SANTA FE VISIT II

Tuesday, October 12th:

We enjoyed breakfast in Klara’s room at 0830. 

Afterwards we were off to drive the Chumayo loop which takes you North of Santa Fe and out in the country. It started to rain shortly and continued most of the day. It was not a heavy rain, but did put a bit of a damper on the day's activities. We visited a couple of galleries along the loop, as well as three weaving shops. 

                                Gallery Art

Lunch was at Rancho Chumayo Restaurant. We enjoyed the prickly pear lemonade >>

                               KLARA AND TINA

                             NANCY AND GEORGE

which was as good as I remembered it. George and I had eaten here several years ago with our good friends Pat and Janeane when we had joined them to enjoy the Santa Fe Opera. Lunch was excellent as well - George and I split a shrimp enchilada plate made with blue corn tortillas. Afterwards we visited the Ortiz Weaving Gallery and found not only some nice placemats but also some very nice jewelry. Christmas presents were purchased for all.   

 

Back in Santa Fe we had a beer with Justin and Tina in their room, before we were called out by Klara to walk a bit around town. After visiting the La Fonda Inn we returned to the hotel and enjoyed a little wine and chocolate with Klara and Tina before calling it a day.

Wednesday,October 13th:  

Breakfast at Tia Sophia’s again. I Had the Wednesday Special Breakfast: a breakfast quesadilla with bacon. An excellent choice.

We were then off to Canyon Road to browse the various galleries. Canyon Road consists of many galleries and shops, and is about ¾ of a mile in length. It was a pleasant time. Saw some different art and jewelry.—My favorites were painting in feathers and Karina’s for art and jewelry.

Bright Fall Color along Canyon Road

                          One of Many Galleries

 We reconnected at the Tea House where I had a cup of soup and a lemonade, should have gotten a hot tea or mocha as it was chilly sitting outside. 

George took off on foot to the hotel with Klara.  Tina, Justin, and I drove to Fort Marcy located strategically at the top of a hill that overlooks Santa Fe and is the site of the first fort constructed by the USA under Gen. Kearny.  It has a grand panoramic view of the city and its surroundings.

Thursday, October 14th: 

Up and off from the Hotel at 0630 to photograph morning light around the Basilica.

Basilica in Morning Light

Artists at Work

Morning Glow

It was fun to get out with the camera and do some photography. The girls worked their magic with water colors. The temperature hovered around 30˚F! We called it a morning about 0800 and enjoyed a mocha at the French Crepe and Pastry shop for a much needed warm up. Brought some pastries to the Hotel where we had breakfast in the  room.

Santa Fe Architecture

Afterwards we were off to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Ghost Ranch where Georgia O"Keeffe spent a great deal of her time which is located Northwest of Santa Fe and about 50 miles away. It was a pleasant drive and we enjoyed a little photography on  the way into the ranch area. 

    Old Cart

                          Small chapel in Abiquiu

Aging?     

 

    Rural Scene

o No sooner had I gotten out of the car and was recognized by Sandy Sparks—— a participant from our Galapagos Trip in 2018!!!! She was there with her sister but she immediately recognized me. What a small world.!!!! 

    

   Entrance area to Ghost Ranch

Again we enjoyed wandering around taking in the sights and colors, as well as the geology. Klara and Tina again set up for some watercolor painting at the Ranch site. We were there for an hour and could have spent more time but dinner reservations called. I would also have preferably been able to stay later in the day as the light would have been softer. 

I enjoyed walking around the area with my camera:

It was nice to experience what makes New Mexico Fall Color special.

Back in town we changed some clothes and headed to the La Fonda to celebrate our anniversary with dinner. We all enjoyed the meal and the setting.

                Enjoying a Delicious Dinner

On our walk back to the Hotel we found this bumper sticker on display in a shop window:

We wished that we could have purchase one, but the store was closed.

Back at the Hotel we started the packing process for tomorrow when we will take Klara to the Albuquerque Airport, and then go onto  Winslow, AZ and an evening with our good friends, Janeane and Pat.

Friday, Saturday October 15-16th:  

Les artistes went out again this morning for another wander around the Basilica. The girls again did some painting while I meandered around with my camera. The architecture in the town is very Southwestern around the square and downtown, and fun to photograph.

After a quick breakfast we were off for points West. The drive was pleasant though the truck traffic on I-40 was heavy. 

Pat and Janeane were waiting for us by the train tracks at La Posada. The La Posada is a stop on the route of the Amtrak's Southwest Chief that goes from Los Angeles to Chicago.

We enjoyed a pleasant evening with them having not seen them for a couple of months. We look forward to seeing them in San Juan Capistrano in early December.

Saturday, October 16th: 

The drive on to San Diego went smoothly, and we were home about 1800. After a quick unpacking of the car we went and picked up our dog, Sierra,

who had been staying with her breeder and family.

In summary, it was wonderful to see the girls and enjoy the sights and sounds of Santa Fe.

SANTA FE IN OCTOBER 2021

Saturday, October 9th:

 We were off to Santa Fe for a family rendezvous. This was our first family gathering since the start of the Pandemic and the restrictions in travel and visits started in March 2020. We were all vaccinated and bolstered so we ventured out.

Today our goal was the reach Winslow, AZ where we would stay at the La Posada Hotel. 

Sweet Pretzels for road 

trip breakfast

It was a long day on the road with the distance covered being about 525 miles. 

On the Road

The drive went smoothly with one 25 minute slow down on I-17 North of Phoenix. 

We enjoyed the stop at Sunset Overlook which overlooks a long valley and I can see where it could be a photo op. 

