Santa Fe, New Mexico

If we pass through a state capitol city, we try to visit the capitol building. New Mexico has replaced Tennessee for the most unimpressive capitol we have visited.

The rotunda and senate chamber. No money was wasted on fancy desks! 

It does have a very impressive art collection. Walls on every floor are covered with some interesting art. This buffalo was made out of paint brushes, film, paper, plastic spoons, ribbons and fabric, etc. 

The original capitol building (now called the Palace of Governor’s) has been converted to an art museum with tons of vendors selling to tourists lining the sidewalks. 

We visited the The Loretto Chapel. Known for the miraculous staircase, a 20-foot-high circular stairway to the choir loft built by a wandering carpenter after the chapel itself was completed in 1878. The carpenter used wooden pegs (no nails) and the staircase itself has no visible means of support. Ok this was pretty cool! 

Keeping up with our trip tradition we stopped for a beer at a local craft brewery. Santa Fe brewery didn’t disappoint. 

We wondered around the very pricey art galleries (they frown on photos) with some very talented artists but what caught my attention was a huge architectural salvage business! 

Monument Valley - spans both Arizona and Utah

The Navajos call it the valley of rocks, I call it spectacular!  

My iPhone definitely doesn’t do the view justice! 

Clusters of vast sandstone buttes with the largest reaching 1,000 feet above the valley floor.   This formation is called three Sisters. 

Another stop that we postponed last summer because monument valley lies within the Navajo reservation and was closed until July 2021. 

The buttes are stratified with three principal layers. The lowest layer is the Organ Rock Shale, the middle is de Chelly sandstone and the top layer is Moenkopi sandstone. The layers were formed when water/sea covered the area in the Permian to pre-Jurassic period. 

As water and ice runs through cracks in the butte, large pieces break off and sand forms at the base. 

The valley includes large stone structures this one is called "Eye of the Sun”

We stopped to see some horses trying hard to find something to eat! There sure isn’t much! The formation is the background is called the mitten. 

The “classic” view on HWY 163 towards Mexican Hat is “Forest Gump Hill.” Every tourist in the area stops to recreate the famous scene - hoping not to get run over by a semi! 

We had a prettier day!  

Another stop that was definitely worth the wait! 

Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell

We finished our time in Page, Arizona with a visit to the east rim of the Grand Canyon at the horseshoe bend and viewing the meandering Colorado River. The canyon depth is 1,000 feet. 

We woke up to snow in the mountains and a 30 degree drop in temperature from yesterday. 

The Lake Powell region is enduring its worst drought in over a thousand years, fueling a crisis on the river. With water supplies growing increasingly scarce, some have called for draining Lake Powell — and shutting off the Glen Canyon Dam — to supply more water to Lake Mead.  Both lakes are critically low. 

We were getting hangry and stopped at the Lake Powell Resort very much needed lunch. Let me tell you, every place we have visited has had a staffing shortage. No one that wants to work should be out of a job!  

Last day visiting slot canyons

More breathtaking images from Page, Arizona slot canyon. 





Flowing fire

Dragons eye

The wave




The arch

Elephant Mountain- can you see the elephant? 

Upper Antelope Canyon - Page, Arizona

We waited over a year for the Navajo Nation to open up Antelope Canyon. This was scheduled for last summer and we had to change our plans when the Navajo Nation closed their reservation to visitors and mandated a 8 am to 5 pm curfew. I can tell you that it was definitely worth the wait. 

My friend Jan Pelosi described visiting the canyon as walking through living art. I can’t find any better description… just breathtaking. 

I thought yesterday’s canyon was beautiful but it didn’t compare to the upper antelope. 

Our guide was a full blood Navajo. She said her part of the reservation got water and electricity in 2008. Think about that!  Over 50% still don’t have services which includes her grandmother who lives in an Adobe hut. Her gram can’t read or write but can speak English. Her grandfather was a medicine man and died due to complications from Covid. 

Can you see the sitting bear? 

This is called the heart of the canyon.  

Our guide said owls frequent the slot canyon and that the owl is a carrier of news. If the owl screeches it is bad news. If he just watches or hoots it is good news. If you see an eagle it is a good omen. 

Guided tours became a requirement after 11 hikers drowned in 1997, when a 40-foot-high flash flood swept through Antelope Canyon. The group was washed 4 miles down the canyon, which is only 3 feet wide in some places. 

The walls turn purple in the afternoon light. 

It is seriously amazing what water can create.  

Today’s pic!  We are smiling.