Well I have been in Santa Fe for 1 week and 3 days. It's been a wild ride so far. I arrived in springtime weather, then we had a blizzard, resulting in being snowed in for a couple of days. Then it  snowed some more, big white fluffy flakes. I had the flu and then it was springtime again. And in between I have walked around the historic plaza, visited museums, and been to the historic town of Las Vegas, New Mexico. It's been great. Sometimes when I can't drive down the icy  road where I am staying I walk. It an easy mile away. The sky is so blue and the clouds are like cotton balls. It is truly a beautiful place with clean crisp air. The art is fantastic and the amount of Galleries even more impressive. I have to admit though that driving in snow and ice is scary for me as a San Diegan but I won't let the weather keep me in unless I think it will be dangerous. Then I stay in and give myself a facial and draw. The highlight of this trip so far is the International Folk Art Museum. The Alexander Gerard collection is so huge and awesome that I can't do it justice in words. There is folk art from all over the world and set up in tableaus. There is a Colonial American village, scenes from Venice Italy, Poland and Mexico to list just a few. Then there are trains, dolls, animals, textiles and toys.  The amount of items are astounding. Tomorrow I am of to Albuquerque for 3 or 4 days.
Till next time...

How lucky I am. Before starting out for Santa Fe, New Mexico I drove up to one of my most favorite places in California - Nevada City. It is a precious old gold mining town that sits in the foothills of the Sierras. The people are friendly and happy and helpful to tourists. I had planned to spend 3 days but it rained and was miserable that 3rd day so I started on my trip to Santa Fe. But I did get a great walk in with the Nevada City Walking Group headed up by Mary Cahill the day before.
On my trip I stopped at Williams, Arizona which was all decked out with Christmas lights and horse drawn wagons and a huge tree.  And an stop in Needles where I took a short walk along the Colorado River.



Santa Fe is pretty town.  The sand colored buildings stand out against the clear blue sky. The art galleries seem endless and there are lots of shops to browse. I have done quite a bit of walking since I arrived on Friday, getting the lay of the land. I actually have only gone in one shop so far. There was a big snow storm yesterday, Sunday and I barely made it back to my rental. In fact I could not make it up the last part of the road and walked the rest of the way. Later my more experienced land lord was kind enough to walk down in the heavy snow and managed  to  get the car up to his driveway. Today I am snowed in but the beautiful view I have makes it okay. I did miss the lighting of the Posadas last night and that was disappointing, but I never would have been to make it back to my place if I had waited any longer. Besides I got lots of great pictures of the snow coming down and also a cold.
It was 18 degrees this morning so I don't really feel the need to go outside anyway. I did get to do the Museum of Art Sunday which was free as part of the Christmas Festivities. It is small but good, there was also a free concert. I am looking forward to getting out  to tomorrow.