Next we went to Pecos National Historical park. Pecos was originally a Indian village. It was a place of trade for the early Indians, Spanish explorers also came hear and it was later the place of a civil war battle. These next two picture are of a Kiva that were used for religious purposes for the Indians.
This is a picture of a mission built by the Catholics to convert the Indians
this is what their village looked like
Next we went into Santa Fe and toured the Capital.
They had a display of quilts that were very beautiful.
This is a picture of Matthew with the staircase at the Lorretta Chapel
When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.
Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers.
The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.
The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction.(take from http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html)
We had to drive all the way to Colorado to camp that night b/c of the forest fires
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