Santa Fe Trip Report:

Valentine’s weekend was a great time to fall in love with CHAOS, whether it was for the first time (for the 4 newbies), or for the 501st time (we had some authentic old timers along).

The CHAOS crowd arrived at the Land of Enchantment in waves, like the rain that drizzled on and off during Friday’s drive. On the way, the cloud shapes shifted, and double rainbows faded in and out of view on the wide horizon. For entertainment, we used the ‘walky talkies’ to play road atlas trivia, discuss past Santa Fe trips, and explore spiritual backgrounds and beliefs. The first caravan, Taraka, Rom, Namrata, Beth, Ken, and Christine, arrived in time for a Santa Fe Sunset.

After waiting a full year to satisfy cravings for green and red chile peppers, Rom and Taraka led the way to “The Shed.” A small courtyard led us to a cozy adobe restaurant with a warm fire in the waiting room. The southwestern faire hit the spot, especially for those on the quest for the perfect chile sauce, “Christmas style.”

After dinner, with the help of the cell phones, we walked through the plaza to find the second wave of CHAOS members: Mike, Emily, Bill, and Jan. They were on the quest for the perfect margarita. Nonetheless, anxious ‘salsitas’ enticed the gang up to a rumored Salsa spot. Sadly, the rumors weren’t quite as good as the reality, so we finally settled on the funky Oasis Café. The Oasis margaritas weren’t as thirst quenching as hoped, but the hippy café was a cozy place to curl up on the cushions and chat with the CHAOS crew before bedtime.

Saturday’s ‘culture day’ began with breakfast at the Burrito Company and a Pooh Bear Valentine’s card exchange. Everyone gave and received two Pooh cards to start off the trip with some sweet Valentine’s love. The food warmed our stomachs – according to Ken, “this meal alone made the trip down worth it.”

After breakfast we strolled along the Native American handicrafts at the Palace of Governors, the oldest government building in the US, where the native people have permanent sidewalk vending rights. Here we supported the local economy buying gifts for ourselves and friends and family.

We then toured a sample of the multitude of galleries. Throughout the day, we saw paintings of American Indians, symbolic carvings, modern art, sand paintings, and more. We also visited the Loretto chapel, the site of the miraculous spiral staircase. According to legend, the nuns needed a staircase to reach the choir loft. They prayed and prayed, and finally a carpenter showed up who volunteered to build the unsupported spiral staircase. When the staircase was finished, he left without asking for any pay in exchange. The chapel owners today do ask for funds to support the church.

After our gallery-filled morning, we saw the artistic demonstration of peace protestors gathering: colorful puppets, a person in a U.N. flag, and about 5000 people with painted and hand-written signs adorned the streets. We got out of town just ahead of the crowd, to Shidoni, where we watched metallic disco-suited men pour bright orange liquid bronze into sculpture casts. A sculpture greenhouse and two sculpture gardens also caught the attention of our eyes and feet.

Lunch was at Santa Fe’s large and impressive Whole Foods. From there, one group went on to Jackalope, the multi-acre import warehouse. The others went to the Canyon street galleries and the Buddha garden. A communal nap accentuated the afternoon.

The complete CHAOS gathering of fifteen (now including Dave, AJ, Susan, Min and Oskar) ate together at the Guadalupe café, near the oldest church in the U.S. At the café, Ken took on the role of sangria master. According to Bill, Ken kept babbling about the miraculous wells of sangria, which mysteriously ended up costing about a third of the final tab. Rom loved the chile at the Guadalupe, but Namrata thought the sangria was affecting his taste buds; she preferred the chile at The Shed.

