Santa Fe Travel Guide, Discount & Cheap Santa Fe Travel & Tourism, Free Santa Fe Travel Guide Online
Santa Fe Travel Guide: Discount & Cheap Santa Fe Travel & Tourism, Free Santa Fe Travel Guide Online
Santa Fe (meaning the Holy Faith) is an ancient city nestled at an elevation of 7000 feet in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. It was established in 1610 and is the oldest capital city in the United States. The culture of the Pueblo people of New Mexico predated the European settlement of Santa Fe by 12,000 years.
Today, the high desert of Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico are, of course, part of the American landscape but not always strictly North American. The Pueblo, Spanish, and Anglo cultures interweave the old with the new creating a rich, often mystifying effect.
What has caused the population of Santa Fe to triple over the past 50 years? Ironically, it is primarily the desire of new residents for a small town atmosphere! However, they seek this in combination with a centrally located, sophisticated urban setting with access to a wealth of cultural opportunities. For artists, it is additionally the indescribable beauty of the physical surroundings that draws and keeps them in love with this colorful city.
Santa Fe is known for its many world class museums, shops and boutiques, art galleries, and wide range of entertainment from opera and dance to theater to music which can keep visitors busy both day and night. Much of what Santa Fe has to offer is located within the historic downtown area, which has a definite European feel, and can be covered easily on foot. Strict construction guidelines mandate the territorial and Spanish colonial architecture that characterizes the Santa Fe style. City codes allow no high rises to block the mountain views.
For those with outdoor recreation in mind, Santa Fe is surrounded by more than 1.5 million acres of National Forest and public land which offer fishing, camping and hunting within easy reach. Hiking, biking, kayaking, backpacking, mountain climbing, cross-country or downhill skiing at the Santa Fe Ski Area, white water rafting and wind surfing are all available during the year. Golf, tennis and even bird watching are other ways to enjoy the typically sunny, temperate days.
Add to this world class shopping or investigating why the city is a major center for alternative healing and it is easy to understand how visitors to Santa Fe never seem to lack for an itinerary. The city also offers meeting and conference facilities and services for those wanting to mix business with pleasure. Part of every day is enjoyably spent exploring the local cuisine in all its forms and subtleties.
For inner journeying there is a broad ranging alternative healing and thought community in Santa Fe that provides a number of bookstores, physicians, lectures and workshops.
For those who seek a vacation of tranquility and rejuvenation surrounded by the magnificence of mountains, sky, sunrises and sunsets, there is no other place on earth quite as satisfying as this city of peace and tranquility in the Land of Enchantment.
Santa Fe Attractions: Santa Fe Travel Guide, Discount & Cheap Santa Fe Travel & Tourism, Free Santa Fe Travel Guide Online
A Home to Artists Since the turn of the century, Santa Fe has been a refuge for painters, sculptors, writers, musicians and crafts people of national and international caliber. Writers including Mary Austin, Willa Cather, Jack London, H.L. Mencken, Ezra Pound, Witter Bynner and Winfield Townley Scott either lived year round in Santa Fe or were frequent visitors. Painters Edward Hopper and Marsden Hartley lived in Santa Fe in the 1920's and 1930's, and the town was also home base for such well-known artists as Robert Henri, John Sloan, Andrew Dasburg, George Bellows and Randall Davey. Composer Aaron Copland lived in Santa Fe in 1928, and Igor Stravinsky summered in Santa Fe for more than a decade, working frequently with the Santa Fe Opera.
Archdiocese of Santa Fe Museum 223 Cathedral Place 983-3811 9-4:30 Mon-Sat Donations accepted. Admission free. A small but impressive museum featuring historical documents, photographs, and artifacts that trace the development and role of the Catholic Church in New Mexico.
Bataan Memorial Military Museum and Library 1050 Old Pecos Trail 474-1670 Tues.-Sat. 7:30-3:30 No admission charge The museum was organized through the efforts of the New Mexico National Guard and displays artifacts collected by the state's military veterans. It honors all New Mexicans who have done military service. It occupies an old armory and displays items from World War I through Desert Storm. The highlight is a tribute to the Bataan veterans, the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment that was sent to the Philippines to furnish anti aircraft support. The regiment was later divided to form the 515th Coast Artillery Regiment. The regiment saw action on Bataan when the Japanese occupied the Philippines in 1942. The 200th is credited with firing the first shot and being the last to surrender to the Armies of Japan. Over half of the regiment was killed in the Pacific or imprisoned. A perpetual flame burns in their memory outside the state government building named in their honor. The museum has 30,000 artifacts, an extensive research library and an archive of military documents relating to New Mexico's history.
Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi 213 Cathedral Place 982-5619 Daily 6am-5:45pm mass is celebrated daily. Constructed from New Mexico golden brown sandstone, St. Francis was the first church between Durango, Mexico and St. Louis to be designated a cathedral. Archbishop Jean Lamy supervised its construction. He died before its completion and is buried under the church's altar. Building began in 1869 and the exterior was completed in 1884. Work continued for many years after that. Bishop Lamy had recruited artisans from Europe to build and decorate the cathedral. It features Romanesque style stained glass imported from Clermont, France and dual bell towers. Corinthian columns lead to a ribbed vaulted ceiling. Frosted glass chandeliers light the sanctuary. The windows depict the twelve apostles. In later years stations of the cross painted in the New Mexican folk art (santero) style were hung on the wall beneath the European style windows. In a small chapel is a religious icon revered by local worshipers: it is a small wooden statue of the Virgin Mary who was known many years ago as La Conquistadora (The Conquerer) and is now called Nuestra Señora de la Paz, (Our Lady of Peace). It is the oldest representation of the Madonna in the United States. it has been carried to safety in and out of Santa Fe over the past 400 + years whenever there was war or an uprising of any kind. The massive bronze doors of the cathedral have etchings that depict more than 4 centuries of the history of the Roman Catholic religion in New Mexico. Each panel weighs 25 pounds.
Cristo Rey Church 1120 Canyon Road 983-8528 Daily 7am-7pm Admission is free. The parish of Cristo Rey uses this church, in America's largest adobe building, for regular worship, but visitors are welcome. Cristo Rey was built of 200,000 adobe bricks made from soil on the church's site. It was built in 1940 during the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Coronado in the southwest. There is a sculpted Spanish colonial style altar screen decorated with images of the saints that was crafted in 1760.
Cross of the Martyrs Paseo de Peralta at Otero Street no telephone and no regular hours of operation Admission free. Informative plaques line the walkway to the memorial, summarizing the early history of the city and the events that led to the death of the Franciscan missionaries who are memorialized by the 20 foot metal cross at the path's end.
El Rancho de las Golondrinas 334 Los Pinos Road la Cienega 471-2261 Admission also varies by event. take I25 to exit 246 and bear right on new Mexico Highway 599. Turn left at the first intersection on the frontage road and right just before the race track on Los Pinos Road. the museum is 3 miles from the intersection. Note: The museum's self-guided tour involves about a 1.5-mile walk over roads and trails that are sometimes steep and rocky. Allow at least an hour and a half for the tour. The ranch was the last stop before Santa Fe between Mexico City and the northern province of New Spain. As such, it was an oasis in an arduous journey. Centuries later, the natural beauty remains. Approximately 15 miles southwest of Santa Fe, El Rancho de las Golondrinas, "the ranch of the swallows," offers a vivid re-creation of the area's 18th and 19thcentury history. The restored buildings, built on original foundations, have been furnished as appropriate to the period. You can visit an 18th-century placita house, a home built around a patio with thick walls and defensive towers. You can see a water-powered mill, feel the heat in a blacksmith shop, visit a school house, hike through the mountain village and notice the solemnity in the morada, a chapel/meeting house used by an influential religious society. Festivals and special Civil War weekend demonstrations are popular with locals and visitors.. During these lively events, volunteers dress in traditional costumes, chat with visitors and demonstrate many of the skills early settlers needed to survive on the frontier. The museum comes alive with dancing, music, sales of food and crafts and activities of all sorts. You can see, taste, smell, hear and touch the life of Spanish Colonial and Territorial New Mexico. El Rancho de las Golondrinas also presents theme weekends throughout the summer, focusing on topics such as arts, oral history and storytelling, Colonial traditions, the Catholic faith as it shaped the area's arts and the animals the Spanish brought with them.
El Zaguan 545 Canyon Rd. o 983-2567 (Historic Santa Fe Foundation) 8 - noon Mon - Fri. Visitors are welcome. This long, rambling Territorial style house has long been regarded as one of New Mexico's showplaces. The old hacienda with its lovely garden was named El Zaguan, "the passageway," because of the long hall running from the patio to the garden. James Johnson, one of the first Yankee merchants to settle permanently in Santa Fe, purchased the property, which included a small house, in 1849. In the Santa Fe pattern, the building was enlarged and remodeled several times. The house, today with 14 rooms, once had 24 rooms, including a chapel, a "chocolate room," and a library that once housed the largest collection of books in the territory. Servants' quarters were across the street. In 1962 the property was purchased for preservation by El Zaguan Inc., and today one of its apartments is an office shared by the Historic Santa Fe Foundation and the Old Santa Fe Association.
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum 217 Johnson St. 995-0785 The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum is America's first museum dedicated to the work of a woman artist of international stature. O'Keeffe visited New Mexico in 1917 and moved there permanently in 1949, settling in an old adobe home in the small village of Abiquiu She lived there, inspired by the landscape and the light, for nearly 40 years before moving to Santa Fe a few years before her death in 1986 at age 98. The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum houses the world's largest permanent collection of her work, including many pieces the artist kept for herself that have never exhibited previously. The museum displays drawings, paintings, pastels, sculptures and watercolors that O'Keeffe produced between 1916 and 1980. Flowers and bleached desert bones, abstractions, nudes, landscapes, city scapes and still lifes were all subjects of interest to her. The museum's galleries trace O'Keeffe's artistic evolution in a wide range of media and follow the depth and breadth of her long, productive career. As a secondary goal, the museum collects works by contemporaries of O'Keeffe who were part of her artistic community. Anne and John Marion, philanthropists who funded the new visual arts center at the College of Santa Fe, endowed the 13,000-square foot museum. The display throughout the museum's 10 galleries is simple and unpretentious, just as O'Keeffe would have liked. The museum offers guided tours, educational programming and special eventsI also features a short video about O'Keeffe's life and her contribution to American art.
The Georgia O'Keeffe House C.R. 165, No. 13, Abiquiu 685-4539 The Abiquiu house of the late Georgia O'Keeffe. The 7,000-square-foot adobe house is strikingly beautiful yet very simple and almost austere. Once off-limits to the public, the mesa top home and its magnificent views are now available by appointment only.
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum 108 Cathedral Pl. 988-6281 10- 5 Mon - Sat and noon - 5 Sunday. Admission charged. The museum is affiliated with the Institute of American Indian Arts, which has long been one of America's leading schools in this field. Among the teachers and students whose work has put the IAIA on the national map are Allan Houser, Fritz Scholder, Linda Lomahaftewa and T.C. Cannon. With more than 6,500 pieces in the collection representing 3,000 artists, the museum is the largest repository of contemporary Indian art in the world. Painting and sculpture, traditional crafts such as beadwork, pottery, weaving and basketry are displayed in the museum's five galleries. The museum offers educational programming and the outdoor Allan Houser Art Park for large sculpture.
Jémez State Monument A 500-year-old Indian village and a 17th century Catholic mission share this beautiful prehistoric site.
Lamy Building 491 Old Santa Fe Tr. o 827-7336 (State of New Mexico Santa Fe Welcome Center) The visitors center is open from 8 - to 5 daily Named after Archbishop Jean Lamy, the building was erected in 1878 as part of St. Michael's College, the oldest private school in New Mexico. The three-story structure had classrooms and community rooms on the first two floors and a dormitory for the boys who came from throughout northern New Mexico on the third floor. With its tower, portico, galleries, veranda and mansard roof, the building is typical of many 19th-century New Mexico buildings. The Lamy Building's two-story portal is one of the few remaining in Santa Fe.
Loretto Chapel 207 Old Santa Fe Tr. 984-7971 9 - 6 daily and 10:30- 5 Sunday. Admission charged; children under 6 free Built for the Sisters of Loretto, the architectural style of this chapel testifies to the influence of Santa Fe's first bishop, Frenchman Jean Baptiste Lamy. The Sisters came to Santa Fe at the request of Lamy to establish a school for young women downtown. The French influence includes the white altar, beautifully adorned sanctuary, rose windows and architectural beauty modeled after Paris' Sainte Chapelle. The chapel's claim to fame, however, is a graceful spiral staircase that winds to the choir loft with no center support and not a single nail. Legend has it that work on the chapel was nearly done when the sisters realized no room remained for a traditional staircase. They prayed to St. Joseph for guidance, and believed he answered their novena when a carpenter arrived. He agreed to build the staircase. Using only a saw, a carpenter's square and tubs of hot water to soften and shape the wood, he crafted a beautiful circular staircase. He then disappeared before he could be paid.
The Museum of New Mexico Administrative offices, 113 Lincoln Ave. 827-6451 The four museums operated by the Museum of New Mexico: Palace of the Governors, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology, and the privately funded Georgia O'Keeffe Museum follow the same pricing schedule and hours. From 5 - 8 on Fridays all patrons receive free admission at The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts and The Palace of the Governors. Annual passes are available. All branches of the Museum of New Mexico and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum are open from 10- 5 Tues. - Sun. The Museum of Fine Arts, Palace of the Governors and The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum are also open from 5 - 8 on Fridays. The museums are closed Mondays, New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. For information about the Museum of New Mexico's events and attractions call the 24-hour information line, 827-6463.
