Travel: New Mexico
Halfway through my trip across the lower 48, I decided to take a real vacation in New Mexico.
I started at the bottom and drove through mountains of snow before arriving in White Sands National Park.
I did the Backcountry Camping Trail Hike which was about 2 miles long. You moved from orange post to orange post to keep track of where you were.
Every once in a while you would run into some brilliant plant life or someone sledding down the dunes. It was a very BRIGHT beautiful hike.
That night I slept at Tularosa Winery and got coffee the following morning in Carrizozo at Honey Girl Cafe.
Afterwards I drove North through the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monuments. These monuments come together to show old Spanish & Pueblo history. The first one I stopped at was Gran Quivira–the most remote of the three.
Each one was uniquely different, but you could see similarities between the people who lived there. The second one I visited was Quarai. I loved the kiva here and how clearly you could see the old cooking area.
The final was Abó. The walking trail at this one brought you in and out of the structures.
After finishing the monuments, I went to pick up my mom at the Albuquerque airport. She joined me for most of the trip through New Mexico.
Our first excursion together was on the Sandia Peak Tramway. After being in the sun and desert all day, the coolness and snow at the top was a welcome relief.
We ate dinner at Ten Three (the restaurant at the top). We ran into some other Virginians there and hung out while waiting for a table. I got “The Feldspar” cocktail (house made peaflower gin, lemon, lavender syrup, lemon twist) made with peaflower gin that changed color when they added citrus.
The peak was a great way to kick off our first night together. We stayed in Albuquerque at a cute AirBnB where I finally got to do laundry from the van trip! The first morning we got some breakfast from Bristol Doughnuts. The most unique flavor was Prickly Pear– a brioche doughnut glazed in a prickly pear glaze made from locally soured prickly pears from NM Prickly Pear jelly.
After eating our fill of donuts we headed on a short hike at Petroglyph National Monument.
Along Rinconada Canyon Trial you can see hundreds of amazing petroglyphs. It was fun trying to guess interpretations of the symbols in the rocks.
Following our hike we had a small snack at Blackbird coffee house historic old town Albuquerque. We wandered little shops and poked around old structures. I bought myself a silver triangle bangle from an artisan in the Old Town Portal Market.
For dinner that night we went to Farm & Table. It was a little chilly so we ate with big blankets wrapped around us.
The next day we kicked off with a walk through the Botanic Garden.
This was a gorgeous place to see local plants and farm animals. We spent a good part of the morning doing loops through the trees.
There were Japanese gardens, lakes, trains and streams.
Following our walk we had lunch in Sawhill Market. I love food courts and hope that my hometown gets one soon. It’s such a fun way to get a bunch of different types of food.
My mom and I split a Bee Sting pizza (Pomodoro, fior, soppressata, Mike's Hot Honey, chile flake, basil) from Hawt Pizza Co, Lemon & caper pasta from Tulipani and drinks from Paxtons. We popped across the street to Spurline Supply to do a little shopping. I picked up a “wooden cinder block” for myself AND my sister in law.
To work off all those carbs from lunch, we did another walk along the Rio Grande on the Paseo del Bosque. We tried to stay in the shade and see some of the sculptures that line the trails. We finished the evening with wine & pintxos at Vara Winery. I also picked up a bottle of their desert gin to bring home.
The next morning we lingered and had a slow brunch at Campo at Lost Poblanos. We met JD (juvenile delinquent)– a two year old peacock who is just learning to use his feathers, shared some lavender drinks, and wandered the grounds.
My favorite dish were the Chilaquiles (corn tortillas, red chile, Tucumcari jack and cheddar, onion, crispy potatoes with herbs de Poblanos, eggs & bacon). And for dessert was all things rhubarb!
We left Albuquerque and stopped at Pecos National Historic Park on the way to Santa Fe.
The park had a lovely walk and even let you go down into a Kiva (a highlight for me).
We made it to Santa Fe and had a simple dinner at the plaza cafe downtown. That night we rested with our double sided fire place in our airbnb. The next morning kicked off with donuts (again!) from Craft Donuts & Coffee. We walked to the food truck from our Airbnb and it did not disappoint.
We spent the morning wandering downtown before our ticket time at the Georgia O’Keefe Museum.
We continued our downtown stroll in the afternoon and ate lunch at La Plazuela At La Fonda. We split a christmas burrito and sapodillas.
Post lunch we hit Canyon Road. The volume of art along this street is unreal.
It was fun gaining inspiration from others and trying NOT to buy one of everything.
Later in the evening we went to Meow Wolf!
Exploring and wandering was just unreal. It was kinda nice going with a limited number of people (thanks covid) and getting pictures. There was tons to explore and photograph.
Still not totally sure if my mom enjoyed it or not. The next morning we grabbed breakfast and a latte at Iconik Coffee Roasters.
Then we set off to Bandelier National Monument. We did the Pueblo Loop Trail and I added on the Alcove House. To reach this ceremonial place, you had to climb up 140 feet on 4 wooden ladders.
I loved how much you could go INTO the structures at this park and see how people used to live in the cliffs.
We drove over to Valles Caldera to see the vast landscape. In the distance we could see herds of elk and close up we saw plenty of prairie dogs.
We stopped off in Lost Alamos and drove around a bit to see the historic buildings there. We grabbed a beer at Bathtub Row– named after the street next door. The homes built on this block for the scientists that worked on the atomic bomb were the only houses that contained bathtubs in the area. Dinner that evening was at El Farol. Mom & I split lots of small delicious plates.
The next day, we went to a sunday art market and a farmers market. I picked up a new silver stacker ring.
We swung by Loretto Chapel to see the famous miraculous staircase. It was amazingly impressive to see it floating in the chapel giving everyone access to the upper level.
We finished off the afternoon with beer at Santa Fe brewing, drinking chocolate from Kakawa and dinner at the Pink Adobe.
The next day we left Santa Fe and took the High Road to Taos. We split a green chili burger at The Burger Stand before doing some more driving on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway.
Our first stop was the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge – the tenth highest bridge in the US.
We followed the circle through sweeping views and a little bit of snow. Along the way I got a flight of beer at Red River Brewing. I got invited to do some climbing but we had enough on our plate.
We drove around the circle back to Taos to our hotel: El Monte Sagrado. We got a good deal on this rather extravegent place because of the pandemic.
I loved our bathtub! I had so missed taking baths while traveling in the van so I took advantage of this every night. Taos was a little city and we enjoyed time exploring. Our lunch one day was at Manzanita Market - they had an awesome local root beer!
We had gorgeous weather to explore the art & town.
We drove a little outside to see different historic sites.
On the final day, I dragged my mom to a hot spring.
You hiked in for a short while and then took a dip in hot water next to the Rio Grande.
We saw some wildlife and enjoyed nature. The final morning we got coffee at World cup cafe and I drove my mom back to the airport in Albuquerque. We quickly go a sandwich at Sawhill Market before saying goodbye.
From there I headed west again through el malpais national monument & el morro national monument. Both of these were gorgeous stand alone monuments that were easy to see along the drive. The rock carvings at el morro were stunning.
I absolutely loved my time in New Mexico and hope to go back one day. I felt like I saw a lot but just got a taste of everything the state has to offer.
