18/10/2021
No hurry to leave New Mexico, next day we visited the Loretto Chapel and had to see the famous "Spiral Staircase". The legend has it that in 1876 the Sisters of the order needed a staircase to the second story loft. The problem is the loft was so high up and the chapel so small there simply was not enough room, the Sisters prayed for a solution and carpenter to do the staircase. Enter an a mysterious carpenter hired to build the staircase. He worked for Months cutting, shaping, and soaking wood sections in tanks of his own liquid solution. The staircase was finished, and the carpenter left without being paid. The sisters visited lumber yards in the area and none had a record of anyone buying that kind of wood. Add to the mystery the wood from the staircase is not native to the area. You be the judge from the photos; miraculous, mysterious or both. Consider the staircase has no nails, or attachments and is free standing.
