Bundled up the kid, who loves the cold anyway, and her very own camera and out we went to start our documentary.
Our first objective was the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve, an area that used to supply the water for the city of Santa Fe. As far as being strenuous, this hike is not. We saw other people in clogs and girls in ballet skimmers, and they got along on the trails just fine.
A beautiful sunny day to check out the old reservoir. The Nature Conservancy now runs it as a wildlife preserve. Will we see wildlife (other than the three year old on my back)?
In Santa Fe, water is almost always a surprise.
And where there's water, there's ... Cheese?
Leave it to Beaver? You've got to be kidding.
Leave it to Beaver? You've got to be kidding.
It is absolutely fun to live in a place that is desert and yet has things like beavers. Looks like they have been busy. Like beavers.
So busy in fact that some of the trees have been caged up for their own good.
Their dam is taking good shape.
Can the humans do better? Finding the 1881 dam.
According to a sign at the site, "This limestone dam, built in 1881, was the first one built on the Santa Fe River. It caused quite a stir in the community."
"Until the 19th century, people living near the Santa Fe River relied on its flow for their day-to-day existence. Communally-owned ditches called acequias (ah-SEH-key-ahs) tapped moving water to irrigate fields or power private mills. When dam construction began at this site, local residents protested, foreseeing the loss of their way of life. Eventually, a compromise was reached that supplied a limited amount of water to the acequias. Many acequias are still in use today".
"Until the 19th century, people living near the Santa Fe River relied on its flow for their day-to-day existence. Communally-owned ditches called acequias (ah-SEH-key-ahs) tapped moving water to irrigate fields or power private mills. When dam construction began at this site, local residents protested, foreseeing the loss of their way of life. Eventually, a compromise was reached that supplied a limited amount of water to the acequias. Many acequias are still in use today".
The 1881 dam, as you can see, is not still in use. The city grew quickly and Two-Mile dam was in place and ready to go when this dam flooded and silted up in 1904.
Art or Poop? Pretty either way. Told you I didn't go outside.
Video version here!
What the little person saw
Remember itty bitty?
Here are her photos.
Alone under the Mistletoe: Hey, where'd everybody go?
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