                                Arizona Poppy

                                    Sunset Valley

We Had a scenic drive through forest the last 100 miles with very little traffic. Once in Winslow we topped off the gas a little too much and did not pay attention to the auto shut off. Got it done safely though.

After checking into La Posada we went for a short walk with a stop and photo op at THE CORNER. 

      Standing on the Corner and Singing the tune

Then we went for more of a walk in the residential area. Dinner in the Turquoise Room was very good - we split an elk entree. Noise was awful though. There is nothing to dampen the noise in the room. The sound just bounces off the walls, ceiling and tile floor.

                             Halloween Decor

Sunday, October 10: 

Drove onto Santa Fe today. The drive slowed by a crash on I-25 which caused a 30 minute delay. Overcast part of the time so we could see some rain clouds and actually had a few sprinkles. Google Maps did a great job of navigating us to the Hilton on the Plaza. Checked in and got a bit of the unpacking done before the girls and Justin arrived. Soon there after we were off for a little wandering about and stretching our legs. We enjoyed a  light dinner at the Ortiz, the cafe and bar area of our hotel. I enjoyed a Quesadilla with a cold Negra Modelo. As it was still early we wandered and window shopped around the Plaza some more.

 

                               Santa Fe Plaza

Monday, October 11: 

Slept in to about 0630!  We went to breakfast at a small restaurant on San Francisco Street - Tia Sophia - and then started browsing shop around the Plaza. Found the world of David Yarrow, a fine arts photographer, at the Sorrel Sky Gallery and shop. He produces very large prints in black and white. really enjoyed his work. We got three books describing his work and his writing about taking the photos. He sets up his shoots with lots of planning a layout.

We called a rest stop for George and I about noon. Went back to the Hotel and I read most of one of the Yarrow books and then took about a half hour nap while George went for a much longer nap.

Early dinner/late lunch at the Los Magueyes, a small restaurant located on Burro Alley.

                       Entrance to Burro Alley

off of San Francisco St. The food was excellent and we were all happy with our choices.

Then off again for browsing. I was headed for the Museum of the Presidents but we revisited the Sorrel Sky Gallery to take another look at David Yarrow works! Wandered around by the city offices, and then finally back to the Hotel.

                           A Santa Fe Residence

Klara went off to do some grocery shopping for snacks and breakfast foods for the next couple of days.

BEARS AND BIRDS

 TUESDAY, JUNE 22nd:

This morning we were off to view and photograph Vermillion Falls. The water cascades through a 10 foot wide gorge as the river heads for Crane Lake.

I enjoyed the view of the Falls as well photographing it with various shutter speeds, and framing.

Afterwards we headed back to the house for breakfast. Then we were off cruising Crane Lake for more opportunities of photographing the birds that use the lake:

Loons with chicks -

Herring Gull chicks - 

A Bald Eagle -

In the afternoon we went to the bears and shared the experience with the general crowd from the viewing platform.

Wednesday, June 23rd:

Once again we were off to see the bears in the morning. We started an hour earlier as it was quite hot yesterday and the forecast for today was more of the same. Every day you experience different activities by the bears. This is due in part because we do not see the same bears every day.

Bears cubs in the trees are always fun to see though they are a long way away, and sometimes the angles are not conducive to good photography, but then it again it might work out.

We again shared the area with National Geographic photographers. In the morning when we are the only ones there, you can go down onto the ground and get eye level photographs. You can get quite close as you can see. As long as you move slowly, and do not look the bear in the eye you are relatively safe. They are used to having people there with them. There is no direct interaction between the bears and the people.

Sometimes you can be distracted from the bears to photograph other wildlife ---

Milbert's Tortoise Shell Butterfly 

    Red Spotted Admiral Butterfly

Doing What Comes Naturally

Bear exercises -

Stretching The Hamstrings?

    A Little Yoga? Dancing?

Some big bears --

As you can see they come in all different sizes and colors, but they are all black bears, Ursus americanus.

In the afternoon we again went out onto the lake in search of birds mostly. Our reward was common mergansers with chicks. As it was quite windy and the lake water choppy we saw few loons.

The mergansers had large families --

This loon was bobbing around in the lake.

This evening we enjoyed dinner at our lake home prepared by Connie, Cathy, and Scott. It was very relaxing and enjoyable. The hosts of the Norway Lodge, Sarah and Paul joined us. Paul shared with us his collection of artifacts he has collected over the years - arrow heads, stone tools, etc. It was quite interesting. Paul has been our boating guide and has done an outstanding job.

Thursday, June 24th:

This was our last day for photography. We spent the morning with the bears at the Vince Shute Bear sanctuary. Again there were cubs in the trees, sometimes highlighted by bits of sunlight.

A dozing bear - 

A couple of bears sparing - 

A big bear - 

and one more up in a tree - 

Tonight we went to Nelson Lodge for dinner. It sits at the lake edge, 

and we enjoyed the sunset view. Once again I enjoyed a walleye dinner, this time accompanied with a Negra Modelo cerveza.

Friday, June 25:

 Today was a travel day for all. Most of the group had driven to Minnesota from the Illinois/Iowa area.

Susan and Julie had come from the Chicago area. I was the only one to fly. The return trip, for me, was about four hours of driving, followed by six hours at the Minneapolis Airport before boarding a plane for my flight to San Diego.

While at the airport I found a relatively quiet corner to sit in. There I started the process of editing my photographs.

The flight home went smoothly, but there was a very slow delivery of the checked luggage. Once home I enjoyed a crab sandwich before a shower and bed.

It was great to get out with photography as the main purpose. We had very good weather and great Photo ops. Returning to the various locales made for great opportunities. As a result I think I did well by

the trip.

Hope that this finds you all well, and that the Covid Virus is getting more and more under control in all areas.