Hanging out at the Legion posts

My brother is a Vietnam vet, and he's active in his American Legion post back in western New York.

So on his trip to New Mexico, we visited several Legion Posts. Jake had Legion license plates from his post in NY, and there is a tradition of trading plates with other posts around the country. He was able to visit posts in Santa Fe and Los Alamos, and exchange plates with them.

The fun part was the nice people we met in the Legions in both places. Local people were interested in striking up conversations with us, and were instantly friendly to us as strangers. We had some great conversations with some good people.

Here is Jake outside the Montoya y Montoya Post in Santa Fe:

Cross of the Martyrs

On top of a hill overlooking downtown Santa Fe, near Otero Street and Paseo de Peralta, is a simple white cross which commemorates the 21 Franciscan priests killed during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

My visit there with Jake and Debbie several weeks ago was the first time I have ever visited this place. I was really impressed with the spectacular views of the city. The Jemez Mountains are to the west, and I have heard the cross is a great place to view the Santa Fe sunsets.

Visiting the Governor's Mansion

The New Mexico Governor's Residence is a beautiful territorial style public and private home on a hill close to the city of Santa Fe.

The director of the Mansion, Marian Lewis, welcomed Jake, Debbie and I for a visit one afternoon several weeks ago. She is so gracious and so full of a wealth of information about the history of the home.

The New Mexico Governor's Mansion is open to the public on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. It is well worth a visit if you are in Santa Fe.









The view from the Mansion:

Breezing through Red River

I think we were tired by the time we got to Red River, because we opted not to stop for any shopping or sightseeing.

Just stopped long enough to get some pictures of horses at the riding stable, and then on through town and on our way home.

At the Laguna Vista Saloon in Eagle Nest, NM

Well, the business is not just a saloon. It's also a restaurant and an old partially restored brothel from the 1890's. Built along the Santa Fe Trail, it was a busy place in the old wild west days as a stop halfway between Santa Fe and Raton. It was also apparently kind of infamous for the brothel there which attracted cowboys, miners, and probably an outlaw or two. Luckily the old building remains, still looking much as it did many years ago.

And ... oh yeah ... the place is said to be haunted.

On the day we were there, the bartender (manager?) took us on a tour of the old brothel rooms downstairs and upstairs.

And I have recently learned that the town was once known as Therma; the name was changed to Eagle Nest in the 1930s.

The Laguna Vista Saloon was an unexpected fun stop on our travel around the Enchanted Circle.


Low-hanging clouds near Eagle Nest:




The saloon:




The brothel:








The Restaurant:

The St. James Hotel in Cimarron

The St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico is a totally wonderful place to visit.

The hotel was built as a saloon in 1872 when Cimarron was a wild west town, back in the days when law and order was non-existent; the town had a reputation as a place of violence. Well known outlaws such as Jesse James, Clay Allison and Black Jack Ketchum were frequent guests at the hotel, which was the scene of at least 26 murders. There are still 22 bullet holes visible in the ceiling of the hotel saloon.

Guest rooms were added in 1880, and the hotel had a reputation for elegance, and was a popular stop for visitors traveling to Santa Fe. The hotel had many famous guests: Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, Bat Masterson, Kit Carson, Wyatt Earp, Frederick Remington, NM Governor Lew Wallace, and Zane Gray.

The hotel has been remodeled and is a showplace to the style of the 19th century. There are guest rooms decorated in period furnishings and named for famous (or “infamous”) people who have stayed there.

The hotel claims to have half a dozen ghosts who live in the building, as well as numerous “restless spirits” who pass through. There are many many stories of ghost sightings, unexplained sounds, smells and occurences. Visitors are encouraged to take pictures of any ghost sighting they are witness to.

We spent a long time talking to the manager of the hotel, who loved telling us stories and was full of information and history.

What a great place! An excellent stop on our trip around the Enchanted Circle.

Scenes around Cimarron

Cimarron, New Mexico is a sleepy little town packed full of the history and characters from the Old West.

On the day we were in Cimarron, we walked around and enjoyed some of the sights in the town:







The old Cimarron jail:




Deer spotted along the Cimarron River: