I have been too busy!! Sorry for my delay

March 11, 2012 Day Two of our Southwestern Trip.  I missed Day One because we stayed busy and by the time I settled into the hotel room, I was exhausted.  We stayed at the St. Frances Hotel, which was built in 1880.  The foyer was beautiful and welcoming, and the room was very cozy. 

While we were in Santa Fe, a few of us went to the New Mexico History Museum.  I learned of the long and violent past of this area, beginning thousands of years ago when various native people lived here, and built adobe villages.   Later when the Spanish arrived, they named the villages pueblo, which is the Spanish word for village. 

The Spanish were greedy and took the land, violently evicting or enslaving the original inhabitants.  There were mainly Apaches, Navahos, Utes and Comanches.  The Spanish wanted to Christianize the native peoples, and installed missions all over the area. 

My favorite story from the history of this area, is the great Indian uprising in 1680.  Many Indian nations came together, even nations who were not allies.  Po’pay was a medicine man who organized the plot to occur on August 10, 1680.  He handed out small string tied knots and gave instructions to untie a knot a day, when they untie the last knot, all were to simultaneously attack the Spanish.  An army of 2500 Indians sacked the Spanish in Santa Fe, and drove them out.   

I also learned that there was a Jewish migration from Germany in the mid 1800s.  They were generally merchants, and thrived here. 

It snowed our first night, and the next day we wandered around the old section of Santa Fe in about a blanket of fresh snow.  By noon it was all gone, but it was a such a treat while it lasted.

On the way to Santa Fe, we stopped at Eaves Movie Ranch, which is where my camera batteries died.   Being a tourist without a camera is like missing a limb, I can’t wait to find a store open that sells batteries!  Luckily everyone is going to share their pictures, and I won’t miss too many photo ops.

Eaves Movie Ranch is run by a guy who looks like colonel Custer.  He lives at the set and gives tours.  The set was originally built in 1962 for the television show Empire, which I have no memory of.  The first film shot there was the Cheyenne Social Club, in 1969.  Since then 40 films have used the set.  Actors of note are Jimmy Stuart, Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, Johnny Cash and Kevin Costner.  Definitely a cool place to go, and I recommend you take a look at the website: http://www.eavesmovieranch.com/site.html. 

We are on the bus right now heading to Chimayo and then Taos.  The landscape is treeless, grey and interspersed with shrubs.  Here and there we see adobe or pueblo style houses, ranches, and stores that blend in with the scenery.  Everything matches.