10 days in New Mexico?
 

<BR>I gather from the postings here that there is much to see and do in the Santa Fe/Taos area. But is there 10 days worth? <BR> <BR>My wife and I will be dropping off our kids at camp and have from July 10-20 to do whatever we want. Never been to New Mexico. <BR> <BR>I can see using Santa Fe as a base for five <BR>days. The museums, shops, day trips and restaurants sound wonderful. And my wife loves opera (Rigoletto is playing!). <BR> <BR>And I suppose we could do two nights in Taos. <BR>But what then? Is there a spa or tennis <BR>club that might be a good filler? Anything off-the-beaten-path? <BR> <BR>I would appreciate any recommendations. <BR> <BR>Tom <BR>

You might drop south in the state. <BR>White Sands NM is interesting to visit. <BR>If you are into history, Lincoln is associated with Billy the Kid. <BR>You might check another website for Ruidoso Downs and see if the horse races are on. On the Indian culture side, Chaco Canyon is a to the west of Santa Fe. And Bandelier NM has been described. If you get bored with some of the city stuff, a drive up to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado is fun with a side trip to Canyon de Chelly. <BR>You could easily eat up 10 days in the region. I think we are just scratching the surface here. <BR>Those who know Albuquerque can throw in a few activities, too.

You're fine with four-five days in the Sante Fe area. Then, I would head north to Mesa Verde, one of the great sites in this country. Others high on my list would be Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelley.

I spent a far-too-short 9 days in NM in October. We missed seeing several of the top sites on my research list. We stayed at the Crystal Mesa Farm(http://crystalmesafarm.com), a 2,000 acre farm/B&B, just 20 mins south of Sante Fe. Every corner is a delight to the eye. (I am a painter.) With the interstate nearby and a 70 mph speed limit, we were less than 30 mins. north of Albuquerque (for the Balloon Fiesta) and the Sandia tramway to the mountain top. The main house is used strictly for guests, and you can pretend you are the owner. The real owners are a soap opera star (All My Children's Walt Wiley), his wife, young children and in-laws. Grandmother Marie (and sometimes wife Marie) will regale you with tales of running a B&B over delicious breakfasts. The sunsets from the deck are stupendous. The solitude marvelous after a long day on the road. One day we drove the "high road" to Taos, not arriving until after 3 p.m. But you must stop along the way, esp. at Chimayo to see the Sanctuary and visit the multiple weaving studios; dinner at the local highly rated restaurant is also a must. There are also towns with metal artisans, but we hadn't done our homework and missed them. We also visited the Abiquiu home/studio of Georgia O'Keefe (reservations must be made months in advance); continue west from Abiquiu to at least Ghost Ranch. The terrain changes drastically and is stunning. We did not continue west to Chaco; out of time. Didn't get to Bandelier either. Did return to Taos by the direct highway to see the Pueblo ($10 per person entry; $10 per camera (if you own more than one, that's per camera!) It is commercial, but is the prototype of a pueblo. I might skip it for one of the other tribal sites; should have done Bandelier. Don't miss the church at Rancho de Taos (just before Taos itself) which was the subject of many O'Keefe paintings. Just up the road from the Crystal Mesa is a side road to the studio/foundry of the deceased Native American sculptor, Allan Houser, whose works are in Sante Fe at the museum. Tours by appointment. http://www.allanhouser.com <BR>There is a funky fun flea market just northwest of Sante Fe on weekends, just past the exit to the opera. Look for a rodeo; again we missed it because of lack of time. See Madrid, a post-hippie art colony town on the Turquoise Trail south of Sante Fe. We found any drive in any direction led us to something interesting. We also did a Southwestern cooking class at the Sante Fe Cooking School, on the main street in Sante Fe. And by all means do your homework on the web. Crystal Mesa site has a good number of links. I am ready to return!!

So much to do, so little time! If you like steam trains and/or great scenery drive north to Chama, NM and take the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad to Antonito, Colorado and back. It's a beautiful ride . Then, go up to Durango, Colorado and ride the Silverton and Durango Steam RR through some of the most beautiful territory around. <BR> <BR>Check out some of the Indian pueblos. Some are very close to Santa Fe/Taos and are not as over run with tourists as the Pueblo at Taos (worth seeing, but very commercial...watch for the elderly gentleman who charges $1 to take his photo...and has bills tucked in all over his body!). Check out the dates for the Gallup, NM pow wow. There is a huge intertribal pow wow every summer that is well worth attending. <BR>The state of New Mexico puts out a wonderful magazine of tourism. You can probably find it on the web or by calling a tourist office in the state. Your ten days will fly.

Tom, I forgot to mention one other thing. Take a look at the New Mexico Handbook by Moon Publication. It's the best guidebook (actually, series of guidebooks, they're all terrific) and covers just about everything.

Tom, or others, my photos of the trip are at PhotoLoft.com, "Travel", "North America" "New Mexico" dated 10/24/99. It takes some scrolling because of the number of submissions since mine was posted in October.

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