Santa Fe, Taos, Ghost Ranch (1 of 7 linked pages)


Santa Fe, Taos and the call of the "Great Southwest" (This postcard dates from 191_.)
Arrive Sante Fe	Ghost Ranch	Taos Streetscapes
The Harvey House Revelation	Ghost Ranch Labyrinth	Taos Labyrinth
Mary Jane Colter	Ghost Ranch Vicinity	Mexican craft wares, north of Taos
Abiqui	Taos	Rio Grande Gorge
Santa Fe and nearby places were a main theme of this trip of course. For Noriko, the places of Georgia Okeefe were a much interest. But we were to discover more. The state history museum in Santa Fe was an education. The revelation of the trip for me was "Harvey Hotels" and their consequence. If I had time to write a book I would show that the Harvey Hotels and the culture it fostered invented the "Southwest" as we presume it. Without doubt the Harvey Hotels made the Southwest comfortably accessible to ordinary Americans with curiosity and a little savings. These included single, unaccampanied women. The Harvey Hotels were staffed by a large population of single young provincial women who had been induced to leave their fathers' households and farms. These young women were thus awakened to a much wider world. (According to "my book") this welcome to women tinted the culture of the region, contributing to its uniqueness. Witness Georgia O'Keefe's decision to locate there. She is but the most renowned of a large number. Misc notes from museum: Dorthea Lange; Russel Lee; Walker Evans.



1. Arrive Sante Fe Arrive Sante Fe
912 _18Sep25-SW18_1234	912 _18Sep25-SW18_1537	913 _18Sep25-SW18_1540
914 _18Sep25-SW18_1543	914 _18Sep25-SW18_1552 Probably the most famous Harvey Hotel.	331 _18Sep26-SW18_0628 A typical element of this style - the visible lintel beam.


2. The Harvey House Revelation When the westward expansion of the United States began, customers traveling by railroad had few options for meals along the way. Their only options were usually rancid meat, cold beans, and stale coffee. Fred Harvey, then working as a freight agent for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, had a vision of high quality, large portioned meals served by lovely young uniformed ladies along the rail lines. In 1878, a handshake agreement with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway contracted Harvey to build 3 eating houses along the line on an experimental basis. Those 3 restaurants quickly expanded to hotels, dining cars, and gift shops
"Hollywood" Harvey Girl (Judy Garland of course.)	Authentic Harvey Girls, from legacy photo.


3. Mary Jane Colter Hired by Fred Harvey to design interiors for his restaurants, Mary Jane Coulter traced a career in architcture and design which is almost unparalleled. She designed most of the iconic National Park Lodges of the Southwest, including those at Grand Canyon, which embody "Southwest Style" in the popular mind. Colter largely invented the iconic "Southwest Style," designing not only interiors but buildings, textiles, furniture and all items which dress an interior. It is evident she noticed and loved the indigeneous forms she saw. Note the hogan-inspired ceiling of Desert Watchtower, etc. The high intellect architecture schools despise "Colterism" buf Americans are bound to consume it by every means possible and never tire of it. The evidence is the exhibit in the history museum. Google "Mary Jane Colter" to learn for yourself.
Architect Mary Jane Coulter has left a great visual imprint on American culture. She was quite content with not being recognized as a god, the goal to which most male architects aspire.	1570 _ColterDesertWatchtower	1572 _HotelInterior
1573 _HotelLaFondaPostcard	1574 _LaPosadaHotelInterior


4. Abiqui Abiqui A famous place on account of Georgia Okeefe. Her house is here. But one must make reservation months in advance to see it. Because most people are like us and unaware of this, there is a shiny modern visitor's center containing books, helpful staff, and an info film. "I find people very difficult" (in an interview late in her life.)
915 _18Sep26-SW18_0915	1579 Plan of Georgia O'Keeffe's garden. Original can be seen at the visitor's center in Abiqui. Her house had access to water. She exploited this by planting many fruit trees.


5. Ghost Ranch Ghost Ranch. Its history is as interesting as the place. For example, it was probably one of several ingredients attracting the locating nearby of Las Alamos and the Manhattan Project. Misc notes from the museum: Exhibit "Ladies of the Canyon"; Bob Ross; NPR
916 _18Sep26-SW18_1034	917 _18Sep26-SW18_1059	331 _18Sep26-SW18_1100
335 _18Sep26-SW18_1113


6. Ghost Ranch Labyrinth Ghost Ranch Labyrinth concentric offset: about 1'3" "This is like life. You think are going one way and then you change directions."
35 _18Sep26-SW18_1100b Noriko knew of this. It is the origin of her ambition to make our at Nash Mill.	333 _18Sep26-SW18_1101	920 _18Sep26-SW18_1126


7. Ghost Ranch Vicinity Ghost Ranch Roadside Vicinity
336 _18Sep26-SW18_1202	922 _18Sep26-SW18_1222	924 _18Sep26-SW18_1223a
924 _18Sep26-SW18_1228	925 _18Sep26-SW18_1229


8. Taos Taos The Taos Pueblo, the main attraction of Taos, was closed to visitors on the day we arrived. The people were preparing for a festival.
339 _18Sep26-SW18_1547 This man's vegan hot dogs saved me from starvation. He overheard me haranging Noriko. I had eaten nothing all day, from 7:00 AM until 4:30 pm. He pitched his vegan dog with purple potato bun. Hunger is the best seasoning.	338 _18Sep26-SW18_1543 Excellent cold noodles by this enegetic tatooed millenial one-man show.	339 _18Sep26-SW18_1544 Wonderful chocolatier.
956 _18Sep27-SW18_1547


9. Taos Streetscapes Taos Streetscapes
342 _18Sep26-SW18_1606a	343 _18Sep26-SW18_1607	345 _18Sep26-SW18_1608
348 _18Sep26-SW18_1609a	926 _18Sep26-SW18_1558	932 _18Sep26-SW18_1628
935 _18Sep26-SW18_1729 Sunset at the edge of Taos.


10. Taos Labyrinth Taos Labyrinth We have not yet learned why all these labyrinths occur in the Taos-Ghost Ranch vicinity.
928 _18Sep26-SW18_1614	927 _18Sep26-SW18_1613


11. Mexican craft wares, north of Taos We wanted to buy several of these Mexican tincraft wonders but had no way to bring them home.
937 _18Sep26-SW18_1731	938 _18Sep26-SW18_1732	939 _18Sep26-SW18_1733
940 _18Sep26-SW18_1733a	941 _18Sep26-SW18_1734	942 _18Sep26-SW18_1735
943 _18Sep26-SW18_1735a	944 _18Sep26-SW18_1736	945 _18Sep26-SW18_1736a


12. Rio Grande Gorge Bridge over the Rio Grande Gorge
933 _18Sep26-SW18_1658 The bridge connected points which were previously separated by this gorge and by many road miles.	352 _18Sep26-SW18_1648	352 _18Sep26-SW18_1652
352 _18Sep26-SW18_1647 Noriko smiles for the camera though the site is solemn.	352 _18Sep26-SW18_1650 Pausing to examine this suicide hotline was rather affecting. People have died here.	352 _18Sep26-SW18_1647a What it looks like below the suicide hotline phone.