June 18 - Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico

We spent the morning in Santa Fe, charmed by the beautiful turquoise jewelry, the colorful crafts and the traditional pottery. We saw San Miguel Mission Church, the oldest church in America and the Miracle Staircase of Loretto Chapel. We also saw what is said to be the oldest house in America.

We spent the afternoon a few miles north in Taos, mainly at the beautiful Taos Pueblo. We ate some delicious Fry Bread with honey and met Grammy-winning Native American musician Robert Mirabel. We learned to appreciate the wisdom of building with adobe. Though close to 100 degrees outside, it was a cool 70 degrees inside.

Jacob used his own money to buy a bow and arrow made by Vernon Brown (that's his picture.) Vernon taught Jacob the proper way to use a bow and how to make arrows out of turkey feathers.

We left Taos and drove on Highway 64 across the Rio Grand Gorge Bridge, the third highest bridge in the U.S. over the San Juan Mountains to Durango. We stopped at the pass and had a summer snowball fight at over 10,000 feet. Wow!