Museum of Fine Arts 107 W. Palace Ave. 827-4468 The state's oldest art museum features more than 20,000 works of art from the Southwest.The museum is a beautiful example of the Pueblo Revival style of construction, complete with split cedar latillas (roof supports), hand hewn vigas (log roof beams) and corbels. The gracious style reflected in the thick walls, pleasantly landscaped central courtyard, smooth interior plaster and other finishing touches became synonymous with "Santa Fe Style." The Museum of Fine Arts offers art classes for children, an extensive program of lectures and gallery talks. The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival makes its home in the museum's St. Francis Auditorium during the summer.
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology 710 Camino Lejo 827-6344 Presenting the diverse stories that illuminate the art and history of Native America through two millennia.Housed in a large new wing, the exhibit "Here, Now and Always" tells the story of the Native American presence in the Southwest with more than 1,300 objects and a multimedia production created during the eight-year period the museum spent in collaboration with Native American elders, artists, scholars, teachers, builders and writers. These consultants worked with a team of Indian and non-Indian museum curators and designers to develop an exhibit that combines the actual voices of contemporary American Indians with ancient artifacts. The architectural design helps bring centuries of culture and tradition to life The exhibit uses stone and silver, clay and wool, feast days, fairs and family stories to tell of the enduring communities of the Southwest. To orient visitors, it incorporates the landscape itself, mesas and settlements, plazas and sacred peaks. Visitors proceed by theme through the galleries. You can visit a pueblo kitchen, an Apache wickiup, a Navajo hogan, a 1930s trading post and a contemporary vendor's booth at a tribal feast day celebration. The stories in "Here, Now and Always" are told on video tape by 24 American Indians. The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture was established in 1987 next to its adjoining research facility, the Laboratory of Anthropology. In addition to exhibits, the museum has a resource center with looms, magazines, books, maps and other useful tools. The museum is noted for its prehistoric and historic pottery, basketry, woven fabrics and jewelry.
Museum of International Folk Art 706 Camino Lejo 827-6350 Just as the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture provides a fascinating and informative orientation to the American Indian cultures of the Southwest, the Folk Art Museum does the same for New Mexico's Hispanic culture. The Hispanic Heritage Wing features Spanish Colonial folk art and an interactive computer program in its "Familia y Fe/Family and Faith" exhibit. The finely crafted displays delineate the central position of extended family relationships and the Catholic faith in northern New Mexico's Hispanic culture. The exhibit also underlines the resourcefulness of the pioneer families who lived for more than a century in tremendous isolation from manufactured goods, European medicine and formal education. This museum holds the world's largest collection of international folk art. In the "Multiple Visions: A Common Bond" exhibit, for example, you'll find objects from more than 100 countries displayed in fascinating dioramas. Toys from 19th-century Europe, Chinese prints, embroidered Indian mandalas, Mexican Day of the Dead mementos and examples of early 20th-century Americana are among the treasures. This exhibit alone displays more than 10,000 pieces of folk art, all donated by the Girard Foundation Collection.
National Park Service Southwest Office 1100 Old Santa Fe Tr. 988-6100 8 - 4:30 Mon - Fri brochure available in the lobby for a self guided tour This attractive building, a National Historic Landmark, is the largest known adobe, or mud brick, office building and one of the largest secular adobe buildings in the United States. The sculptural, massive quality of the adobe walls, the lovely patios and the hand-worked wooden beams and corbels reflect some of the characteristic elements of "Santa Fe Style," a type of architecture that began locally around 1910 and continues to be popular today. During the Great Depression of the 1930's the Public Works Administration provided the materials and skilled labor, and the Civilian Conservation Corps provided unskilled workers ( a crew of unmarried men ages 17 to 23). They earned about $1 a day for their work and had to send home at least $22 a month. The men made the structure's 280,000 adobe bricks by hand. >From the artisans they worked with they learned woodwork, stone and foundation masonry and traditional tinwork as they decorated and enhanced the building. The government completed the job by acquiring paintings by local artists, Navajo rugs and Pueblo pottery. That collection remains on display.
New Mexico State Capitol Paseo Peralta at Old Santa Fe Tr. 986-4589 free guided tours at 10 and 2 Mon. -Fri. The Capitol building is open 8 - 5 Mon - Fri. The Capitol, nicknamed the Roundhouse for its circular shape, was built in 1966 and remodeled at a cost of $34 million in 1992. The architectural design comes from the Zia Pueblo sun sign or circle of life, the same symbol that is on New Mexico's red and yellow state flag.. The Capitol has four levels, three above ground. In the basement (which is not open to the public) are the House and Senate chambers. The second floor, at ground level, contains a visitor information office and the rotunda where visitors find changing art exhibits. The floor of the rotunda displays the state seal. All the semiprecious stones decorating the seal and the marble of the surrounding walls and floor were mined in New Mexico. Old photographs of past legislators line the walls of the third floor House and Senate galleries, the area where visitors may watch laws being made. On the fourth floor, the Governor's Gallery features art by New Mexicans in exhibits that rotate often. Walls elsewhere in the building display paintings, photographs, weaving and mixed media work by some of New Mexico's best known artists.
Palace of the Governors 105 West Palace Avenue on the Plaza 476-5100 10 - 5 Tue - Sun Free Friday Evenings 5 - 8 pm Built in 1610, the state history museum was the birthplace of the Museum of New Mexico in 1909. Recognized as the centerpiece of Santa Fe, The Palace chronicles the history of the city, as well as New Mexico, the desert Southwest and the Americas with exhibits that reflect Spanish colonial, Mexican and Territorial period lifestyles.
The Planetarium Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave. 438-1777, 438-1677 Admission charged. Tickets go on sale a half-hour before showtime. The Planetarium, one of the city's newer, out-of-the-way attractions, offers a changing schedule of productions intended to give the audience a better feeling for the night sky. The Celestial Highlights program the first Thursday of each month provides an introduction to the stars and constellations that will be visible for the next 30 days. Showtime is 7 PM. The planetarium, on the upper level in the west wing of the Community College, also offers family programs each Saturday at 10:30 AM and a different program on Fridays, usually with showings at 6:30 and 8 PM. Recent productions included Sesame Street characters and a report on the findings of the Magellan spacecraft.
Santa Fe Farmers' Market Sanbusco Market Center Parking Lot, 500 Montezuma St. 983-4098 The market is open from 7:30 to 11am on Tues and Sat and from 9:30 - 1:30 on Sunday. Those who come early find the best selection. The market usually runs from mid-May until sometime in October depending on the weather. Potential buyers and their children are admitted free.Farmers' Market brings fresh area produce along with homemade salsa, baked goods, herbal remedies, cheeses, organic meat, fragrant cut flowers, plants for landscaping and more. The vendors come from throughout northern New Mexico and as far east as Ft. Sumner, nearly 200 miles away. When you buy here, you not only get delicious food, you're supporting small business. Music, free samples, coffee and baked goods for sale mark most morning markets.
