Santa Fe, New Mexico

Case has friends in Santa Fe, so we took a day-trip to see them and the town. We flew through the waning effects of Hurricane Dolly, so Case got to use his instrument rating. The flash flood channels were still draining the effects of the previous days' heavy rains.

Santa Fe started the morning with 500 ft ceilings and mist, but by the time we were arriving, the afternoon thunderstorms were building.
Upon arrival....
we're hungry and downtown Santa Fe is alive with the "Spanish Market". The streets were alive with the sounds, smells, and taste of New Mexican culture, so we got some food and had lunch. Not too different from Mexican food, but they probably wouldn't appreciate us saying that. Northern New Mexico is proud of its unique cultural heritage.
We wandered on, stopping to listen to a band in the central plaza and watch a few inspired souls dance.
A block away is the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic church. The originally structure was built in 1714, but this cathedral has been here since 1869. It is the only historic building in town that departs from the "pueblo" style, the bishop who designed and built it having been homesick for France. Other New Mexicans pooh-pooh Santa Fe as a "plastic" and "Disney-fied" version of their culture, but being from Orange County (home of Disneyland and numerous plastic surgeons), we didn't mind at all.
Jolene and a few others meandered through the labyrinth outside the church. What is considered by some to be a peaceful, calm and prayerful experience was punctuated by the little boy in the center shouting, "Grandma, I won! I won! I made it to the center before you!!"
Classic American native. ("Our Lady of ..." um ... something I forget just now.)
The interior of the cathedral reminded us of some we saw during our travels in South America and Europe.
A view down the main street...
Santa Fe is a hub for art, art auctions, and galleries. This town of sixty-some-thousand is the third largest art market in the nation, lagging only New York and Los Angeles. Something's artsy happens every weekend all summer long, bringing in $130 million for art and tourism.
Painting art, admiring art, displaying art... it seemed to be all about art!
We visited the Georgia O'Keefe museum (worth a visit), which was hosting a comparative showing of her's and Ansel Adam's works. However, no photos allowed -- sorry! After that, we had dinner with Case's friends and colleagues, who practice radiation oncology at St. Vincent's in town. As usual when visiting people, we got too busy talking to haul out our camera. And then the late evening flight back, dodging a couple thunderstorms while Jolene slept in the back seat. All told, an enjoyable day.