Yes, I have a surfeit of photos taken while Denis and I were in Santa Fe. I really think I would enjoy living there if not for two important things: the altitude and the cold winters. Yes, call me a wimp because I do not tolerate cold weather very well. But while you're melting into a puddle and whining about high temperatures, I am in my element. It evens out.
There's such a feeling of history in Santa Fe. You can travel the Old Santa Fe Trail and the Old Pecos Trail. Most of the architecture embraces the area's heritage, and I love that.
Then there are the differences. Stoplights over intersections are hung horizontally instead of vertically. There are no plastic bags to be found in Santa Fe. Only paper-- and you have to ask for those. Like Phoenix, Santa Fe has been accused of having only two seasons, but their seasons aren't Phoenix's "Heaven" and "Hell." Santa Fe's seasons are "Windy" and "Not So Windy." Hmm... that would make a third reason for me not to move to Santa Fe. Wind and I don't get along.
And there was one thing that really puzzled me: the almost complete lack of solar panels. Wind turbines and solar panels would be naturals for that area, but I saw only two houses with solar panels. I can't believe that city has "missed the boat" on green energy, so I'm going to have to do some research. But before I do that research, I'd better head out to the corral. Those links are telling me they need some attention. Head 'em up! Moooooooove 'em out!
►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- Something I've pondered a time or two myself: Why do readers send authors their bad reviews?
- How jazz, flappers, European émigrés, booze, and cigarettes transformed design.
- The 200-year evolution of the word "gross."
- This map of America's most misspelled words will have you shaking your head.
- Here's how J.K. Rowling's first agent knew Harry Potter was a smash hit.
- Tungliƌ, the Icelandic publisher that only prints books during a full moon-- then burns them.
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- DNA from ancient Egyptian mummies reveals their ancestry. Here's another article about it from the International Business Times.
- New technology has revealed a catacomb fresco of the Roman grain trade and even Renaissance graffiti.
- An unusual house of the dead is telling archaeologists about the earliest farmers.
- Egyptian archaeologists have discovered ten ancient royal tombs and mummies.
- London's River Thames has been a hot spot for lost art for centuries.
►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
- A coyote had a tough lesson to learn about getting between a mother bison and her newborn baby.
- Need something to make you smile? How about an otter video-- that always works for me!
- A bird caught in amber 100 million years ago is the best ever found.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- Forget the Beatles-- Liszt was music's first superstar.
- Dinner in Deadwood with Calamity Jane.
- Berthe Antonine Mayné-- the Titanic passenger who survived the sinking, but no one believed her.
- Why Hilary Mantel became a historical novelist.
- Remember Boyan Slat, the teenager who invented a way to clean up ocean plastic? He's back with his solar-powered booms.
►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄
- Ten great books of Washington intrigue.
- The twelve creepiest companies in literature.
- The ten emotional stages of seeing your favorite book as a TV show or movie.
- Ten Sherlock Holmes words worth investigating.
- Fifteen random facts about reading.
- Six stories of stunning passports from countries that no longer exist.
- Fifteen things book lovers do better than anyone else.
- Do you know the original language of these famous novels?
That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.
Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!
Santa Fe is lovely, isn't it, Cathy? So much history in the area, too. So I can see how you would consider living there if it were warmer in the winter. Interesting how both Arizona and New Mexico have such different climates, depending on where you live. Anyway, if you need me, I'll be exploring those Egyptian tombs...
ReplyDeleteI thought you might!
DeleteI just about asked if Santa Fe was windy, and then you mentioned the two seasons. That's the reason for the horizontal stoplights. They do that in Florida as well. I think it's harder for a hurricane to rip the signal lights off the poles if there's less of a profile for the wind to catch on.
ReplyDeleteWe've never been to Santa Fe, in fact, have never really stopped anywhere in New Mexico except for gas and a stop at a couple of national monuments on a way to and from Arizona, and when we visited Mesa Verde in Colorado. We were impressed by how polite drivers were in Albuquerque as we passed through on the interstate.
Your spam folder may hold an email from me...
Denis and I had concluded that wind had to be the factor in those lights. We didn't notice any go-out-of-their-way polite drivers while we were in New Mexico, but we certainly didn't run across many idiot drivers. I'll have to check my spam folder, although when it's summer and I spend so much time outside, I don't check email all that often....
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