Alison has fond memories of spending several weeks with her family in Santa Fe many years ago, so this trip was her birthday surprise second visit.
Day 1
Thinking we had left for San Francisco airport in plenty of time, the airport entrance was gridlock and the line for security started in the adjacent terminal. However, we made the flight. Note for the future: don’t leave from SFO on a Monday morning on United Airlines. Since there are no direct flights to Santa Fe, we flew to Albuquerque and spent the first night of our trip there.
With a few hours to spare before our check-in at the Airbnb, we visited the Wildlife West Nature Park a few miles east of Albuquerque airport. This is a sanctuary for Native American wildlife that cannot be returned to the wild. Several through injury, but most were just too familiar with humans (often as illegal pets) to be released safely. I had mixed feelings about this: nice that the animals are safe and cared for, but some of them had been in captivity for over 20 years. I did learn an interesting fact: apparently possums playing dead and secreting a dead animal scent is an involuntary reaction when they are threatened. Who knew!
Old Town Albuquerque is quite small and most of the stores seemed to have closed by five. We had a late afternoon beer on a balcony overlooking the San Felipe de Neri church, then a stroll to the Ponderosa Brewing Company for dinner and more beer. I dined on “Twice Burnt Tacos”, no idea why they burned them twice; you would have thought they’d get it right on the second try.
Day 2
Knowing that we had a limited time in Albuquerque, I had booked us on a two hour trolley tour of the city. It was about one hour too long. Enough said about Albuquerque, next time we go straight to Santa Fe.
On the 50 mile drive to Santa Fe we took a side trip to the Petroglyph National Monument. Trekking miles through sand in 92 degree weather in search of the occasional etching on a volcanic rock is character building. I have an affinity to petroglyphs. Despite having no clue about their spiritual significance, I feel this is an art form I could easily contribute to. I can draw a pretty impressive stick man wielding a spear.
At last we arrived at the Airbnb in Santa Fe. It was a very pleasant studio with nice garden seating, ideal for partaking in happy hour beverages. The studio was an annex to the historic Elliot Barker house. Author and conservationist Elliot Barker died in 1988 at the age of 101 and, in my opinion, his major accomplishment was to help make Smokey Bear part of American lore. After a short walk through downtown Santa Fe, we had drinks at the Chile Line Brewery, and then a fine meal and more beers in the pleasant ambiance of Fire and Hops.
Day 3
Downtown Santa Fe is a really nice place to walk around: interesting shops, parks, churches and museums. But we saved that for the evenings and during the day took excursions outside the city.
Day three’s destination was the Bandelier National Monument, a 40 minute drive to White Rock then a shuttle bus into the valley itself. The Pueblo Loop Trail contains impressive ruins of Pueblo cliff and valley dwellings, highlighted by the multi-story Long House. I can’t help comparing these dwellings to the superior architecture of contemporary Greece or China. But that comparison of does not properly account for the harmony with nature that is such a strong fundamental belief in all Native American cultures, and that supplants advances in technology areas.
In the afternoon we visited the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe to learn more about the Spanish influence on New Mexico and its journey to statehood. I was not aware of Germany’s underhand attempts to ally with New Mexico during WW2, and turn them against the USA.
After a relaxing beer in the Airbnb garden we had dinner at the nearby Mucho Gusto Mexican restaurant. Not a good choice: fairly bland Mexican food.
Day 4
Today’s excursion was the High Road to Taos. Most people travel between Santa Fe and Taos along the Rio Grande River valley, but the High Road is a much more interesting scenic byway taking you through forests and villages. It just takes three times as long. We enjoyed stops at the Santuario de Chimayó and the Church of Santo Tomas Del Rio de Las Trampa along the way.
Once we reached our destination we spent time at the Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage site and living Native American community. The adobe buildings were expansive and the overall location provided some context to the Spanish attacks on Pueblos in the 17th century. Unfortunately, they only accepted cash for the entry fee, leaving us with nothing to spend on the local artisans products.
On the way back we stopped by the Poeh Cultural Center just north of Santa Fe. This is a wonderful museum. Highlights included “The Continuous Path”, a refreshing animated Pueblo history exhibit and video demonstrations of clay pot making. Recently the Smithsonian Museum returned 100 Tewa pots to the Poeh Cultural Centre. Maybe this should serve as an example for England to return the Elgin Marbles to the Parthenon in Greece.
The evening saw us at the Desert Dogs Cidery in downtown Santa Fe. After several glasses of excellent “Bone Dry” cider, a Karaoke session started up in the bar. A complete surprise to us and a fine finish to a very enjoyable evening, made even better because I did not attempt to sing.
Day 5
En route back to the Albuquerque airport we paid a short visit to the Museum of International Folk Art. Apart from the Japanese Day of the Dead exhibit this was disappointing: lots of static exhibit cases full of 1000’s of handmade folk art clay people.
In New Mexico gas was $3.45 a gallon at a time when it was over $7 at home. You have to believe that somebody is making a lot of money out of us in the Bay Area. Go EV’s!