Wednesday, August 15, 2007

2007 Santa Fe Day 5

After the early morning and late night yesterday, we were slower this morning. We had breakfast on patio at the hotel.

When we finished breakfast, Sharon headed out for a couple of hours of shopping. Jack and I headed to Museum Hill. Museum Hill is a complex of four museums located southwest of the downtown. We stared in the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. This is a small museum located in an 8-sided Navajo hogan-type building. Jack got a christmas present for Sharon in the gift shop.

From there, we went to the Museum of Indian Culture and Arts. I found two of the exhibits interesting. First, there was an exhibit of the works of Pablita Velarde. She was commissioned by the National Park Service, under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), to create scenes of traditional Pueblo culture for the visitor center being built at Bandelier National Monument. She produced over 84 paintings in casein on Masonite, matte board and glass between 1939 and 1945. Sixty-eight of these paintings were included in the exhibition. Second, there was a large exhibit from the excavation of Casas Grandes. Located in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, Casas Grandes was once a bustling village with sophisticated adobe architecture, Mesoamerican-style ball courts, and a complex system of stone-lined canals. Casas Grandes was the most complex society of its time, blending elements of ancestral Puebloan and Mesoamerican culture. During the Medio period of A.D. 1200–1450, Casas Grandes was a major regional center of interaction and trade, with evidence of ball courts and exotic goods such as copper, shell, turquoise, and macaws. This museum also contained a room designed for kids. Jack had a great time building a large pueblo and knocking it down and playing a board game with pairie dogs.

Next, we went to the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art. This museum had a treasure hunt sheet for kids that Jack particularly enjoyed. He and I had to work to find the last item.

Leaving Museum Hill, we stopped at Journey's End. This bronze sculpture captures the travails faced along the Santa Fe Trail.

Heading back to the hotel, we caught up with Sharon. We had the hotel shuttle take us to the Guadalupe Cafe for a leisurely lunch. This is someplace we would definitely recommend.

After lunch, Sharon headed for a yoga class at Body, while Jack and I wandered back downtown. He and I went to the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum. They were showing some cartoons of indian mythology in the back that Jack enjoyed. We then hiked up the hill above the downtown to Fort Marcy park. The trail includes a cross was built to honor 21 fallen Franciscan friars in the 1680 Pueblo Indian Revolt and plaques providing an overview of the 400 year history of Santa Fe. There is essentially nothing left of the fort at the top of the hill.

Back at the hotel, I ran four plus miles on the treadmill while Sharon and Jack crashed in the room.

At this point, the fun really began. We had a reservation at the restaurant in the Inn of the Anasazi. Jack said that he was feeling under the weather. At some point while I was running on the treadmill, he started drinking a lot of water (I mean a lot!) saying that he was dehydrated. We got ready for dinner and walked to restaurant. Shortly, after we sat down for dinner, Jack said that he was feeling sick. I started to walk him towards the bathroom. He started throwing up at the entryway to the restaurant. He was throwing up all the water that he drank; I mean a lot of water. I walked him back to the room. We put him to bed. Sharon and I ordered room service and watched Jon Steward and the Colbert report.

No comments:

Post a Comment