Our guest this week is Gerhard Bock, a translator, photographer,
and avid gardener based in Northern California. He is also an occasional contributor
to Novel
Adventurers. This new travelogue describes
one day of Gerhard’s recent road trip through the American Southwest with his
family. It originally appeared on his gardening blog, Bambutopia.
Today
was all about visiting historic churches and buildings in northern New Mexico.
In the morning we took the High Road toTaos which crosses the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and winds through a
number of small Spanish villages.
Our
first stop was in Chimayó
whose main attraction is the Santuario, a Catholic church often called the
“Lourdes of America” because it attracts scores of faithful who believe in its
healing properties. Check out this Wikipedia article
for the whole (hi)story.
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| Santuario de Chimayó |
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| Shrine in the square at the base of the Santuario de Chimayó |
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| Wall detail of Santuario de Chimayó |
At
the top of a mesa is the even smaller village of Truchas. Its
church, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, is very modest but beautiful in its lack of
ornamentation. Robert Redford’s 1988 movie The
Milagro Beanfield War was filmed in Truchas.
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| View from Truchas |
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| Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Truchas |
Las Trampas
comes on the High Road. Its church, San José deGracia, was built between 1760 and 1776 and is a prime example of adobe
architecture. Unfortunately, the church was closed (as was the one in Truchas)
but I enjoyed looking at the exterior details, especially the exquisite door.
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| San José de Gracias in Las Trampas |
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| Door of San José de Gracia |
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| Adobe wall detail |
After
another 30 miles we finally reached Ranchos de Taos,
home of the most famous church in the southwestern United Stages. The SanFrancisco de Asís Mission Church is breathtaking. It has been photographed
and painted by master artists ranging from Ansel Adams and Paul Strand to
Georgia O’Keeffe, who lived an hour and a half away in the village of Abiquiú
(see further down below in this post).
We
parked in the dirt lot right off the main highway so the first thing we saw of
the church was its back. As beautiful as the front is, I think the back is my
favorite aspect because of the unbroken expanses of adobe and the simple
geometric lines.
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| San Francisco de Asís Mission Church--rear |
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| San Francisco de Asís Mission Church--rear |
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| San Francisco de Asís Mission Church--architectural details |
Walking
around the side, I finally made it to the front of the church. After checking
out the inside (no photography allowed), we had a great lunch at a family-owned
restaurant right next to the church. The New Mexican food they served was among
the best we’ve had to date on this trip.
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| San Francisco de Asís Mission Church--front |
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| San Francisco de Asís Mission Church--front |
Our
next stop was the Taos Plaza
in the heart of town. It’s much smaller than the Santa Fe Plaza we saw
yesterday, but it was also much less busy.
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| Taos Plaza |
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| Taos Plaza |
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| Taos Plaza |
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Ristras (chili pepper wreaths) and kiva ladder on top
of a building in the Taos Plaza |
One
of the most anticipated stops on this entire trip came next: Taos Pueblo. Designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is the oldest continuously inhabited place in
the entire country. Some
of the multi-storied adobe structures date back to the year 1000.
Here
are some photographic impressions of Taos Pueblo:
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| Church of San Geronimo |
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| Church of San Geronimo |
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| Multi-storied adobe building |
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| Multi-storied adobe buildings |
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| Wahlea's Taos Pueblo Gallery |
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| Ladder against an adobe wall |
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| Panoramic view of Taos Pueblo |
The
final stop on today’s itinerary was the village of Abiquiú, about an hour and a
half from Taos and less than thirty minutes from Española where we’ve been
staying for the last three days. Abiquiú is where American painter Georgia
O’Keeffe lived from 1949 until her death at age 98 in 1986. I expected it to
have at least some tourism, but the small plaza in front of the beautiful
church of Santo Tomás El Apóstol looks much like it probably did 100 years ago.
The road and plaza are unpaved, and the houses—some adobe, some more
conventional—look forgotten by time. The plaza was quiet and deserted, quite a
contrast from Santa Fe and Taos.
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| Architectural detail |
I
knew Georgia O’Keeffe’s house adjoined the plaza but I had a hard time finding
it; it’s by far the largest property but it’s well hidden by trees and
completely surrounded by a thick six-foot adobe wall. The best view I could get
was from the entrance, which was chained off. Tours can be arranged through the
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
but they require advance reservations and are expensive ($35 per person).
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| Georgia O'Keeffe House in Abiquiú |
On
our way back to Española, we saw a double rainbow with really vibrant colors.
Within minutes we were in the middle of a summer monsoon squall, complete with
lightning and thunder. I loved it.
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| Double rainbow near Abiquiú |
What a delightful essay and spectacular photos. Thanks for sharing them with us. A little personal footnote: my sister used to run that restaurant in the plaza next to the Saint Francisco de Asis church! A long time ago.
ReplyDeleteOh Gerhard, how I missed your photos! Superb pics (particularly love the one on architectural details and the view from Trucho). What an amazing journey, one I hope to take myself someday! (you've certainly seen more of the States than I have!)
ReplyDeleteNew Mexico is never ending wonder of beauty. Around any corner there can be a surprise and the sky and light seem somehow different. the soul takes flight at such beauty.
ReplyDelete