Day 29 of our 30-day Southwest Grand Circle Caravan –Santa Fe New Mexico (part one)

Some of us enjoyed a little bit of Santa Fe last night, Friday August 12th, at the Santa Fe Bandstand in the Plaza. Some of us carpooled down to the heart of Santa Fe to enjoy the music. We were lucky enough to find parking in a municipal garage just two blocks from the plaza. Charlie and I walked to the square and found a large spot in a shady grass area for all of us to set up our chairs when they arrive.

The non-profit group Outside In and the City of Santa Fe present over sixty free performances between July 5th and August 26th. This summer marks the fourteenth annual Santa Fe Bandstand, a free summer music festival that features great live music from an amazing mix of top national artists and the best bands from Santa Fe's exploding music scene. It is one of the city's most cherished annual events on their historic Santa Fe Plaza.

There were two bands on Friday night. The first band was The Chicken Coops. The group is led by Felix "Los Gatos" Perea. This supergroup of young players brings a new twist on the old sounds of New Mexico. Guitars, fiddles and button accordions characterize their sound. Flaco Jimenez doesn't tour much these days, the sound of "Los Gallineros" might be as close as you can get. The feature band was The Pleasure Pilots. They are a six-piece New Mexico based band specializing in old school styles of Rhythm & Blues, playing songs from the greats like T-Bone Walker, Albert King, Louis Jordan, Fats Domino and more. With a driving rhythm section, powerful vocals and musicianship, plus a horn section of top-notch players, they are always a highlight!

The weather was perfect for the event and our added bonus was it was a classic car night on the Plaza. The Santa Fe Vintage Car Club is a group of automotive enthusiasts dedicated to the restoration, preservation and enjoyment of collector vehicles. Member vehicles represent a wide diversity of antique, vintage, classic, muscle, sports, exotic, hot rods and trucks. They were the sponsor this and three other summer "Cruise Nights on the Plaza" events. One of the RV owners on the caravan with us, is the owner of ten classic cars. He was in his glory to be able to walk around these classics. I think he spent more time looking at the cars than listening to the music!

The night ended with a perfect sunset that I captured between the buildings that surround the plaza.

Saturday, August 13th, is Day 29 and our last day of "big" events on our caravan are set for today. We all rose early, because we are taking a bus and walking tour of Santa Fe. 

A bus limousine arrived at the RV resort at 8 am. 

Our first stop was the Round Building, also known as the New Mexico State Capitol and Legislature. This is where we picked up our three tour guides. Our large group of 37 people, were reduced into three smaller groups. The smaller groups makes it easier to hear all our tour guides had to share with us. This is another perk that Yankee RV Tours provides.

The unique history of New Mexico is reflected in its capitols. New Mexico claims the oldest as well as one of the newest capitols in the US. The Palace of the Governors, built in 1609 on the north side of the Plaza, is the oldest capitol. It was the seat of Spanish, Mexican and American governments. Today, it is the New Mexico State History Museum. The current State Capitol was designed by WC Kruger, constructed by Robert E. McKee and dedicated in December 1966. It is built in New Mexico Territorial style. 

The building forms the Zia sun symbol. New Mexico's distinctive Zia sun symbol is closely associated with the Land of Enchantment. Inspired by a design found on a 19th Century water jar from Zia Pueblo, it represents a circular sun with linear rays in four directions. To the Zia people, four is a significant number. It is embodied in the four directions of the earth, four seasons of the year, four times of the day (sunrise, noon, evening and sunset), and life's four divisions (childhood, youth, adulthood and old age). Everything is bound together in a circle of life, without a beginning, without an end.

The Capitol was renovated in the early 1990s and rededicated in December of 1992. The Capitol Art Foundation and Art Collection were also created at this time. All the art and handcrafted furniture in the capitol's permanent collection were created by New Mexico artists. 







The foundation was created to assist in the acquisition of art for permanent, public exhibition in the State Capitol. The collection features contemporary masterworks by artists who live and work in New Mexico.









The Capitol Art Collection is housed throughout the public areas of the State Capitol, the Walter K. Martinez Walkway and the Capitol North, as well as outdoors on the capitol grounds and the Clay Buchanan Gardens. 


The collection consists of a wide range of media, styles and traditions, including handcrafted furtniture groupings. The mission of the Capitol Art Foundation is to collect, preserve, exhibit, interpret and promote appreciation of works of art that reflect the rich and diverse history, cultures and art forms of the people of New Mexico. 

Since the art displayed in the Capitol is a foundation, New Mexico is one of the few capitol buildings that has religious art displayed.

We toured the second (ground) and third levels. The second level is the level visitors enter on. The Rotunda in the center of the building measures almost 50 feet in diameter and is inlaid with a turquoise and brass mosaic of the great seal. The marble is Travertine, native to New Mexico. Looking up, the flags of New Mexico's thirty three counties are on permanent display from the fourth-floor balcony. The skylinght is sixty-feet from the floor and represents an Indian basket weave; the blue represents the sky and the pale pink is the earth. 

The house gallery seats 296 and is located on the south side of the building. The senate gallery, which seats 210, is on the north side of the building. The east lobby proudly exhibits New Mexico's Wall of Honor, recognizing fourteen men who have received the highest military decoration awarded by the US. On the third level, all we looked at was the amazing art!


The day was packed with great events ... too many to put it all in one blog! So, stay tuned for more information in the next blog!