Victoria Murphy ~ Santa Fe, NM

Last year I lost my most wonderful father. Today would have been his 85 birthday - so please indulge me while I tell you a little bit about this wonderful soul. My father was the type to not speak ill of people and in fact he loved people and he loved to entertain. He was even tempered and never raised a hand to me or my brothers and sisters. He indulged us in every way he could and encouraged us to strive to do our best. He always reminded us that we each had to make our own mark on the world and we had to remember our roots since it was those roots that gave us grounding.

My father, Richard Halford was born in Ventura, Iowa to Christine and Sidney Halford. He served in World War II as a Corporal in the United States Army having served in France, England and Germany. Richard graduated from Iowa State University in 1952 with a dual degree in Architecture and Architectural Engineering. He then moved to Santa Fe to begin his architectural career with W. C. Kruger.

Richard left a distinct mark on Santa Fe and on northern New Mexico establishing Richard Halford AIA and later La Mancha Realty. He also retired from state-employment the late 1990's having served as the oversight supervisor of the construction of buildings for the New Mexico National Guard. He designed a number of buildings in Santa Fe among which include the Casa Loma Apartments, San Francisco Street Parking Garage, Bank of Santa Fe (now Wells Fargo) and Vistas de Santa Fe. Other buildings bearing his mark are La Esquina, PBSW Stationary (now Design Warehouse) and Wilner Podiatrist Center. In northern New Mexico he designed Taos High School, Cochiti Elementary, the Tesuque Police Station and in Albuquerque the Medical Examiners' Building.

In addition, he served the City of Santa Fe as a Councilman in the 1960s. He was a past member of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors and, as an avid bridge player joining his friends in the activity every Wednesday and was an active member of the Elks Club.

The Taos High Road

Having grown up in Northern New Mexico I had a tendancy to stay around my city of Santa Fe and when I went up to Taos it was along the traditional hiway. Imagine my delight when years ago some friends invited my husband and I to take the Taos High Road with a visitor from New York.

The trip started up Hwy 285 from Santa Fe and we headed in the village of Nambe and then up through Chimayo. In Chimayo we stopped to visit the Santaurio de Chimayo and picked up some of the miraculous dirt form the inside of the church. Having no place to put my dirt I removed a small St. Christopher medal my mother had given me and placed some dirt in the pouch. I thought the combination of my St. Christopher and the holy dirt would be an add assurance of protection on car journeys. We then made our way to the Chimayo restaurant to view the tapestries done by my mother Monica Sosaya Halford.

Continuing on County Road 76 we came to the small village of Cordova. This village is known for many of the traditional wood carvers. You can see many of them at the Spanish Market in Santa Fe on the last weekend of July. I have been fortunate to have collected several bultos (carved statues) and a collection of many of the small animals.

Leaving Cordova you head to Truchas and onto Las Trampas where the San Jose de Gracia mission stands. The most amazing thing about this entire trip is being able to view all of the missions built in the 1700's.

Continue on your journey to Rancho de Taos and finish your journey in the picturesque town of Taos, NM.

Here in Taos you can meander around the Plaza, head down to visit the Kit Carson Musuem, visit the shops along Bent Street and stop in the Taos Inn for lunch and perhaps a margarita.

I would recommend coming back along the highway back into Santa Fe and enjoy the view of the Rio Grande running along side you.

Things to stop and see: Santuario de Chimayo, Ranchos de Chimayo restaurant, San Jose Gracia mission, and Kit Carson musuem

This weekend was the opening of the Santa Fe Opera Season, and since I have a listing next to the SFO I thought it woudl be a great idea to hold an open house. Over 30 people came by in the two hours, and many were in town for the opera. I stood in the massive living room and smiled like I had never smiled before. I would speak quickly about the home and repeat and repeat. I was traversing from one wing to another asking if anyone had questions. Over and over I was asked for my card and about other homes in the area. If my home didn't meet the criteria I was thrilled I knew some inventory that did. Hopefully, some of the people who asked numerous questions will be contacting myself or their agent for a second showing, and those who were interested in other properties - I hope they call later this week.

Today is my Birthday, and while I am not looking for all of you to wish me a Happy Birthday I would of course be thrilled. After all who really doesn't like to have this special day acknowledged. My family has always been a big fan of celebrating birthdays. They should always come with some sort of celebration. Afterall, we have been able to add another year of experiences and memories. We are fortunate enough to still be with the people we love. Birthdays are meant to be celebrated. By the way I am also very proud of everyone of the 51 years of experience, friends and memories I have had - so far.

Santa Fe is in the Top 10

Recently Santa Fe was named as one of the top 10 cities to appreciate within the next 10 years by US News and World Report. This news could not have come at a better time considering the state of the housing market across the country. Santa Fe has long been considered a great investment due to our climate, beauty and attractions. We have a strong second and investment home market which has probably attributed to our being named amounst the top 10. Below is the link so you may enjoy the entire article.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/real-estate/2009/06/04/the-top-10-housing-markets-for-the-next-10-years.html