Santa Fe Stopover

Driving back to California, I made a point to visit Santa Fe, even if only for a few hours to stretch my legs and get a sense of place. I visited the Georgia O'Keefe Museum, browsed a few art galleries, and sought some spiritual strength for my travels in two of Santa Fe's most beautiful chapels.

Loretto Chapel. 

The Gothic-Revival style was modeled after St. Chapelle in Paris.

The "miracle" stairs that have no internal support. Learn more at http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html

Apparently, the stairs were originally constructed without a banister. 

They seem to simply float on air.

The pictures below were taken in San Miguel Chapel, which claims to be the oldest church in America, built in the early 1600s of adobe brick and pine board. It's still used for mass today.

The altar was carved much later and stands on a wood floor built above the original dirt.

The large bell near the door originally hung atop the chapel, but after the adobe kept crumbling and the bell fell several times, it was moved inside. It's said that those who ring it will return to Santa Fe. I rang it.

This buffalo hide is thought to date back to the original chapel construction. 

Remarkably, despite hanging unprotected in the chapel, it retains much of its original design.

More info at http://sanmiguelchapel.org/

 Tomorrow: On to the Navajo Nation.