Rest day in Santa Fe

We had perfect weather today! Wouldn't you know it??? But it made for a very nice rest day. Of course I woke up at 5:25 AM as usual, even though we had no timetable... at about 9 AM, Beverly (from Rochester, NY) and I decided to take the Santa Fe Trails bus to downtown Santa Fe and check it out. What a great place! We ended up spending all day there, walking around and shopping, had a nice leisurely lunch, mailed some packages we'd been hauling around for almost a week. Of course we mailed the packages first, and after shopping all day, have a few other things to mail...

Old Santa Fe is very charming--all the buildings look like old adobe. Lots of galleries and NO CHAIN STORES. There were local artists set up in the plaza and in front of the Federal Building selling their wares. Inside some of the shops, jewelry and pottery from more elite artists were on display and for sale. Very nice! The whole atmosphere was warm and welcoming (not at all like our experience in Albuquerque the day before). It was a great place for a rest day, even though I did not rest much.

We went to the Loretto Chapel. Yes, L, it is the one with no visible means of support built by an itinerant carpenter who showed up and created this impossible piece of work out of wood never before seen in this area. It is indeed quite impressive, although my phone did not take a very clear photo of it. I have the digital camera now, but went downtown without it today.

When we returned to the hotel it was almost dinnertime, so we met up with Ron and went out for a beer and some food. We had a nice quiet dinner, for a change! Large group meals do not equate to quiet conversation! I guess maybe it is a good thing that we are on our own for meals on rest days... gives us a chance to regroup and recover mentally as well as physically.

Back in the saddle tomorrow, for a nine day run, at the end of which we will be in the flatlands of middle America (Abilene, KS). This is all going by so fast! Looking at our marked up map we have come about 25% of the way already!

Note to Wooster: you got through this time.
Note to Erika: Thanks for the cookies! It's been a long time since I had anything homemade. I miss my own cooking! What can that mean?