Santa Fe, New Mexico

The city of Santa Fe is located in the state of New Mexico and sixty miles north of Albuquerque, is a favorite holiday destination in the U.S. It is the second oldest city in the U.S. and offers a unique blend of history, architecture, culture, cuisine, outdoor activities and shopping in a typical American Southwest.

With 65,000 residents, Santa Fe is the third largest city in New Mexico. Originally founded by the Spanish colony in 1607. Its original name was “La Villa Real de Santa Fe de San Francisco de Assisi.”

At 7,000 feet above sea level, the city covers nearly 35 square miles in a valley near the Rio Grande at the southern base of the Rocky Mountains. It is sheltered from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the east and Jemez Mountains in the west.
Santa Fe may surprise those who visit for the first time and think they’re going to find a hot, dry desert climate. While the city has the benefit of receiving abundant sunshine, winters have enough snow to turn it into a ski resort. No severe temperature extremes have much to offer at any time of year.

The Annual Indian Market Santa Fe takes place in August. Here you can buy original artwork directly from the 1,200 American Indian artists participating throughout the country. With the growing interest in native art, the city has recently established the International Market Santa Fe Native Art to be held in July, with exhibits of artists from 40 countries. You can view and buy art in the Spanish Colonial Traditional Market.

During the winter, Santa Fe becomes a magical often in fantasy land when it is lightly covered with snow and the sun shining in the cloudless blue sky. The air is perfumed with the pungent smell of burning pinion wood. This city is especially beautiful at Christmas, it glows with lanterns – paper bags filled with sand and lit with candles. They are used to cover the walls of adobe, the roofs of buildings, houses, parking lots and sidewalks.

The sunsets and sunrises are beautiful. The images created by the constant movement patterns of white and dark gray clouds across the sky bright blue dyed fascinates Georgia O’Keeffe, the painter of the twentieth century spent much of his life north of Santa Faith.

Foto: americansouthwest.net

Santa Fe New Mexico