mark feldman's summer trip new mexico part 4 - july 7-9

the staircase you see to the right is the "miraculous staircase" in loretto chapel in santa fe.  it was built in the 1860's, is not supported by anything but itself, and to this day no engineer can explain why it hasn't collapsed.  the story is that the chapel, originally built for a girls' school, was mistakenly built without a way to get up to the choir loft.  the customary ladder was thought to be improper for girls  (hey, it was 1860), and a conventional staircase would've taken up half the pew area.  anyway, the nuns prayed to st. joseph for a solution, and on the ninth day, a carpenter showed up with primitive tools, said he had a solution to the problem, built what you see to the right, and disappeared without asking to be paid.  no one ever saw him again.  creepy!  ok, back to our regularly scheduled program...

i saw the georgia o'keefe museum to round out my two days in santa fe, then headed up to taos.  a beautiful drive, and a hostel that didn't involve any dirty trailers welcomed me to another quaint adobe town.

on my first day there i hiked up to the 13,000 foot wheeler peak, the highest point in new mexico!  i gazed down in admiration at taos valley ski area (alas, snow-less) and all was serene.  i explored the town of taos the next day, including a 19th century hacienda (above).  i was sad to leave new mexico after all this, but colorado awaited!

OK, next state!

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