Day 9 - Roswell NM to Santa Fe NM

Now in Mountain Time Zone. Roswell seems to quite a prosperous community. Much business activity and a strong agricultural sector. Roswell is a dairy production center and also is a major producer of mozzarella cheese. We headed out on a long and quiet drive towards Santa Fe. Saw many ranches with lots of cattle, with quite a few deer mixed in. There was much variation in the geology as well as the vegetative cover, so it wasn't a boring drive. Beautiful country with very little traffic. In one of the towns we passed through Dorothy saw a business advertising sign that she wanted included: "We Scoop the Poop - Dog Janitor - $7 a week". Also crossed US Route 70 (Kingston Pike extended) and the famous Route 66. We arrived in Santa Fe early enough to get a room and walk to the downtown area. I had forgotten my history about how old Santa Fe is. We saw the oldest public building in the US - the Palace of the Governors - (low building in picture) and the oldest church in the US - San Miguel Mission - which was first built in the 1600's (pictured outside and inside). Toured the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum as well as the one in the Palace of Governors, which told the long history of New Mexico. Stopped by the NM State Capitol Building to look at some art displayed - Dorothy found some new friends to play with there. Also heard that the NM legislature met only 30 days this last year - might be a good idea for Tennessee.