Santa Fe, New Mexico

Our last stop before crossing back into Texas was Santa Fe, a short drive from Albuquerque but at 7,000 feet, another 1,000 feet up.  For the past month, we've spent very little, if any, time below 6,000 feet above sea level.  And our lungs have reminded us of it any time we've exerted ourselves.

The weather was rather chilly at night (SheM would say 'cold') and the days were pleasant for the most part.  The aspen were turning, and we took a mile hike along Aspen Vista in the Santa Fe National Forest to enjoy them.  (Once again, we were hiking at 10,000+ feet above sea level.  What is wrong with us??)

Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico, and we visited the capitol building.  We found this one to be the most unique of all we've seen so far.  Quite unassuming in its stature, one can almost miss it if not looking for it.

The outside appearance belies the very modern look and feel of the interior.  Artwork is everywhere--very colorful and interesting (some REALLY 'interesting').

Downtown Santa Fe is the picturesque Southwest.

We drove to Taos, and found its plaza to be very much the same, not surprisingly.

While in Taos, we wandered through artist shops.  We found one that featured furniture pieces made of steel treated with chemicals and/or heat to create really pretty color patterns.  Most of the pictures we took in Taos were in that shop.  We're thinking that we may want to add one of these tables to the decor of our next house.

We're glad we stopped here.  We're also really looking forward to getting down to lower elevations.  We'll head to Amarillo where it's only 3,600 ft.  Ahh, we're breathing better already just thinking about it.