Christine got the locals’ scoop on the Salsa scene, so our next stop was the “G Spot.” “Nosotros” played a mix of Latin music, and after settling in, the CHAOS crowd took over ½ the dance floor for an impromptu Salsa lesson. Or was it “salswing”? (1/2 salsa from Rom, and ½ swing from Beth). Rumor has it that even Emily was spotted on the dance floor, but Bill sat back and surveyed the scene while watching over our gear. Before long, a suave Santa Fe Salsa King swept Namrata off her feet, which wasn’t so bad since her feet still weren’t quite sure what to do. Ever thoughtful Mike saw the Salsa King’s expertise and he became Beth’s “Salsa pimp,” telling the Salsa King “You must dance with the girl in the red dress before you leave.” The Salsa King replied: “Does it look like I'm leaving?” Beth afterwards: “Whooo… that was a good dance!” By midnight, most of us had our fill, but Ken and Jan stayed on – what happened after midnight has not yet been disclosed ;)

Sunday morning we awoke ready to head to the hills (and Whole Foods). After a hearty breakfast and stockpiling of food, (insert Star Wars theme music here) the trailblazers filed out in grand procession, high-fiving down the line.

The mountaineering crew, Rom, Taraka, Christine, Ken, AJ, Jan, Dave, and Emily, rode off to the Sangre de Cristo mountains: Raven’s Ridge, toward Lake Peak. On the mountain, the day was calm and sunny with grand vistas: blue skies, and mountains in the clouds. The Aspen trees were sugar-coated with fresh snow. The backcountry skiing was awesome, and the snowshoeing was sweet, accentuated by moments of deep snow immersion.

The hardcore culture and hot springs group, Mike, Bill, Namrata, Beth, Susan, Oskar, and Min, went in quest of the Anasazi spirit and the perfect hot springs. They hiked admidst the remains of the village at Bandelier, inhabited by about 500 people in the 1200’s. The circular town, cliff dwellings, and spiritual/educational kivas stretched about two miles along the river-rich canyon. Although the rock was too soft for comfortable climbing, the group ascended over 160’ of ladders to the grand ceremonial kiva for great views and natural highs. Several CHAOS members exhibited their agile climbing skills (i.e. “Look Mom, no hands!”) for the tourists. After the Anasazi afternoon, they went to a natural hot springs near Jemez. A short muddy uphill hike led to a cozy pair of pools, where the natural highs were apparently not enough for the locals upstream. Regardless, the camera and cuddle puddle led to plenty of fun for the CHAOS kids, who floated around until sunset.

Back in town, the crowd reunited at Café San Estevan for a high class dinner. After a long day of exertion, 12 of us crammed into Mike’s car, the biggest puppy pile of the trip. Just before arriving at our destination, we stopped at a red light directly across from “One of New Mexico’s Finest.” The kind (or blind) officer looked the other way and let us proceed to revisit the Oasis, reknown for its’ “slow food movement” service, creative décor and menu, and multitude of fun rooms. We started on the lower deck of the cushion room, where Rom heard a poem recited by Zander, Arizona’s youngest poet. But when the upper deck cleared, we moved up like an amoeba to inhabit it. The mellow evening included a game of “telephone,” animated discussion of the sand dunes, and for the weary, the sharing of heads on
shoulders.

A restful night (Rom let us sleep in!!) brought us to our final day of the trip. Cloud Cliff Café had a spacious wood floor, and swing-friendly music. Since no trip (with Beth) is complete without Lindy Hopping, Rom obliged her with a dance outside the kitchen door.

Along the high road to Taos, we stopped at El Santuario de Chimayo, a site which had been sacred for Native Americans and Catholic alike, and where people have been known to heal from their infirmities. The peace flame in the front of the “Lourdes of America” originated from a U.N. led tour, in which they carried the peace torch around the world. Since then, every year the devout take the torch and some of the Santuario’s sacred soil to Los Alamos, where nuclear weapons were created, and they join with Native Americans to conduct a ceremony for peace.

The legendary sand dunes capped off this CHAOS trip. Most of the crew trekked up to the High Dune, while the others enjoyed the serenity of the mountain / sand dune scene, and the amusing CHAOS antics. Much tumbling, rough-housing, tackling and throwing of oneself and each other off the dunes ensued. At one point, the whole group held hands across a dune and catapulted down more-or-less together. They are probably still showering now to get the last grains of sand off them. After a colorful Colorado sunset and group hug circle, with gratitude to Taraka and Rom for their awesome leadership, we dispersed across the highway home. In our hearts, we felt a bittersweet sadness and joy at the parting, but also the faith that we soon would meet again to rekindle our flames for the love of CHAOS.