Randall Davey Audubon Center 1800 Upper Canyon Rd. 983-4609 To reach the center, follow Canyon Road past the intersection of Camino Cabra at Cristo Rey Church to Upper Canyon Road. The center is the very last structure on Canyon Road 9 -5 PM daily. trail fee is $1 for nonmembers. In 1847, at the beginning of the U.S. occupation, the first sawmill in the territory was built here, providing planks for the construction of Santa Fe's Fort Marcy, where U.S. troops were garrisoned. At the turn of the century, Candelario Martinez farmed this land until he sold the property to artist Randall Davey in 1920. Davey converted the mill into a two-story home and used the Martinez hacienda for his studio. The house still contains a representative sample of Davey's work and his furnishings. The Audubon Society acquired this property in the mid-1980s and operates it as a nature center and the group's New Mexico headquarters. Included is land along the Santa Fe River. The center's trails begin in the piñon and juniper woodlands and meadows and climb up to cool ponderosa pine forest. More than 100 species of birds have been observed here, along with coyote, black bear, mountain lion and mule deer. In addition to the do-it-yourself nature trails, the center offers guided hikes, wildlife interpretive programs and summer activities for children. The center's gift shop sells bird seed, books and other items of interest to naturalists.
St. Catherine Indian School 801 Griffin St. 982-6258 Call to arrange a free tour. Founded in 1887, St. Catherine Indian School is the oldest Native American boarding high school in New Mexico. More than 25 different American Indian cultures have been represented here including Navajo, Apache, Hopi, Zuni, all the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and other tribes of the Southwest.The Pueblo-style chapel contains traditional Native American prayer symbols. Murals throughout the campus celebrate American Indian spirituality. The mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe, for example, details 10 major events in the Americas, blending mainstream, religious and American Indian historic figures into the design. In the Historical Room there are vintage photos from the late 1800s. The campus also has a gift shop and a gallery that displays traditional American Indian pottery, jewelry, weaving and painting, including student work. All proceeds from sales benefit the school
San Miguel Mission 401 Old Santa Fe Tr 983-3974 Mon - Sat 9 - 4:30 Sun 1:30 - 4:30. Admission is free. Mass is celebrated Sundays at 5 pm. Many people believe this mission is the oldest church in the United States. Construction began in 1610 by the Tlaxcalan Indians who came from Mexico as servants of the Spanish soldiers and missionaries. The job was completed in 1625. When the Pueblo Indians drove the Spanish from New Mexico in 1680, they burned all records of its early history and nearly destroyed the mission. The sturdy adobe walls remained unharmed, however. When the Spanish returned, they ordered the church rebuilt and construction was finished in 1710. For many years it served the surrounding Barrio Analco, one of Santa Fe's historic neighborhoods. Inside you can see traditional religious images crafted by Hispanic artists. The wooden reredos, or altar screen, dates to 1798 and holds paintings from the early 18th century. Depicted are rare and ancient images of Jesus on buffalo and deer hides, testimony to the faith and ingenuity of frontier artists. There is also the San Jose bell, cast of silver, copper, iron and gold. Considered the oldest bell in America, some historians date it to 1356. Spanish churches used it before it was shipped to Mexico and then taken to Santa Fe by oxcart in the 19th century.
Santa Fe Botanical Garden Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave. 438-1684 Open during daylight hours No admission charge. Santa Fe Community College has leased 25 acres of land to gardeners who plan to develop a place for research and education as well as natural beauty. The four Geobotany Beds near the school's main entrance offer a glimpse at the creative use of native plants and drought tolerant horticulture.
Santa Fe Southern Railway 410 S. Guadalupe St. 989-8600 Trains depart for the four-and-a-half-hour ride at 10:30 am Thursday and Saturday every week of the year, with additional Tuesday trips March through April and Tuesday and Sunday trips April through October. From May through October the train offers Sunset/Starlight rides on Friday evenings with departure one hour before sunset; call for specific times. Call for fares.
Santuario de Guadalupe 100 Guadalupe St. 988-2027 Mon- Sat 9 - 4. closed weekends from November through April Admission is free. Mass is celebrated once a month. This is the oldest shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in the United States. Our Lady of Guadalupe is a name given by the Catholic Church to the apparition of the Virgin to an indigenous man outside of Mexico City in the 16th century.
Santa Fe Events: Santa Fe Travel Guide, Discount & Cheap Santa Fe Travel & Tourism, Free Santa Fe Travel Guide Online
January:
Winterfiesta The Plaza and various other locations 984-6760, (800) 777-2489 Billed as a tribute to the city's arts, cultures and cuisine, Winterfiesta is designed to put sparkle into one of Santa Fe's quiet months and to help locals and their guests enjoy the winter. The weeklong celebration, begins on the last Friday of the month and includes a Plaza balloon glow, gallery openings and receptions, music and drama performances, a chile cookoff and activities for both visitors and residents. Events are staged at the Santa Fe Ski Area, in galleries downtown and on Canyon Road, in the city's performing arts centers and in major hotels. Many events ( except the plays, concerts and Gold and Silver Ball), are free.
Celebrity Ski Classic Various locations 982-4429, 982-2002 This is a way to have fun and help a good cause. The four day event is usually held in late January or early February. The Classic opens with a benefit concert on Thursday at the Lensic Theater. On Friday, the public is invited to a free autograph session at the Eldorado Hotel, followed by an evening Auction Party with the Stars. In addition to the art, collectibles, furniture, jewelry, ski apparel and travel packages up for bid, auction guests enjoy impromptu quips of comics and comic actors who work as emcees. On Saturday, television celebrities, music personalities and movie stars team up with local and area skiers for a day of racing. The public is welcome to watch the ski race Saturday, but you need skis and a lift ticket to reach the course at the Santa Fe Ski Area. Money raised helps United Way of Santa Fe County fund the many agencies it supports: groups which work with children, the elderly and others in need.
February:
March:
Gladfelter Bump Contest/Southwest Snowboard Championships Santa Fe Ski Area, 16 miles northeast of Santa Fe on N.M. Hwy. 475 o 982-4429 The area's best mogul skiers and snowboarders compete in the annual Gladfelter competition. The Snowboard Championships include jumps, half-pipes and a slalom course and draw snowboarders from throughout the region. Both events are held in late March or early April, depending on snow conditions. Spectators are welcome, but you have to be able to ski or snowboard to get to the course, and you'll need a lift ticket.
Oscar Night Gala Location varies 473-6400 Sip champagne, enjoy a generous buffet and watch the Academy Awards presentation in style. This black-tie party benefits the scholarship fund for the College of Santa Fe's Moving Image Arts Department.
