October 19, 2015 Santa Fe New Mexico

I fell in love today with Santa Fe, New Mexico.   This is a beautiful city with lots to see.  We visited the plaza and surrounding area, to include a chapel and bascilla as well as an amazing gallery.  I was struck by all the bronze statues displayed everywhere.  This gallery, that Mary insisted we go into, was amazing!  Beautiful bronzes and awesome paintings.   Wish I had a ton of money.   As you enter the gallery, the kiva is lit and the smell is amazing.  

This is a clay work in progress

This piece was a mere $125,000.00

Next up was the Loreto Chapel.  This chapel was built in the 1870's and had a major design flaw, a conventional stairway to the choir loft could not be installed without adversely impacting the diminutive Chapel's seating capacity as well as its aesthetics.

Taken from the bookmark I bought:

 "Seeking divine guidance the Sisters of Loretto made a novena (prayers over several days) to their patron saint, Saint Joseph the Carpenter.  As legend has it, upon the ninth and final day of the Novena a mysterious carpenter arrived to design and construct a circular stairway to the choir loft.  The tools upon his donkey were just a saw, a T-square, a hammer and tubs in which to soak the wood.  His "miraculous stairway" contains thirty three steps in two full 360 degree turns.  The stairway has no center support nor is it held from it's sides - it's full weight rest on its final tread.  Upon completion of the stairway the carpenter disappeared without seeking payment.  No records have been found for the purchase of the materials with which the stairway was built.  Many sisters believed that the craftsman to have been the embodiment of St Joseph the Carpenter.   Originally built without a railing its use was a daily reinforcement of faith by both sisters and students.  In the 1880's the banister was added. Engineers and architects marvel at the stairway;  there is no known duplication of it's design."  

People leave rosaries asking for prayers

We visited the bascilla as well, but I'm tired so I'll post pictures later, sorry.   We had intended to make it all the way up to Taos, but changed our plans.  So now I have a good reason to come back to this area!