We flew into Albuquerque and drove the hour north to Santa Fe. This was the first trip for all of us to this state. I’d become fascinated with it because of all the fiber events that seem to be going on and the rest of the artistic and culinary traditions. Yes, and Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. We decided to just stick with one place because it’s such a large state, twice as big as NY, and we didn’t want to spend the whole time driving around. Our first stop was at Harry’s Roadhouse for lunch. If that place was any indication we knew we’d be loving the food. We checked into the Inn and Spa at Loretto which is right downtown.
We had gotten a deal through Groupon, which was not all that much of a difference from their normal rates. It’s quite a lovely hotel with boutiques and galleries and a fantastic living room downstairs with entertainment and a fireplace. There were a few annoying things like mandatory valet and a resort fee which added quite a bit to the nightly rate, plus no room safes or jacuzzi (resort, remember), but it was comfortable and a great location.
We were all really surprised by the all-adobe-all-the-time nature of the architecture here, and it’s pretty strictly enforced by city code. It gives the city a lot of character but I think seeing the same color all the time would make me a little batty. Everywhere you look there is art, including a lot of these kinetic sculptures from an artist in Utah named Lyman Whitaker.
After settling in and checking out the pool and the surroundings, we went to Tomasita's for dinner. It was a little bit outside of downtown but a solid Mexican place with a nice atmosphere.
The next day was Palm Sunday. We decided to do a road trip up through Taos and on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway. On the way was the Santuario de Chimayo, which I discovered by chance at Atlas Obscura.
It's one of the largest pilgrimage sites in the US, especially during holy week. Some pilgrims even walk many miles carrying others to get there. We got there just in time for the end of the outdoor service. One of the features is a shrine with a hole in the ground filled with "holy dirt". It is supposed to be a cure for physical ailments, so we all put some on, why not. We did the same kinds of things in Greece and Turkey when we were trying to get pregnant - mineral springs and talismans and local rituals - something must have worked because I came home knocked up. After that we drove through Taos, which was so much different than I expected, very small like a village, and even more adobe-fied than Santa Fe. We missed out on seeing downtown because we still had a long drive. I would have liked to see the Taos Pueblo. We did stop outside of town for lunch at the Farmhouse Cafe and Bakery.
While we were there we saw a brochure for the Earthship, which is a community nearby of fully sustainable structures which you can visit. On the way there we crossed the Rio Grande and stopped to walk across a very high and scary bridge overlooking the nearly dry riverbed.
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| A little target practice |
Then we headed up on the Enchanted Circle through the towns of Red River and Angel Fire. We really liked the atmosphere up in Red River which was a very piney mountain ski town with clean crispy air - the kind in short supply here in SoCal. The drive was really pretty too, even though there is always a constant jostling for the shotgun seat between my son and me. He’s also at the age where he’s so over Mom & Dad and was always wanting to just stay in the room on his computer instead of going out to eat with us. When we got back to town we took him up on his offer and went to El Farol, which is in a historic building on Canon Rd, the art gallery street.
The food an ambience were really nice and they had a singer and even some people tangoing on the dance floor.
The next day we took a city tour on an open-air trolley that left right outside the hotel. The guide gave a lot of interesting backstory to the town history and took us up to the bluffs where quite a few of the town’s museums are.
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| Journey’s End Monument |
He also encouraged us to go see the State capitol building which has a unique circular construction and millions of dollars worth of artwork, which we did later on that afternoon. Everyone there was remarkably friendly and we were free to roam around pretty much anywhere we wanted to.
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| Peace quilt |
We really lucked out with the weather while we were there. The week previous it had been 28 degrees but was in the high 60s and sunny for most of our week. We decided to check out a few galleries on Canon Rd after that. Besides the kinetic sculptures I mentioned, almost every gallery and the town features sculptures of all kinds - they’re everywhere you look.
We stopped for a coffee at Caffe Grecco which is very cozy and has lots of cool local artifacts inside.
We shared a blueberry empanada which was pretty awesome.
On the way back from the Capitol we came across the Kakawa Chocolate House. They sell drinking chocolate in American and European varieties. We got one of each, the American spiced with chilies.
This is nirvana if you love chocolate, and they provide samples of all the varieties. They also have chocolates and brownies and a lovely space to hang out. For dinner we all went to Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen. It was a bit outside downtown and had pretty standard Mexican fare, though it was totally packed.
Tuesday we went to Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa.
