In true southwestern style

Arts and activities abound in these New Mexico communities

We then travelled on to the town of Taos, New Mexico, where we found an arts festival going on. This is a very old town, established in the late 18th century. The streets are quite narrow. The historic Taos Plaza still remains the centre of town and the centre of activities. The original houses are built right next to the street, so pulling our trailer through town was an experience. There was an awful lot of traffic backed up on all the streets because of the arts festival.

This is a town well worth walking through. There are many shops that offer handmade native jewelry, paintings and pottery. Also be sure to visit the local world-renowned museums and the Kit Carson Home and museum. With two campgrounds right in town, this is a good place to visit. For more information go to www.taosweb.com.

Next we headed south through the town of Espanola, New Mexico, to Santa Fe. What a beautiful city. All the buildings are made of adobe and in the Spanish/Mexican style that is very prevalent the southwest US.

We toured the historic downtown area and visited many shops offering jewellery, paintings and pottery. We also visited the 131-year-old Loretta Chapel, built just east of the Plaza on Old Santa Fe Trail. This chapel is famous for its spiral staircase. This staircase was built by a mysterious carpenter with two 360-degree turns (it has no nails or wooden pegs used, no centre support and is not attached to the side walls). It leads from the main floor of the chapel to the choir loft. It is said the carpenter disappeared without asking for payment.

Just down the street is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, built in 1869. It is an absolutely gorgeous building.

There is always something going on in Santa Fe and it is worth putting on your itinerary. Visit www.santafe.org.