is already at 10,200 feet elevation, you generally have to make some stops to catch your breath. I was huffing and puffing like a steam locomotive on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, myself.

Soon enough the trail levels out and you reach the saddle on the flank of Aspen Peak which marks the boundary of the vast and beautiful Pecos Wilderness.

The new sign at the entrance to the Pecos Wilderness along the Winsor Trail

It’s at this gateway that you leave the Winsor Trail and turn right to follow the fence line along an informal trail that follows Raven’s Ridge through the trees. The climb is a little gentler than the switchbacks of the Winsor Trail, but there are a few more places where you’ll have to pause for breath. And there are no views to speak of – until you reach 11,200 feet and the tie-off point of the fence:

The headwaters of Nambe Creek from Raven's Ridge

Perched on ancient gneiss above the glacial canyon that holds Nambe Lake, you’ll feeling like you’re soaring in a glorious Rocky Mountain High. To your right is Lake Peak, a mountain horn that carries Ski Santa Fe on its west flank, and the headwaters of the Santa Fe River on its south:

Lake Peak

By the way, if you are in the mood for some real adventure, my friend Mar’ Himmerich of Celestial Guides (celestialguides@yahoo.com) will be happy to take you skiing up there.

To your left is the bold massif of Santa Fe Baldy, the highest peak near Santa Fe:

Santa Fe Baldy 12,622 feet high

Below you is a vertiginous drop with more diagonals and verticals than a vintage Italian travel poster:

Winter light

It’s a perfect place to stop for a well deserved break. And as often happens up here in the alpine realm, with a soft fluttering, a flash of grey, and maybe a gentle whistle, you might have guests for tea:

Care to share that Clif Bar with me?

This is the Grey Jay, or Whiskey-Jack, the notorious camp robber who will eat out of your hand (or snatch food from it while you’re not looking). A pair of these birds kept an eye on me the entire time I had my snack.

After a blissful time of taking in the view and enjoying the sun on my face, I grabbed my daypack and headed back down the trail. As I approached the parking area, I could see the that the slopes of Ski Santa Fe are nearly ready for opening:

Ski Santa Fe, seen through spruce and aspen along the Winsor Trail

Soon enough I was back in my car and cruising down NM 475 back to Santa Fe for a rendezvous with Starbucks. It was a Good Day. Come out and see us this winter, and have a good day of your own!

Somebody loves you in Santa Fe!

Posted in Beautiful Day Hikes, Santa Fe Day Hikes, Santa Fe Weather, What To Do in Santa Fe | No Comments »

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