Socorro, New Mexico

Late Friday afternoon and early evening, the city of Socorro hosted an open house to their historic plaza area. One of the places we toured during the open house was San Miguel Mission church. This church is still active and holds masses everyday. Below is a shot of the front of the church. Within the walls is a courtyard. See the second photo.

Yes, you see a couple of headstones here in the courtyard. When the church was rebuilt remains were found in this area. And it was decided to leave the buried dead where they were and dedicate the courtyard in their memory.

This next photo is a shot of the sanctuary from the church entrance. The adobe walls are five feet thick. Now that's what I call good insulation!

Below is the statue of the Sacred Heart - placed to the right of the altar. We were told that the artistic design had possibly a French influence due to one of the pastors in charge during its past history.
Here is one of the stained glass windows. Take note of the depth of its placement. I think it was about 2-1/2 feet deep.
I would have shown you a picture of the choir loft, but my photo was too dark to really see and appreciate its beauty. You can see just a smidge of the choir loft in this pic, but I was trying to get a shot of the woodwork, especially the corbel. Most of the wood in the church was still the original wood. Only a few pieces, due to rot or other damage have been replaced. But it is difficult to tell which pieces are original and which are recent.

This next photo is a mural of the coffeehouse on the plaza of historic Socorro.

And below is one of the street signs right in the center of the plaza.

I attempted to get a picture of the sun setting while we were walking around the plaza. This was the best I could do.

After the tour of the San Miguel Mission Dave and I walked over to the "Spirits Tent" where the locals and visitors were invited to sample some wine and beer while enjoying some of the local music provided. The wine and beer was provided by local wineries and breweries. Bottles were sold to those who desired to make purchases. We were also given a couple of commemorative glasses of the 20th anniversary of the Festival of the Cranes. Dave got a beer glass, and I got a wine glass - nice souvenirs.