UIAD GOES TO THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

Day 12 5D-49) Something we won't have time to visit: Spanish Missions. A  Christian mission  is an organized effort to spread  Christianity  to new converts.  The Spanish Missions were established by Franciscan  friars, missionaries, under charter of the Spanish Empire and the government of the Viceroyalty of New Spain with the intention of converting the Native  Americans (Indians) to Christianity.  Those concerned were many of the 21 distinct Puebloan groups: the Tiwa, the Navajo and the Apache. We won't have time to visit one, so I give you here a photo of the San Miguel Mission in Santa Fe. San Miguel Church is sometimes referred to as the oldest church in the USA and is located on Old Santa Fe Trail.  The original church, which had been built of adobe around 1610, was burned during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.  The current adobe structure was built in 1710.  There have been many renovations through the years.  (...

Day 11   I wish we had more time.     I wish a day had more than 24 hours.   I wish we could stay longer in Santa Fe.    Santa Fe:  architecture, history, religion, art... On our fourth day, which will be Friday, June 21st , we'll visit   -- The city, with its Santa Fe style architecture .   The  Pueblo Revival style  or Santa Fe sty le is a regional  architectural style  of the  Southwestern United States , which draws its inspiration from the  Pueblos  and the  Spanish missions in New Mexico . The style developed at the beginning of the 20th century and reached its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s.   It is still commonly used for new buildings. Pueblo style architecture is most prevalent in the state of  New Mexico . An example: Author= Daniel Schwen   --The Plaza  A plaza is an open, public marketplace, usually in the shape of a square...

Day 10  Santa Fe (continued) Let's continue our list of interesting facts about Santa Fe. Starting with more superlatives: 6) S anta Fe is the third-largest art market in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. 7)  Santa Fe's Canyon Road has more than 100 galleries within its one-square mile, making it the densest concentration of art galleries in the world. Looking for something to buy?  Art?  Clothes?  Jewellry? Or we can just "buy" with our eyes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrEmha3I9_M 8.  One of the largest American internment camps was built in Santa Fe.  On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorised the federal government to incarcerate people it considered potential saboteurs of the war effort.  At first, Japanese-Americans, and then Germans and Italians were sent to Santa Fe later during the war.  The Santa Fe camp imprisoned a reporte...

Day 9 Santa Fe, New Mexico NEW MEXICO:  A territory from 1850-1912, New Mexico was admitted as the 47th state in January of 1912. It is the 5th largest state but has a population of about 2,100,000 .  Out of all the 50 states, it ranks 36th in population, but 45th in density (6.6/km2). Click here for a google map: https://goo.gl/maps/dedWXSKQcjv SANTA FE: A lot of superlatives-->  highest, oldest..longest name! 1) At 7,000 ft above sea level ( 2194m ), Santa Fe is the United States' highest capital city . 2)  Santa Fe is the oldest state capital in the United States,  founded in 1608  by New Mexico's third Spanish governor, Don Pedro de Peralta.  It was made the capital of the territory in 1610.     3)  Santa Fe is Spanish, meaning Holy Faith.   Santa Fe's full name is La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asis -->  The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis...

Day 8 (D-53)  Los Alamos  /  Bradbury Science Museum Before we go to visit Santa Fe, we'll make a stop in Los Alamos, New Mexico.  From there it will be about a half-hour drive to Santa Fe. Another map for you here:  https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Los+Alamos,+Nouveau-Mexique+87544,+États-Unis/Taos,+Nouveau-Mexique+87571,+États-Unis/@36.1729254,-106.4958827,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x87186cacdd7d64a7:0xe2627730b580ad3d!2m2!1d-106.3031138!2d35.8800364!1m5!1m1!1s0x871764da7f11fcb1:0x90ea918361a9b782!2m2!1d-105.5730665!2d36.4072485!3e0 Leaving the pueblos with their 1000 years of history behind us, we'll  fast-forward  to the 20th century and the Second World War!  Do you know what important role this town of 12000 today played in bringing World War II to an end?  Los Alamos, which in Spanish means "The Cottonwoods" or "The Poplar Trees" is  the birthplace of the atomic bomb  --the primary objective of  The M...

Day 7 (D-54)  Puebloans  WARNING:  This blog post is long, but there is important  information.  Some examples: NO PHOTOS OF TRIBAL MEMBERS WITHOUT PERMISSION. DRESS IN LAYERS AND WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material and religious practices.  When Spaniards entered the area beginning in the 16th century, they  came across complex, multi-story villages built of adobe, stone and other local materials, which they called pueblos or towns, a word that later came to refer also to the peoples who live in these villages. There are currently 19 Pueblos that are still inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni and Hopi are the best-known.  Pueblo communities are located in the present-day states of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, mostly along the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers and their tributaries.  The term ...

Day 6 (D-55) Taos   /  High Bridge We leave Colorado and enter New Mexico on the third day of our trip.  You can click here and take a look at this Google Map. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Alamosa,+Colorado+81101,+États-Unis/Taos,+Nouveau-Mexique+87571,+États-Unis/@36.9398152,-106.2803634,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x87167bf536a13e75:0xdeea62120ecf8bec!2m2!1d-105.8700214!2d37.4694491!1m5!1m1!1s0x871764da7f11fcb1:0x90ea918361a9b782!2m2!1d-105.5730665!2d36.4072485!3e0 Taos, New Mexico   (the town) Population:   Estimate (2016) 5,763 Elevation 6,969 ft (2,124 m) The English name  Taos  derives from the native  Taos language   meaning "place of red  willows ". There will be two places for us to visit:  Taos, the town  and  Taos Pueblo ,   the  Native American   village.  Taos Pueblo  is also the name of the tribe from which village takes its name. ...