Santa Fe, New Mexico 2014

After talking to a few people about New Mexico we decided to bypass Albuquerque and head straight for Santa Fe.  We are so glad we decided to drive a little further north to see this historical town.  We parked the camper in a nice campground that allowed us to walked into downtown.  Once downtown we didn't waste a second diving into the local food, shops and gorgeous old churches.

First stop for lunch was Tomasita's for the local delicacy of green chilies. It was recommended that we have the green chili fries, and oh they did not disappoint.  They were delish!  

A taste of the downtown architecture. 

After lunch we bobbed into several historical churches to stay out of the rain.  The were all lovely.  Even Jamie agreed that they were fascinating.  Usually I have to drag him through these sort of things. 

Touching sculpture on one of the church walls.

The doorway to one of the churches we toured.

One incredibly special church that we toured was Loretto Chapel.  FYI there is a fee of $3.00 to enter the chapel.  It is small but it is worth it.  

The Rosary Tree in front of Loretto Chapel.

The Miraculous Staircase. 

Loretto used to be a girls school.  The little chapel was built without a staircase to the choir loft.  There wasn't much room to put a staircase.  The chapel was so small that putting in a normal staircase would wipe out a few rows of pews.  One day a carpenter dropped in and said he could build the staircase.  Here is the story http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html.  It is worth reading.