SEPTEMBER 12 - 25, 2014
NEW MEXICO FLAG
September 12
New York***Santa Fe
Flew from New York LGA Airport to Atlanta, changed planes and arrived in Albuquerque then took the Shuttle bus to Santa Fe. The reunion was on its second day and everybody was already there.
September 13
Santa Fe***Taos***Santa Fe
This morning we took the official group photo.
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Then in a convoy of three cars we drove through the scenic High Road to Taos, stopping first at the Santuario de Chimayó. El Santuario de Chimayó is a Roman Catholic church and this shrine, a National Historic Landmark, is famous for the story of its founding and as a contemporary pilgrimage site. It receives almost 300,000 visitors per year and has been called "no doubt the most important Catholic pilgrimage center in the United States."
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Next stop was Las Trampas (Spanish for "traps"), founded in 1751 by twelve Spanish families from Santa Fe. It is known for the San José de Gracia Church, built between 1760 and 1776 and considered a model of the adobe colonial Spanish missions in New Mexico.
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Drove to Taos Pueblo, an ancient pueblo belonging to a Tiwa-speaking Native American tribe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is approximately 1000 years old and is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. Took the tour of the pueblo with a Tiwan guide.
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Back in town we stopped at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for some ice cream then visited the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
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Arrived in Santa Fe just in time for cocktails at the Inn and Spa at the Loretto which is right next to the Loretto Chapel with mysterious staircase before going back to the Marcy Suites for dinner with the group.
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September 14
Santa Fe***Albuquerque***Mesa Verde
Colorado Flag
Stopped at the Visitors Center and at a few lookouts before checking in at the Far View Lodge.
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The Anasazi, who kept no written records, inhabited Mesa Verde between 600 to 1300, and maybe until the start of the 15th century. They were mainly subsistence farmers, growing crops, like corn, on nearby mesas. The men were also hunters and the women were famous for their elegant basket weaving. Anasazi pottery and other artifacts are highly prized. By the year 750 the people were building mesa-top villages made of adobe but in the late 1190s they began to build the cliff dwellings for which Mesa Verde is famous.
After checking in we drove to the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, which has a lot of Indian artifacts. We hiked later to the nearby Spruce Tree House, constructed sometime between AD 1211 and 1278, which had 130 rooms and eight kivas. It is believed anywhere from 60 to 80 people lived there at one time.
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Dinner was a bowl of chili and a Belgian-style Colorado IPA beer at the Far View Terrace Restaurant. Later I went for an IPA beer at the Lodge's bar.
September 15
Mesa Verde Tour
This morning after breakfast we took the Mesa Verde 700 Years Tour which will give us an overall view of the ancestral Puebloan architectural, horticultural, cultural and religious dimensions of the life of the Puebloan people.
First stop was the first Pithouse dated 600 A.D.
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Got off the bus next at the Square Tower Overlook.
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Next stop are the Pithouses from 750-900 A.D.
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The Sun Temple was the next stop. It's thought of as a ceremonial place with its twin kivas, unfinished with no roof or roof timbers.
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The highlight of the tour is next: hike to the Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America, dating indicates that construction and refurbishing of Cliff Palace was continuous from c. 1190 CE through c. 1260 CE, although the major portion of the building was done within a twenty-year time span. It was abandoned by 1300, some believe a series of megadroughts interrupting food production systems is the main cause. It was first discovered in 1888 by Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason while out looking for stray cattle.
It was quite a strenuous hike, climbing up and down log stairs, but definitely worth it!
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We got back to the Far View Lodge and met up with Jack and Nelia then we went to lunch at the Spruce Tree Terrace Cafe where I had a bison sausage sandwich with sweet potato fries and an IPA beer. We later browsed in the adjacent souvenir shop.
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Then we drove around the Mesa Loop Road to see the other cliff dwellings.
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Dinner was at the Metate Room where we had a bottle of Prosecco and for my main course I had the Marinated Grilled Quail served with red chili polenta, seasoned vegetables and prickly pear red pepper jam. Nice dinner.
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September 16
Moab***Arches NP
Utah Flag
Some scenery as we approached Moab.
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It was too early to check in at La Quinta so we drove to Arches NP to check out the Visitors Center where I got my stamp for my National Parks Passport.
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We went to lunch and then checked in at the hotel before going back to the park. First stop was a huge rock formation that is known as Park Avenue. Then one known as The Organ, pictured with Caloy and Elvie.
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Next we saw The Three Gossips, Sheep Rock and Balanced Rock.
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Garden of Eden and the Parade of Elephants
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North Window and Turret Arch
North Window
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South Window
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North and South Windows; Turret Arch
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Double Arch and Fiery Furnace
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Skyline Arch and Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint
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Hiked to the Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint but it was still too far to appreciate the most famous arch in the park; Balanced Rock at sunset
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Dinner tonight was at the nearby BBQ restaurant where I had a Po' Boy sandwich and a beer.
September 17
Arches NP***Salt Lake City
After breakfast we went back to Arches NP and drove to Devil's Garden.
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I first stopped to see the Tunnel Arch and the Pine Tree Arch.
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Continued the hike and finally reached the Landscape Arch, the longest of the many natural rock arches.
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Caloy and I decided to do the much more strenuous hike to Delicate Arch. It took almost an hour of uphill hike in the sizzling heat, on narrow steep ledges but it was well worth it.
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Another 50 minutes hike down and I came upon some petroglyphs.
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Exhausted with the hike and the heat we drove out of the Park and started our drive to Salt Lake City where I will be flying out of the next day for Las Vegas. Dinner was at a very nice little restaurant called Eva's where I had an excellent seafood risotto (scallop, shrimp, lobster tail, saffron, spinach, artichoke).
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September 18-24
SLC***Las Vegas
NEVADA FLAG
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September 24
Las Vegas***New York
Flew back to New York after a nice vacation!
