Magnificent bull elk!

This cowboy startled me as I turned the corner. So life-like!

I loved this life-size pregnant sow although she looks so uncomfortable!

Loretto Chapel in downtown Santa Fe New Mexico.

The entrance. The church is owned by a private family today and they charge a small ($2) fee per person. Also, a nice gift shop sells all kinds of religious accoutrement's along with the usual tourist stuff.

A small amount of info about the chapel but if you want more just google: Loretto Chapel Santa Fe NM

This miniature just inside the entrance gave us our first peek at the famous staircase.

Information says the stained glass for the chapel was brought in by wagon. Can you imagine the ride all these pieces endured across the desert?

All different, all beautiful.

Stained glass windows above the front entrance.

The "miraculous staircase" which legend says was constructed or inspired by St. Joseph the Carpenter was built sometime between 1877 and 1881.

Constructed in 1873-1878 for the Sisters of Loretto at the end of the Santa Fe Trail. The design is patterned after King Louis IX's Sainte-Chapelle in Paris; a striking contrast to the adobe churches already in the area at the time it was built.

I took a quick snapshot of this profusion of flowers along the railing of a motel in downtown Santa Fe as we drove by. It was such a beautiful addition to the usual bleak and bare surroundings for travelers, it made me want to spend the night!

Doors anyone? What fun it would be to build a home with this assortment of design elements available.

New Mexico has many painted freeway overpasses. The colors are bright and each design is different. A wonderful addition to usually boring interstate highways.

Each one is different. Beautiful!

My nephew and his wife took us to dinner in downtown Santa Fe at the historic hotel, The LaFonda. Lovely ambiance with good food and impeccable service.

L-R: Jiaming, Joshua, Dane and Joy.

I love this picture!

Saying goodbye in the parking garage.

1:49 pm Sunday, October 14, 2007

We arrived in Tucson, AZ this past Wednesday. We are here for a total of 21 days, seven of which we will attend the Datastorm Users (satellite internet) Rally to be held where we are staying at Beaudry RV Park. We decided to spend some extra time in Tucson before and after the rally because we wanted to get to know the city better but the freeway/road construction going on in Pima County is horrendous and is making that difficult. No matter the address we program, our Garmin GPS wants us to take the freeway (the shortest route across town) but after the first trip, we knew that was a mistake. All the exits into Tucson from I-10 are blocked (they are widening the freeway). Once on, you are trapped and cannot exit until you reach the other side of town. So—we are making our own way via city streets of which many are also in the middle of some kind of reconfiguration. Needless to say, we have taken some interesting round-about trips to reach our destinations. However, we are sure getting to see more of the city as we had planned and the only time it was a bit hairy was when trying to get to the theater in time for a movie we wanted to see. Otherwise, we have more time than money so we try to relax and enjoy the ride.

I pick up my travelogue in Scottsbluff, NE where I left off in my last post.