This is an excursion that we had all been really looking forward to. I wanted to go on Thursday which was my son’s 13th birthday, but the forecast was for a lot of wind on that day. Tuesday turned out to be perfect. The spa is an hour outside Santa Fe and is really in the middle of nowhere, like most everything here. We had lunch there and then headed into the springs. There are several mineral pools featuring different elements but the first thing we did was head for the mud. It comes out of a fountain like chocolate. You put it all over your body, wait for it to dry and then get into the mud pool to wash it off. We spent time in all the other pools and then chilled out in the hammocks. I met some nice people from Colorado in the Jacuzzi. There were hills in the background where Yuri took a little hike. A really unique and chill place and pretty affordable to come for the day. When we got back to town we had another date night and went to my favorite restaurant of the trip, the Terracotta Wine Bistro. It’s in a historic little house and done up with a French flair, and the food was just great.
Wednesday we went up to Los Alamos to the Bradbury Science Museum. This is a great place to learn about the history of the Manhattan project and all the scientists and workers who converged on this remote location to carry out a top-secret mission. It also touches on the reality of nuclear war and the consequences that the people of New Mexico suffered because of atomic testing. We had lunch at the Blue Water Bistro in town.
After that we headed to the Bandelier National Monument to see the cliff dwellings.
This is a really accessible and not too strenuous walk from the museum/gift shop. You can climb ladders and see where nomadic tribes carved rooms and even apartments out of the soft rock. Back in Santa Fe we went to the Palace Restaurant and Saloon.
We choose this because our son was with us and he only eats a handful of things, and I was getting a little weary of all the Mex. It was more like a nightclub and was pretty empty when we were there but picks up later on in the evening.
The next day was Stefan’s big 13! He was pretty adamant that all he wanted to do was chill. We started the day by taking a long walk up Canon to The Teahouse.
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| Time to drink tea like a man |
This was a really impressive place, with a large main room featuring locally sourced fibers and yarns, bulk dye material, finished objects from collective members, and books and magazines for sale. There was also an extensive library and in the back a whole room set up with floor looms where they hold classes and workshops. I picked up some local fiber that I plan to spin up when I decide to break out that new wheel of mine. I was very jealous of this amazing place and really think that LA should have one of its own. On the way back I stopped by a Nambe outlet and picked up a few things. There is also one in downtown Santa Fe which also has outlet pricing. You’ve seen these pieces everywhere but it turns out they’re made from a proprietary material sourced in NM. I also hit a few yarn stores in Santa Fe. Yarn and Coffee is a cute space with a nice selection and cafe where I picked up some local yarn.
I also stopped by Santa Fe School of Weaving. It’s on the ground floor of a house in town and features not just yarn but dozens of incredible finished items made by the owner herself. For Stefan’s birthday dinner we went to Il Piatto which is a really lovely Italian place with beautiful Venetian plaster walls and at least one genuine Italian waiter.
Friday was our last full day in town so we wanted to see a few sights and go shopping.
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| Literally everywhere you look |
We visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and the Loretto Chapel with its magic staircase.
For lunch we went to The Shed, which is a ridiculously busy Mexican place near the square - the whole time we were there we couldn't get a reservation for dinner. It was really good, with lots of different rooms inside. As soon as you get to town, call for a reservation. Then we went to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. There was a film about her life and art that was very illuminating. When you think of her it's usually of the large flower paintings, but there were very few of those there, they're all in museums and collections around the world. This museum gave a window into her life in New Mexico, as well as many photographs that were taken of her. She was one of the most photographed women of the 20th century, and many of the early photographs were nudes taken by her future husband. She was then thought by the public to be a sensualist (this was the 1920s after all), and responded by painting still lifes, including flowers. The fact that these were seen as erotic in nature horrified her, as her motivation for painting them was originally quite the opposite. The rest of the day we walked around and bought souvenirs, and my husband bought a painting from an artist outside the chapel he had seen on the first day. The temperature had started dropping and it was pretty chilly when we walked over to the Cowgirl BBQ.
This place was super fun with a really authentic Southwestern feel. There was a band playing in the SRO bar, and several dining rooms inside and out. They also have an extensive craft beer selection and another room that's a pool hall.
On the way to the airport we stopped at Twisters which is a local burger/burrito place with locations throughout NM and a few in CO.
The people here were incredibly friendly and remarkably excited that we were enjoying the food. Turns out Breaking Bad was filmed there, which is a source of local pride everywhere you go. The friendliness and openness of just about everyone in our travels in NM was really notable. Very cool place, as I thought it would be. And I have to mention the ABQ Sunport, a pretty and chill little airport which is good place to pick up some authentic souvenirs on the way home.
