Jonna and Alan's Santa Fe trip

This was actually our second trip to Santa Fe in 2023, the first was a weekend back in April when we drove down and spent a couple of days with our friends Bill and Tracy Crane. We had so much fun back then we decided on a return visit the weekend of the International Folk Art Market to again see Bill and Tracy but this time for a week rather than just a weekend. The themes of our visit was art and food, as we immersed ourselves in both. We rode our motorcycles down and split the trip both ways up into two days each, staying in Alamosa, CO on the way down and staying in Poncha Springs, CO on the way back home. The weather was warm but not boiling hot (which wouldn't be out of the ordinary in July in the southwest.) A great time was had by all!

Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture.):

1) Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM, July 5 - We arrived in Santa Fe before noon and headed straight to Meow Wolf.

2) Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM, July 5 - We have visited the Denver Meow Wolf a couple of times so it was cool to visit the original. However, the original also feels like it was version 1 with the Denver location being a definite improvement over the first one. Still, there were a few places in the Santa Fe we really liked. ...and there were some very colorful areas!

3) Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM, July 5 - One of the small rooms was made from an up-ended school bus. Jonna, as an ex-school bus driver had to have a look. It don't think the view out the front of the bus was the same as what she'd seen driving the mountains of Colorado.

4) Santa Fe Internment Camp, Santa Fe, NM, July 6 - We've been to Santa Fe quite a few times but Bill still had something new to show us. During World War II one of the largest Internment Camps for Japanese-Americans was on the edge of Santa Fe. Evidence of the site has been completely removed but in 2002 a memorial stone was placed on the top of a hill overlooking the site. Bill drove us up to the marker so we could learn a little about this piece of our country's tragic history.

5) International Folk Art Market, Railyard Park, Santa Fe, NM, July 6 - The reason for our visiting Santa Fe on this particular weekend was to attend the annual International Folk Art Market. Thanks to Bill and Tracy's membership in IFAM, the organization that hosts the market, we were able to go on opening day. This allowed us to beat the weekend crowds and to see the booths before they sold most of their inventory. The first booth we visited was a Mexican artist whose family has been making wooden animal sculptures for generations. We bought a cute small cat sculpture from this artist for our house.

6) Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, NM, July 7 - We visited the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum about ten years ago so we made another visit on Friday afternoon. The pieces in the museum are interesting and as a bonus it is air conditioned which is very appealing on a hot summer afternoon in the southwest!

7) Eldorado At Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, July 8 - Every morning Bill takes his dog Sky for a multi-mile walk around his neighborhood. With Jonna and I trying to train for our big Fall trip to Patagonia we joined Bill every day. In addition to the exercise this also gave us some quiet time every morning to chat.

8) Eldorado At Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, July 8 - The rolling desert landscape is dotted with houses but there are a few areas with empty lots which, when combined with the views of Sandia Crest to the west, provided little glimpses of nature.

9) Eldorado At Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, July 8 - There were a few different wildflowers blooming in the desert landscape in Bill's neighborhood and the bright pink Cane Cholla blossoms were the highlight.

10) Eldorado At Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, July 9 - Our final morning walk we encountered a little bull snake sunning on the path. It slithered off the trail but then got into a defensive position when we stopped to take a look. We quickly moved along so as not to stress it out but not before I grabbed a quick photo.

11) IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM, July 9 - For our final outing, before we headed back to Colorado, we visited the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts - A contemporary art museum that displays art my people of native ancestry. There were a couple of different exhibits on display: one by Rick Rivet, an artist with Canadian/Alaskan heritage. The second was a show of contemporary Native made jewelry. We enjoyed both.

12) IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM, July 9 - The most striking pieces for me were a couple of kaleidoscopic pieces on display by the giftshop but made from drug paraphernalia. Striking shapes and colors but made from such disturbing items.

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Alan Fleming