April:
Closing Day at the Santa Fe Ski Area Santa Fe Ski Area, 16 miles northeast of Santa Fe on N.M. Hwy. 475 982-4429 The end of the ski season brings a celebration. The Santa Fe Ski Area hosts free ski races, events for kids, a bike-in-the-snow event, a contest for dummies (and we don't mean the human kind) on skis and live music on the deck at Totemoff's Grill, usually on a Sunday in mid-month. Each closing day's program is a little different. Skiers get in the spirit by coming in Hawaiian costumes. Some years you can ski in shorts if you're brave enough; other times the end of the season has brought a spring blizzard.
Chimayó Pilgrimage Santuario de Chimayó, Chimayó Every Holy Week beginning on Thursday, thousands of pilgrims walk to the Santuario de Chimayó, about 40 miles from Santa Fe. Christians, a few of them carrying wooden crosses, walk to this beautiful adobe church to repay a solemn vow or to ask for Christ's blessings. Pilgrims travel along U.S. Highway 84-285 through Santa Fe to the Nambé junction at N.M. Highway 503 and then on to Chimayó on N.M. Highway 76. The majority of the devout walk late on Holy Thursday and on Good Friday. Area law enforcement pays close attention to traffic to keep the pilgrims safe.
May:
Taste of Santa Fe Sweeney Center, 201 W. Marcy St. o 983-4823 On the first Tuesday in May each year, more than two dozen Santa Fe compete. The real winners are the 900 + hungry people who attend and the Museum of New Mexico's Palace of the Governors, which receives the proceeds. Ticket holders taste and vote on everything from appetizers to desserts. The food ranges from relatively simple New Mexican dishes to the fancy and exotic. A "nonessential auction," which usually includes trips and meals in private homes, is part of the evening's fun.
The Santa Fe Century Ride Ride begins at Capshaw Junior High, 351 E. Zia Rd. 982-1282 More than 2,000 bicyclists come from throughout New Mexico and elsewhere to ride 100 miles of history on this trip. Cyclists who are in for the "century" ride down the Turquoise Trail, through the old mining towns of Madrid and Golden, across the Estancia Valley to the villages of Cedar Grove, Stanley and Galisteo and back into Santa Fe. The ride traditionally happens on a Sunday mid-month.
A Day at the Opera Ranch Santa Fe Opera, U.S. Hwy. 84/285, 7 miles north of Santa Fe 986-5955 Continuous entertainment showcasing talented children and teens from Santa Fe and elsewhere in New Mexico is one of the attractions for this event. The entertainment, which lasts from 10 AM until 3 PM, includes performances by Celebrate Youth!, a statewide mentorship program of children performing music, dancing and excerpts from plays. Visitors can tour a gallery of Santa Fe Opera costumes and watch various opera performances including student-produced operas and a concert performance by Opera Mosaic, a group of professional players who present opera in the schools. One of the best parts of the day is the opportunity to visit the beautiful opera grounds, a grassy oasis in the arid foothills of Santa Fe. The opera's administrative offices and training studios are known as the "ranch," and visitors can picnic on the grounds as part of the fun. Backstage tours at the theater itself, just up the hill, draw opera buffs. The Guilds of The Santa Fe Opera Inc. have hosted this event for years, usually on a Saturday in mid- to late May. You can buy drinks and picnic food such as hot dogs and Frito pies. Be sure to bring a hat and sunscreen. The event is free.
Civil War Weekend El Rancho de las Golondrinas, 334 Los Pinos Rd., La Cienega 471-2261 Families can step back in time to the days of the Civil War and New Mexico's Battle of Glorieta at the annual Civil War Weekend festival at this living history museum just south of Santa Fe.
El Corazon de Santa Fe The Plaza o 984-6568 The City of Santa Fe joins with nonprofit and commercial sponsors to present a series of free evening performances. "In the Heart of Santa Fe" productions are a summer party honoring the community's heritage and its tradition of live entertainment. On most Saturday evenings from mid-May through September, the Plaza comes alive with dancers, actors, music and fun. Among the specific themes in summers past are Teen Night, organized by the Santa Fe Boys and Girls Club; a tribute to rock'n'roll; community talent night; and Festival Santa Fe, presented by the city's finest performing arts groups.
June:
Santa Fe Botanical Garden's Garden Tours Various locations 438-1684 Beginning in early June, Santa Fe's nonprofit Botanical Garden offers you a glimpse at some of Santa Fe's most interesting and beautiful gardens. Tours might include artists' gardens and xeric gardens, which use drought resistant plants to great advantage
Spring Festival El Rancho de las Golondrinas, 334 Los Pinos Rd., La Cienega 471-2261 During this two-day celebration on a weekend in early June, the ranch comes to life with dancing, music and demonstrations of the skills necessary for successful living in early New Mexico. Among the things demonstrated are hand-shearing of the curly-horned churro sheep; a procession honoring San Isidro, the patron of New Mexico farmers; a working blacksmith shop; and bread baking in traditional outdoor ovens. Music, dance, art and entertainment add to the fun.
Santa Fe Air Show Santa Fe Airport, Airport Rd. S. 471-5111 On Father's Day weekend, children can take their dads (moms and grandparents are welcome too) to the airport for a day of demonstrations and ground exhibits. Flybys, stunt pilots doing aerobatics and a sizeable display of military aircraft are all part of the show. Visitors can even walk through some of the planes and helicopters.
Buckaroo Ball El Rancho de las Golondrinas, Los Pinos Rd., La Cienega 982-6363 Founded in 1993, the Buckaroo Ball takes the honors as Santa Fe's single most profitable fund-raising event. Loosely modeled after the Cattle Baron's Ball in Dallas, the Buckaroo Ball is an upscale gala evening with first-rate food, exotic auction items and stunning entertainment.
Arts and Crafts Show The Plaza 988-7621 Challenge New Mexico, a group that works with people with disabilities and sponsors a popular and a successful horseback therapy program, benefits from this show. There are displays of arts and crafts from all disciplines. Everything is handmade by professional artists. Chats with the artisans, food and live music add to the weekend's festivities. The mid-month event attracts artists from throughout the region.
Opening Night, Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera Theater, U.S. Hwy. 84-285, 7 miles north of Santa Fe 986-5900, (800) 280-4654 Opening night at the Santa Fe Opera means tails and tailgate parties, black ties and caviar. Denim with diamond studs, velvet capes, lace and satin, cowboy boots shined to a high polish, the latest New York fashions and thousands of pounds of turquoise come out for the occasion.. A variety of public and private parties precede the night's operatic The event is held either on the last Friday in June or the first Friday in July. The opera season continues through late August with five productions in repertory and some special concerts by apprentice artists.
July:
Western Days Various locations 471-4300 The Rodeo de Santa Fe is the centerpiece of this nine-day celebration, which calls attention to a part of Santa Fe's past and its role as part of the American West. There is also a wine festival, walking tours of a movie ranch, dances and dance lessons, scenic train rides and special events for children as part of the fun. In addition to the Santa Fe Rodeo Grounds, venues include El Rancho de Las Golondrinas, La Cienega, and the Santa Fe Southern Railroad.
Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Arts and Crafts Show At a Northern Pueblo (800) 793-4955 Held the third weekend in July, this show attracts 1,500 top Native American artists from throughout New Mexico, the Southwest and the nation. It's the largest Indian-run art show in the country. Every piece displayed or sold here is made by the artist or someone in his or her family. Various northern Indian pueblos take turns hosting the show, but none is far from Santa Fe, and the outdoor setting on pueblo land makes this show special. Photography is allowed with a permit.
Traditional Spanish Market/Contemporary Hispanic Market The Plaza 983-4038 Unique work in the Spanish Colonial tradition fills the Plaza for a weekend in late July, while on adjoining Lincoln Avenue, Hispanic artists display contemporary adaptations. Much of the traditional work is religious: carved and painted images of the saints that reflect New Mexico's contrasts to the religious art of Mexico and Spain. Some 300 artists also display handsome tin work, silver filigree jewelry, wood carvings, weaving, straw inlay and embroidery. Many of the artists featured here don't show in galleriesPrizes go to the best entries in each medium. Music, dance, food and pageantry add to the fun. Artists' demonstrations continue throughout both days.
Santa Fe Opera Community Concerts St. Francis Cathedral, 131 Cathedral Pl. 986-5924 Each summer, the Santa Fe Opera and cooperating sponsors present free public concerts in town featuring apprentice artists from the Santa Fe Opera. The concerts consist of about an hour of arias, duets and ensemble music. The project started as a way to reach the elderly, disadvantaged and children. Everyone is welcome, and the cathedral is usually filled. Admission is free.
August:
Santa Fe County Fair Santa Fe County Fair Grounds, Rodeo Rd. at Richards Ave. 471-4711 Santa Fe County 4-H plays a major role in this event, which draws produce, livestock and other entries from throughout rural Santa Fe County. Among the highlights are the frog-jumping contest, a llama show, a herding-dog exhibition and, of course, the livestock auction. Kiddie rides, entertainment and concessions sold by 4-Hers add to the fun.
Ice Cream Social Santa Fe Children's Museum, 1050 Old Pecos Tr. 989-8359 This annual family-style fund-raiser, traditionally held the first Sunday in August, begins at noon and continues through early evening, or until the ice cream runs out. Santa Fe celebrities, including the mayor, the superintendent of schools and the chief of police, have helped with the scooping. Visitors can make their own sundaes or banana splits. All the money goes for new exhibits at the museum, the only one in Santa Fe dedicated to children. Besides the ice cream, the museum provides free demonstrations and entertainment.
Mountain Man Trade Fair Palace of the Governors, 105 E. Palace Ave. 827-6483 The Palace of the Governors, once the center of New Mexico's political life and now a popular history museum, hosts this colorful fair as a tribute to Santa Fe's history as a trade center. Demonstrations of mountain man skills, a Santa Fe Trail film festival, book signings, "Critters in the Courtyard are all traditional parts of this colorful event. The Mountain Men, contemporary versions of the original mountain men who lived off their wits and the bounty of the Western mountains as trappers, guides, hunters and traders, display a variety of handmade items.
Wheelwright Museum Auction Wheelwright Museum, 704 Camino Lejo 982-4636 Jewelry, paintings and pottery by contemporary Native American artists will be on the auction block, along with dinners donated by some of Santa Fe's finest restaurants. Other services, such as art appraisals, spa treatments or tax advice, are also offered. But the real reason this event attracts a crowd is the high-quality Indian art sold to benefit the museum. The Wheelwright is a small, private museum devoted to contemporary Indian art, and the auction is its main money-making event.
Indian Market On and around the Plaza 983-5220 Serious collectors and the curious flock to Santa Fe for this show and sale, always held the weekend following the third Thursday of the month. One of Santa Fe's most famous and popular events, the market features a wide selection of the finest American Indian art from 1,200 exhibitors. Dancing, food sales (including favorites such as mutton stew) and demonstrations of various craft techniques add to the market's attraction. A youth market occupies nearby Cathedral Park. Admission to the market is free. The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts Inc. has presented Indian Market since 1922. It is the largest contemporary American Indian art event in the world, generating some $130 million in revenue for artists, galleries and the tourism industry. The market has become a driving force in setting prices and standards for first-class American Indian art. Since the market draws about 80,000 visitors, expect crowds.
Fiesta Melodrama Santa Fe Playhouse, 142 E. DeVargas St. 988-4262 This funny, spunky show has a different plot each year but always features the same theme -- poking fun at Santa Fe's foibles. An anonymous committee puts together an original script about contemporary Santa Fe, structuring the show to resemble an old-time melodrama. The villain is always terrible, the heroine always in big trouble, and the good guys always win. The story itself draws on the city's freshest controversies and might include contentiousness among city, county and state officials, Santa Fe's ongoing saga of street repair and crazy traffic, the water situation, the latest uproar in the arts, school politics or New Age hype as subjects of its comic ridicule. The Fiesta Melodrama is a beloved Santa Fe tradition. The show usually opens in late August and runs through the Santa Fe Fiesta weekend in mid-September.
Santa Fe Bluegrass and Old Timey Music Festival Santa Fe Rodeo Grounds, Rodeo Rd. at Richards Ave. 438-6230, 298-3080 For more than 20 years, banjo and fiddle music have rung out at the Rodeo Grounds for a long weekend in late August or early September. Concerts, workshops, events and contests run throughout the day. Among the highlights are original song writing performances and concerts by the prior year's winners in the Bluegrass Band and Old Timey Band contests. Don't miss the children's fiddle contest, which is usually held on Saturday morning. As part of the event, the grounds are open to campers
September:
Labor Day Arts and Crafts Show The Plaza 988-7575 Jewelry of all styles and materials, from delicate silver earrings to bolo ties like the ones cowboys wear, is one of the highlights at this end-of-summer show. You'll also find oil and watercolor paintings, sculptures, ceramics both useful and decorative, one-of-a-kind clothing and more.
New Mexico State Fair State Fair Grounds, 300 San Pedro Blvd. N.E. between Central and Lomas Aves., Albuquerque 265-1791, (800) 867-FAIR. The New Mexico State Fair is one of the state's most popular events, and the fair's attendance records usually top all but two other shows in the West. (It's exceeded only by the Texas State Fair and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.) The State Fair runs from early to mid-September. You'll find free schedules of each day's events and a map of the grounds at the information booth. There are 16 nights of rodeo and its accompanying concerts in Tingley Coliseum; as well as several art galleries. Everyone likes the food, served by more than 100 vendors in virtually every corner of the fair grounds. Indian Village, Villa Hispana and Pioneer Village, all serve tasty ethnic dishes along with pleasing entertainment. The fair also offers a day of bull-riding competition and daily horse shows. Animal exhibits include a large petting farm for the little ones. At the Creative and Home Arts exhibits, you'll find everything from dolls to homemade doughnuts. The Kid's Park midway for ages 12 and younger features its own rides and two stages for performances, including a magic show and puppet theater.
