In a preceding blog, I noted the sign pictured above. Yesterday, fueled by a lingering curiosity, we cruised the interstate and then a historic route back road to the land of the Kewa Pueblo (formerly Santo Domingo) Native American people. Henry Rosetta's home sits just off the old 1926-1937 roadway of iconic Route 66 in the era when it ran through Santa Fe. Henry and his wife enlightened us on some tidbits of regional Route 66 history which clarified the seemingly strange site placement of the now crumbling aforementioned "Most Interesting Spot" trading post facade which is only a short distance walking distance from their house. Upon entry into their home time seemed suspended, but we in fact enjoyed almost three hours of visitation while admiring Henry's splendid jewelry. He treated us to an overview of his methods and workspace. I was most impressed with the strong reflection of heritage in his stone cutting technique, smithing tools (many of them he forged himself), and raw material supply which included some turquoise harvested years ago from the regional long closed Cerrillos turquoise mine, the oldest in America. I was most delighted when he showed us two very old hand-operated wood bow drills his parents used to bore holes in turquoise in the days of old. We concluded our visit with the purchase of two of Henry's jewelry art treasures which I will feature in future blogs.
