At 7,834 feet, Raton Pass at the Colorado-New Mexico border now ranks in my book as one of the best passes in the country. As you know, I do not "do" mountains and although I was a bit anxious, the "Mountain Directory West" assured us it was an easy ride. They were correct. The 6% grades were each no more than a mile long then the hiway flattened out before the next grade came along.

I can say to my fellow mountain challenged people with total confidence it was a "piece of cake!"

State Seal of New Mexico.

New Mexico State Capital Building in Santa Fe, definitely not your typical state capital building!

Often called "the round house", earlier described by one governor as the "ugliest building in town." He went out and scoured the state for hundreds of indigenous flora and ordered the grounds planted to hide the structure. This picture was taken before the campus was overgrown with his creative camouflage.

note: picture borrowed from the Wikipedia website.

Pictures at the entrance showing the previous and more traditional capital buildings in Santa Fe.

Very impressive entrance to the governor's office and art gallery.

The state of New Mexico uses the capital building as an ever changing gallery displaying the work of local artisans. This gorgeous wooden trunk is overlaid with embossed metal (aluminum?). It was a lovely surprise when we went inside to look around.

Beautiful ...

Very interesting concept--painted metal collages that are extremely colorful and rich looking.

11:54 am Saturday October 27, 2007

I am trying to continue uploading pictures into my blog after losing the internet last Sunday and not getting back on line all week (equipment failure) but NOW I am back online but Blogger is not cooperating! I will try again later today. Maybe it will be less busy.

I thought this large case built from an old door then painted to house treasures was the most clever example of recycling I have ever seen.

Rotunda dome.

Three levels around the rotunda displaying just some of the art work in the building.

Colorful and imaginative examples.

Phil and I were fascinated by this piece of art work.

S-o-o-o-o inventive. S-o-o-o creative!

A closer look at the "found" items used to create this beauty!

Vendor row across the street from the plaza.

Native American vendors lined up with their wares for sale. Each one had a "permit" from the city to be there. As we browsed along the row, it all started to look alike and I have been told the bulk of their raw material is imported. Very expensive and very disappointing.

Pueblo architecture everywhere you look. I suppose it could be a city mandate because it is definitely the preferred appearance.

Very expensive "bling" in the window of a shop across the street from the Santa Fe Plaza.

This large gallery in downtown Santa Fe has many bronzes on display around the outside of the building. I so admire people with the talent to create these incredibly beautiful pieces of art.