Fiesta De Santa Fe The Plaza and other locations 988-7575 Held the weekend following Labor Day, Fiesta commemorates the Spanish resettlement in Santa Fe after the Pueblo Revolt chased the conquistadors back to Mexico. It's the oldest continuous community celebration in the United States. Schools and state and city employees usually get a much-appreciated half-day holiday on Fiesta Friday. Each year at the Santa Fe Fiesta, the city remembers the contribution of Don Diego de Vargas and the Catholic Church to the community's survival. The Fiesta began as a religious commemoration, but parties, parades, a fashion show and Zozobra, a giant puppet that is burned with great fanfare, were added as the community changed and grew. Even before Fiesta officially begins, Santa Fe starts celebrating. Among Sunday's highlights is the Historical/Hysterical parade. The parade, which features floats, marching bands, horses and politicians, begins at 2 PM. It starts in the parking lots at DeVargas Mall, North Guadalupe at Paseo de Peralta, continues to the Plaza and returns using a different downtown route.
Santa Fe Facts: Santa Fe Travel Guide, Discount & Cheap Santa Fe Travel & Tourism, Free Santa Fe Travel Guide Online
Population: 66,522 (120,000 if both city and suburbs are included in the count)
Elevation: 7000 feet (with 13,000 ft. mountain peaks in the background)
Area: 39.6 sq.mi
Emergency: For police, fire, or ambulance emergency, dial 911
Time Zone: New Mexico is on Mountain Standard Time which is seven hours behind Greenwich mean time, and two hours behind Eastern Standard Time. When it is 8:00am in Santa Fe, it is 11:00am in New York City. ( All of the US except Hawaii observes Daylight Saving Time from midnight on the first Sunday in April until midnight on the last Sunday in October. Daylight saving time advances the clock by one hour across all of the US time zones.)
Average Temperatures (in Fahrenheit):
High
Low
December - February
40
19
March - May
69
29
June - August
80
52
September - November
73
27
Rainfall is slight year round. There is occasional snow in the winter months. Temperatures at night are cool and perfect for sleeping year round. In October the weather is mild and the trees turn a brilliant gold. At any visit it is wise to come prepared with a jacket and/or sweater for use in the early morning and evening. Be sure to bring sunscreen and to apply it often of you will be outdoors. Even in cool temperatures, the intensity ultra violet rays of the sun at the high altitude require protection.
Public Holidays: Jan. 1 New Year's Day January ( 3rd Monday) Martin Luther King Jr's birthday February (third Monday) Presidents' Day May 5 Cinco de Mayo May (Last Monday) Memorial Day July 4 Independence Day September (1st Monday) Labor Day November 11 Veterans' Day November (4th Thursday) Thanksgiving Day December 25 Christmas Day
Area Code: the area code for Santa Fe is 505. Calls made from outside the local area to Santa Fe must include the area code.
Electricity: Electric current in the US is 110-120 volts, 60 cycle. Appliances manufactured for use in most Asian and European countries will need an adapter to operate safely, as well as a plug adapter for the flat pin style of the US plug.
How to get around:
By Air: The Albuquerque International Airport is the airport for Northern New Mexico. The airport houses about a dozen national, international and regional carriers. This pleasant, clean, efficient airport is about an hour's drive from Santa Fe. Shuttles from Albuquerque Airport into the city charge approximately $25 - $35 depending on the destination. Taxis are metered, so the fare varies. Rental cars are available. The Santa Fe Airport has only one regional carrier at this time. United Express provides service to and from Denver on a daily basis. Still smaller is the The Taos Airport which provides daily service to and from Albuquerque.
By Train: Santa Fe is about 18 miles from the Washington D.C. to Los Angeles Amtrak Line. Trains arrive and depart each afternoon. (Amtrak travels to Albuquerque which is 60 miles from Santa Fe and to Lamy, 15 miles southeast of Santa Fe.) For train schedule and ticket information call (1-800) 872-7245.
By Car: Many visitors travel to Santa Fe in their own cars or make arrangements in advance to rent a car upon arrival. This is an excellent plan, as there is not a well developed public transportation network outside the city. In the city, a street map is essential. The streets are laid out in a 17th century tangle, designed as horse and cattle trails. There is merit in leaving them as they were: this is part of the charm and beauty of Santa Fe. However, without a map, your first local experience may be that of being lost.Vehicle traffic in Santa Fe is slow because of the narrow streets and congestion. Most places within the city can be reached on foot. Santa Fe is 385 miles from Denver, via North-South Interstate 25. I-25 enters New Mexico at Raton and continues south through Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces and terminates in El Paso, Texas on the American side and Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. From Ciudad Juarez to Mexico City the distance is 832 miles. Another route from Denver and points north is Highway 285 which winds down through Tres Piedras, Ojo Caliente, Espanola (where it joins with Highway 84) and into Santa Fe where it becomes St. Francis Drive. St. Francis intersects with I-25 on the east side of Santa Fe.Albuquerque to Santa Fe is about 60 miles via I-25. An alternate route from Albuquerque to Santa Fe is Highway 14, known as The Turquoise Trail. Coming from the west, Albuquerque is 322 miles from Flagstaff, Arizona via Interstate 40. From Phoenix to Albuquerque the distance is 458 miles via Highway 60 which intersects with I-25 at Socorro, 136 miles south of Santa Fe. From Tucson, take Interstate 10 to Las Cruces where it intersects with I-25 then go north 285 miles to Santa Fe. Coming from the east, Santa Fe is about 340 miles from Amarillo, Texas, via I-40 to Albuquerque then I-25 North to Santa Fe. Taos, New Mexico, is 70 miles from Santa Fe and may be reached by taking 285 north out of Santa Fe to Espanola. In Espanola Highway 285 will become Highway 68 which follows the Rio Grande River up to Taos.
By Bus: Bus service Santa Fe has a comprehensive city bus service, Santa Fe Trails. The city bus system can take you nearly anywhere within the city limits on nine different routes. Buses run Monday through Friday from 6:30 AM to 10:30 PM and Saturday from 8 AM to 8 PM (times may vary, depending on the route). Santa Fe Trails does not run on Sunday or holidays. Bus schedule and information book are available on board any Santa Fe Trails bus and at more than 75 locations throughout the city, including most public buildings and many stores. Fare is 50¢ per ride for adults, including free transfers. Daily newspapers are sold on the bus. Seniors 60 and older and students from 6 to 17 years are half price, including transfers. Children younger than 6 ride free when accompanied by an adult. one-day passes are $1 and monthly passes $10. Customer assistance center: 438-1463 between 7 AM and 7 PM Mon-Fri.
