I didn't have much time to reflect on the wonders of Miami... we got home pretty late on Sunday night, and by Monday afternoon I had packed up my apartment, stuffed everything in the car (seriously, I spent half the day trying to figure out a way to cram it all in while maintaining enough room for myself AND my purse), and headed west. I spent the night in Kansas City, meeting up with Justin, his mom, and brother Nate, as they had just come back from a weekend in Santa Fe and made a KC pit-stop as well. It was short and sweet, and Tuesday morning I hit the road.
Driving solo from Iowa to Arizona is probably not the most boring thing I've ever done, but it's close. More specifically, KANSAS IS TERRIBLE. I'm sure it has fine qualities, but Highway 54 is where fun goes to die. Flat, brown, and impossibly hick. I have never seen so many pro-Jesus billboards in my life. And that's cool, Jesus is super... but combined with the overdose of Christian talk radio (which is kind of interesting... for about 20 minutes)... I thought I might not make it to Phoenix. Luckily, Oklahoma and Texas were a little bit better (but not much).
Then I crossed into New Mexico. It sounds boring, I know, but it's freakin' gorgeous. I guess after 10 hours of flat and colorless, anything would look good. Red rocks, mountains, bright blue sky... I mean, they call it The Land of Enchantment for a reason, I guess. I would've taken pics, but (of course) my camera was dead. On that note, my phone was almost dead as well... and my charger was being stubborn and only worked if I held it juuuust the right way. So here's me, driving through New Mexico, holding my charger with one hand and my phone in the other, using my knees to steer... but I made it!
One thing I learned about New Mexico is that sometimes you can drive for hours without seeing a gas station, so it's best if you didn't stock up on water, diet mountain dew, and grape gatorade at that last gas station in Texas. Also, you're absolutely screwed if you run out of gas, because it's pitch-black dark out there and the last thing you wanna do is pull over and wait for someone to come along and help you because A) no one will, or B) they're a serial killer, or C) maybe somehow you wound up on some sort of prohibited Indian Reservation, and you're a trespasser, and since you're on their land they can do whatever they want to you? That last one is probably not true... but that's what they always told kids in AZ to try to scare us out of going to drink beer in the desert (we did it anyway).
Somewhere along this magical journey I decided to go a little bit off my mapped-out route and spend the night in Santa Fe. I arrived without peeing my pants OR running out of gas! Bi-winning! I stayed at the Inn at Loretto thanks to a sweet deal on priceline.com (that I arranged on my phone's web browser during my drive through Oklahoma, where you can drive as irresponsibly as you want, because there are no cars/people/signs to worry about hitting). The Inn was gorgeous and comfy, and my room was stocked with delicious Godiva chocolate bars that, it turns out, aren't free. Darn.
I decided to go exploring and figured I could find some good Southwestern grub, even though it was 11 pm. I found some nice free-spirited hippie ladies selling weird aluminum candleholders on the street, so I chatted with them for a little bit and got a few restaurant recommendations. They'd also been talking to a guy with a ponytail who looked kinda sketchy, but I didn't think much of it as he left right when I got there. So a few minutes later I walked into Del Charro Saloon, and it was poppin'. Not an empty table in the place, but a huuuge bar where a lot of people were eating. Only one seat open though... right next to the sketchy ponytail guy!
Ok, this is the part in a movie where it either turns into a creepy serial killer horror movie, or a romantic love story where the guy ends up being from Italy and sweeps me off my feet. ALMOST TRUE! Minus the romance part. Creepy ponytail guy was Paolo, from Torino, Italy. He was a quantum physicist (!) in Santa Fe for the summer, doing research with a professor from MIT. He tried to explain bio-physics, but I had no idea what he was talking about. I'm going to blame it on his accent and the 2 margaritas I drank, but I'm pretty sure if he was English and I was sober, it wouldn't have made any difference. Anyway, he was really nice and gave me tons of great tips on what to do/see/eat when I go to Italy this fall. So, thanks Paolo! No, I didn't give him my contact info or anything because I figured, ya know, just in case he IS a serial killer...
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| Los tamales son deliciosos! |
On another exciting (?) note, one of the streets on the main square was closed because 50 Cent was filming a movie that day... neato, gang! Or not. After my delish tamale, I headed to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
Next, I hit up a few shops. This one was my favorite. If it had a name, I don't remember it, but I wanted to buy pretty much everything inside. Mexican ceramic tile mirrors, weird painted sun faces, strands of dried chili peppers, skulls.... who doesn't love skulls?
When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.
Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers.
The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.
The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction.
Over the years many have flocked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including "Unsolved Mysteries" and the television movie titled "The Staircase."
As I headed out of Santa Fe, I figured I might as well drive past the church that Justin had told me about: the San Miguel Mission. It was built in 1610 and is claimed to be the oldest church structure in the United States.
I was only in Santa Fe long enough to get a little taste of it, but I loved the city and would definitely like to go back. I could've stayed longer, but I could not WAIT to get to Phoenix. So with a full tank of gas and a heavy foot, I cruised through New Mexico and finally got to the Grand Canyon State!
Let me just say that driving through Arizona is incredible. I know everyone pictures cacti and desert, but northern Arizona is SO green! It's so beautiful that it is seriously distracting to drive through it, and I can't even count how many times I was tempted to pull over on the side of the road and snap some pics... and I would have, if my camera wasn't dead (again). My favorite was the stretch from Payson to Phoenix, the Tonto National Forest. I didn't take the pic below, but this is what it looks like when you're driving down the side of a mountain with nothing to your left but miles and miles of pine-tree-covered mountains.
Ahhh... so pretty. I rolled into Phoenix feeling good about life, relieved to be done with my trip, and ready to grill out with Jeff, Kelli, and Billy. My phone was almost dead (again), but it didn't matter, because I was only ten minutes from home! And then... my car started acting funky. The warning light for overheating came on, so I pulled over and called my bro to come follow me home just in case the car died. And then... it did! Crap! A few minutes later, my lovely siblings showed up and came to my rescue. We waited for the car to cool off, added a little bit of coolant, and made it home, where I had the cutest garage-door banner waiting for me:
Loved your post! Can't wait to hear more about your fabulous adventures!!
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