Sanctuary at Chimayo built in 1806 on the spot where a Franciscan brother found a crucifix from a predecessor with the original Franciscan expedition in the early 1600's. The dirt from this site is considered as healing as the water from Lourdes. I had many requests from friends for some of this dirt. My camera bag will never be the same!

I finally have Internet access. I had to beg, plead, and otherwise demean myself in order to get my daughter to let me use her laptop. For unknown reasons she can get Internet access with her plug in card and I can not. It's kind of irritating because yours truly pays for both cards from the same provider. Must be a message there.

We've had a great deal of fun on this trip and learned an awful lot about the history of the Santa Fe area. We've been to Chimayo, which some consider the American Lourdes, and then went to the Native American ruins at Puye. There was an interesting coincidence at the two sites. Both depicted the Sacred Heart, one in a wood carving at Chimayo, and one in a stone petroglyph at Puye. The tour guide at Puye stated that the petroglyph probably referred to the Spanish Conquistadors. I found that interesting in that most archaeologists feel the Puye caves and cliff dwellings had been abandoned before the Spanish conquest, which means this particular petroglyph was added later, probably in the early 1600's.

The Santa Fe area is a great mix of Native and Catholic spiritual practices as can be seen in the evolving history of the area. The Basilica of St. Francis is a unique mix of modern, Native, and old Spanish influence. It's mind boggling to think that the churches in this area predate virtually anything on the East Coast, and the Native history extends back 10-12,000 years. For my daughter and myself, this has been a truly enlightening trip. Tomorrow we head to Los Alamos to see the influence of modern science on this historical area, and then we will probably head to Roswell and to see the 'alien' influence on. So far New Mexico truly has been the land of enchantment.

One thing we have noticed is less semi traffic and empty hotel rooms. I don't think the tourism statistics are going to be very strong for this summer, and no matter where we've been, there are lots and lots of houses on the market. This is making the recession very tangible, as the for sale signs cut across all socioeconomic classes.

Now that I have almost sold my soul for access to a laptop which works, I will be posting more frequently. Hope everyone's summer is going well in spite of the fact our spineless congress can't seem to act on health care reform. I thought it was interesting that after PO's speech the other night the mainstream media dumped anything he said on health care in favor of the one out lying question on the Professor Gate's arrest. It's a classic example of how the media determines the message we get to hear, especially when pharmaceutical companies are paying for all the commercial time.