Destination 11
Santa Fe, NM
The View
When we left Buena Vista for the 4-hour drive south to Santa Fe, we didn't know that we should have allowed an entire day for the travel. Not because there was anything wrong with the roads, but there were more interesting places along the way than anticipated, and we could have made many more stops than we did. As it was, we had lunch and visited an arts fair in Salida, CO (just south of Buena Vista) and stopped for some roadside shots of the ever-changing scenery.
With more time, we would have stopped to investigate some of the very small (and sometimes worn and/or quirky looking) small towns near the Colorado/New Mexico border. In any event, we arrived in Santa Fe in the late afternoon, and really loved our time in this historic (founded in 1610) and art-filled town.
While in Santa Fe, in addition to walking the beautiful streets, we visited the following arts venues. With more time, we could and would have enjoyed many more.
New Mexico Museum of Art. This downtown museum, which can be enjoyed for an hour or two, features contemporary New Mexican paintings and sculptures in a beautiful, traditional adobe building.
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. Although the permanent exhibit was closed for renovation, we enjoyed a special exhibit featuring contemporary Native American art made of glass, and the many sculptures located at this hilltop museum.
The Prayer Garden at The Cathedral/Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. The Cathedral, central to the downtown plaza, was closed for a ticketed event; however, we were fortunate to be able to walk through the Stations of the Cross in the outdoor Prayer Garden. The works were beautifully emotive, and clearly intended to invoke the passion of the crucifixion of Christ.
(And now for something completely different) Meow Wolf. After seeing this popular immersive and family-friendly arts experience characterized as "sensory overload," I decided not to go, but Johnny did, and describes it as one of the highlights of the entire road trip.
The Room
Santa Fe was more of a "splurge" location for us, which is a good thing since it was definitely the priciest stop on our trip, overall. We booked a deluxe room at La Fonda on the Plaza downtown. Our suite in this historic and massive hotel was much larger than expected, with a New Mexican style fireplace and an enormous private wrap-around balcony affording a view of all of Santa Fe.
That said, our room door was inexplicably next to the kitchen and wait station for the rooftop bar. As odd as that was, the room was very quiet and very private, and the bar was actually closed much of the time we were there. It seemed the size of the room and balcony were perhaps meant to offset the location and we ended up really liking it. The hotel had a very nice atrium restaurant (we had great blue corn pancakes with slabs of bacon for breakfast) and a large, quiet courtyard swimming pool.
Great Meals in Santa Fe
La Choza. Located in the Railyard Arts District (art everywhere, all the time, in this town), and well worth the wait for lunch on the shaded outdoor patio. Even though I got the "mild" sauce on my smothered burrito, my mouth was in flames, but in a good way. Great selection of non-alcoholic beverages; I had a tart and spicy grapefruit spritzer.
Sage Bakehouse. This fresh and farm-to-table bakery and indoor/outdoor cafe served us an amazing open-faced egg and ham sandwich and delightful berry pastries, along with good coffee and fresh orange juice.
La Fogata Grill. Great food, enormous drinks and a nice atmosphere in the atrium dining area.
Local Pottery
Every inch of downtown Santa Fe, plus many other areas of town, is devoted to art galleries and shopping, including for pottery and other "local" items. Much of what is there was either tacky/touristy, not actually local, or nice but much higher priced than I was able to pay. A little research led me to Paseo Pottery (almost next door to Sage Bakehouse), a pottery collective that had very appealing and interesting pieces, made onsite by local artists, for reasonable prices.