Santa Fe Kids Activities: Santa Fe Travel Guide, Discount & Cheap Santa Fe Travel & Tourism, Free Santa Fe Travel Guide Online
Rancho de las Golondrinas (The Ranch of the Swallows) (505) 471-2261 Admission charged. April to October 31 Wednesday-Sunday 10-4 Closed Mon. & Tues 15 miles south of Santa Fe on 1-25, take Exit 276 to La Cienega, follow signs. Depicting life in New Mexico in the 1800's, this Living History Museum is a restoration of a period village replete with roaming Churro sheep, goats and chickens.
Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail. Next to the Armory of Arts (505) 989-8359 10-5 Thurs-Sat Noon-5 Sunday, open Wed. in summer closed Mon. Great Fun For Children. Lots of interactive activities, always something new and interesting going on. Adults enjoy it too!
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology 710 Camino Lejo 827-6344 Presenting the diverse stories that illuminate the art and history of Native America through two millennia.Housed in a large new wing, the exhibit "Here, Now and Always" tells the story of the Native American presence in the Southwest with more than 1,300 objects and a multimedia production created during the eight-year period the museum spent in collaboration with Native American elders, artists, scholars, teachers, builders and writers. These consultants worked with a team of Indian and non-Indian museum curators and designers to develop an exhibit that combines the actual voices of contemporary American Indians with ancient artifacts. The architectural design helps bring centuries of culture and tradition to life. The exhibit uses stone and silver, clay and wool, feast days, fairs and family stories to tell of the enduring communities of the Southwest. To orient visitors, it incorporates the landscape itself, mesas and settlements, plazas and sacred peaks. Visitors proceed by theme through the galleries. You can visit a pueblo kitchen, an Apache wickiup, a Navajo hogan, a 1930s trading post and a contemporary vendor's booth at a tribal feast day celebration. The stories in "Here, Now and Always" are told on video tape by 24 American Indians. It is very important for children to see and hear as much as they can absorb of the story of those who have lived on and cared for the earth before us.
Museum of International Folk Art 706 Camino Lejo 827-6350 Houses the world's largest collection of traditional folk art from around the world.Just as the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture provides a fascinating and informative orientation to the American Indian cultures of the Southwest, the Folk Art Museum does the same for New Mexico's Hispanic culture. The Hispanic Heritage Wing features Spanish Colonial folk art and an interactive computer program in its "Familia y Fe/Family and Faith" exhibit. The finely crafted displays delineate the central position of extended family relationships and the Catholic faith in northern New Mexico's Hispanic culture. The exhibit also underlines the resourcefulness of the pioneer families who lived for more than a century in tremendous isolation from manufactured goods, European medicine and formal education. This museum holds the world's largest collection of international folk art. In the "Multiple Visions: A Common Bond" exhibit, for example, you'll find objects from more than 100 countries displayed in fascinating dioramas. Toys from 19th-century Europe, Chinese prints, embroidered Indian mandalas, Mexican Day of the Dead mementos and examples of early 20th-century Americana are among the treasures. This exhibit alone displays more than 10,000 pieces of folk art, all donated by the Girard Foundation Collection.
St. Francis Cathedral 131 Cathedral Place at the end of San Francisco Street 982-5619 Call for schedules of Masses. The 8:00 am Mass on Sunday is one that children enjoy. It is conducted in Spanish and features a mariachi band and an enthusiastic Spanish choir. The whole service is vivid and full of life.
Randall Davey Audubon Center 1800 Upper Canyon Rd. 983-4609 To reach the center, follow Canyon Road past the intersection of Camino Cabra at Cristo Rey Church to Upper Canyon Road. The center is the very last structure on Canyon Road 9 -5 PM daily. trail fee is $1 for nonmembers. In 1847, at the beginning of the U.S. occupation, the first sawmill in the territory was built here, providing planks for the construction of Santa Fe's Fort Marcy, where U.S. troops were garrisoned. At the turn of the century, Candelario Martinez farmed this land until he sold the property to artist Randall Davey in 1920. Davey converted the mill into a two-story home and used the Martinez hacienda for his studio. The house still contains a representative sample of Davey's work and his furnishings. The Audubon Society acquired this property in the mid-1980s and operates it as a nature center and the group's New Mexico headquarters. Included is land along the Santa Fe River. The center's trails begin in the piñon and juniper woodlands and meadows and climb up to cool ponderosa pine forest. More than 100 species of birds have been observed here, along with coyote, black bear, mountain lion and mule deer. In addition to the do-it-yourself nature trails, the center offers guided hikes, wildlife interpretive programs and summer activities for children. The center's gift shop sells bird seed, books and other items of interest to naturalists.
Rafting in Santa Fe There are a variety of rafting trips in the area, some for the adventurer who loves the thrill and terror of a ride over rapids! However, there are also some for the family to enjoy together. The rafting season lasts from April to October and includes many trips that are peaceful and placid, some include fishing, others provide visits to areas of interesting rock formations and petroglyphs, and still others drift to river side restaurants for a leisurely meal. Check the yellow pages under "river trips" for the possibilities.
The Planetarium Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave. 438-1777, 438-1677 Tickets are $3.50 for adults, $2 for children 12 and younger and for seniors 65 and older and for SFCC students with a current ID. Tickets go on sale a half-hour before showtime. The Planetarium, one of the city's newer, out-of-the-way attractions, offers a changing schedule of productions intended to give the audience a better feeling for the night sky. The Celestial Highlights program the first Thursday of each month provides an introduction to the stars and constellations that will be visible for the next 30 days. Showtime is 7 PM. The planetarium, on the upper level in the west wing of the Community College, also offers family programs each Saturday at 10:30 AM and a different program on Fridays, usually with showings at 6:30 and 8 PM. Recent productions included Sesame Street characters and a report on the findings of the Magellan spacecraft.
Cochiti Pueblo and Lake I25 south to exit 259. Take NM 16 to the pueblo. 465-2244 open daily. Cochiti Pueblo is famous for its handmade story teller dolls, animals and pottery. Also it is known for the ancient deep toned ceremonial drums that certain tribesmen make by hand. Cochiti Lake is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers and is popular for camping, swimming, sailing, and boating.
Tent Rocks Bear left as you pass the dam after visiting Cochiti Pueblo. The entrance to the park is 1/4 mile on the right after the pueblo (there is a 6 mile rough dirt road to the entrance).Open daily from dawn to dusk. A hike through this park will pass by ancient rocks that have been shaped by centuries of wind and rain into mysterious tent like objects. The hike is spectacular. Children who are old enough to enjoy walking will be fascinated by the twists and turns through narrow canyons of rock that lead to beautiful vistas of juniper and ever changing rock formations. As the sun and clouds move across the landscape the colors and contours change again and again. Sturdy shoes, a picnic and lots of drinking water are the tools for the hike. Strollers and baby carry packs are not negotiable along this trail. It is a rugged area, but well worth the effort.
