Sunny at first, clouding over later, thunderstorm in evening
92 miles
I arose at 8.30, and went to the neighbouring El Comedor restaurant to take advantage of the half-price breakfast included in the cost of my room. I had two eggs, bacon, toast and orange juice. I checked out of my room but agreed with the motel proprietor that I could leave the car there for the morning while I returned into town.
I first spent some time looking around the various souvenir shops, then went over to the Cathedral of St Francis, following a circuitous route around the back of the building to avoid the excavations out front. The Romanesque cathedral, which dates from 1869, was fairly quiet, save for the noise of the carpets being vacuumed. A small side chapel houses the oldest statue of the Madonna in North America, carved in Mexico and brought to Santa Fe in 1625, then taken with the refugees to El Paso del Norte during the Pueblo Revolt. It was returned to the city on its reconquest, a victory which many attributed to the statue.
I next visited the Loretto Chapel, a Gothic structure based upon the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, though on a rather more modest scale. The chapel was built in 1873-8 for the Sisters of the Loretto Academy, with a high choir loft at the rear. There was but one problem -- there was no way of getting to the loft save by a long ladder, rather undignified for the Sisters and their female pupils to be using. Its height caused problems, since there was little room for a staircase in the small chapel. Many craftsmen were consulted and all agreed that there was nothing that could be done without losing too much floorspace.
The Sisters were not going to give up so easily, and prayed to St Joseph for guidance. As they did so, a travelling carpenter appeared to offer his assistance, constructed a staircase which neatly solved the problem, and mysteriously disappeared without asking for payment. There was no record of where he had been staying or of him purchasing materials locally. The nuns believed that St Joseph himself had done the work.
The so-called `Miraculous' staircase is a masterpiece, its shape similar to that of a coiled spring. It is anchored only at the top and bottom with no central pillar as it makes two complete revolutions on its way to the balcony. The entire structure is built of wood, with pegs in place of nails. Initially it was built without bannisters, but these were soon added at the request of the Sisters. In the twentieth century, vibrations from traffic outside have necessitated the addition of supports.
I stopped for lunch at a Subway in one of the town's many shopping malls, then returned to the motel via the San Miguel Chapel for a better look around. In the gift shop hangs the San Jose Bell, and it claims to be the nation's oldest, for it was cast in 1356 and brought to Mexico by the early settlers. Legend has it that anyone ringing this bell will return to Santa Fe, and I did so in order to test this theory.
I collected the car from the motel and headed back out along Cerrillos Road in order to get the tyre checked out. I had a bit of a wait for this to be done, and flicked through a car magazine, gaining a little insight into the mind of the American driver as I did so. After the best part of an hour, a mechanic emerged to inform me that the tyre was now fixed, and that the cause had been a small screw which had become embedded in it. I made sure I had a receipt in order to reclaim the cost of the repairs when returning the car.
Time was now pressing a little as I wished to head that afternoon to Taos, some eighty miles to the northeast among the Sangre de Cristo mountains. I found my way onto the right road out of Santa Fe fairly easily though for some while remained unsure of this, owing once again to a lack of decent signage. I followed the main road north as far as the town of Española, then looked for the turning to Taos. Here confusion once again set in. There are two possible routes to Taos, known as the High Road and the Low Road (neither go to Scotland), of which the former is considered the more scenic. Evidently the local highways authority had not heard of this, and the turn to the High Road was signed only by number, necessitating a stop on my part to confirm that it was indeed the route I wanted.
The road took a scenic, winding course through the mountains, passing through many small villages. I stopped briefly at the small Picuris Pueblo, but found its museum closed and there seemed to be little else of interest to see. I continued through to Taos, where I found myself in a long jam of rush-hour traffic on the main street through the town, Paseo del Pueblo. I later discovered that this was partly due to closure of another road which bypassed the centre.
As I slowly edged my way into town, I spotted one of the motels mentioned in my guidebook ahead, the Indian Hills Inn, and turned off to investigate. I found its rates reasonable and checked in. Just as I was starting to think about going out again to have a look around town, the heavens opened in a terrific thunderstorm, so I decided to stay in until it subsided.
By the time the weather had calmed down, it was almost dark, and I made my way up Paseo del Pueblo to the town's main plaza, looking for suitable restaurants. Compared to the much larger Santa Fe, the choice was relatively limited, and I decided to try Ogelvie's Grille. I chose a salad followed by pork chops, not especially good. Afterwards I took a walk further up Paseo del Pueblo before returning to the motel. I retired for the night at 11.45.