So my wife and I are going to go (by ourselves) for perhaps 10 days to New Mexico (she has never been, I haven't been in years). We'll fly in (to Albuquerque I guess) and rent a car.

We like to walk (though not mountains). We like B&B's more than luxury hotels, but like both. Hmm, and we like to do/see things unique to the locality.

SO suggestions as to where to stay and how long (by city), places/things to see, ...

- Dan

Dan,
Santa Fe is kind of my "thing," although I don't know too much about Alburquerque itself other than Old Town and the Sandi Peak area. I'm sure others will chime in on that topic.
From Albuquerque, if you are traveling in the daytime, it's really a nice drive to Santa Fe on the Turquoise Trail (NM State Highway 114) http://www.turquoisetrail.org/index.htm
There are some interesting old mining/ghost towns that have some to life in the last decade... offbeat shops, etc.
The only B&B I've heard much about in SF is the Grants Inn, which is centrally located to the plaza and supposedly has a great breakfast or brunch. The La Fonda is uniquely Santa Fe and is a hotel, but not your run-of-the-mill "luxury" type. http://www.lafondasantafe.com/
You can do plenty of walking in Santa Fe and the surrounding areas. Don't miss the plaza area and the Native Americans selling their art, jewelry, etc. every day. The Plaza Cafe is always fun for lunch. Parking in the plaza area is scarce and I usually park in a City garage on San Franciso for easy access to the plaza.
There are a lot of museums in SF, including the Georgia O'Keefe. There's a good tourist information center on Santa Fe Trail. If you are there on the weekend, there's an awesome flea market on the road to Taos http://www.sfol.com/best/fleamarket.html
Outside of town, there's Bandalier National Monument, which is great for walking and seeing cliff dwellings.
I go to SF every summer and stay three or four nights.
Hope this helps.

If you're going in October, you might want to check and see when the Balloon Fiesta is happening. Accommodation may be very difficult to come by during those days, especially if you want to stay in Albuquerque. That being said, it's a fantastic time to go - the Fiesta is amazing.

Drive the Jemez Trail. There are stops that allow you to hike with minimal climbing. You might be able to locate the hot springs, we couldn't. If you don't mind a day of driving, you could head to Ft. Sumner to see Billy "The Kid" and then head to Roswell for a fill of U.F.O.'s and aliens. It is a lot of driving! Also: Old Town ABQ.

One of our guests' favorite activities is a trip to Acoma Pueblo (aka Sky City), about an hour west (mostly Interatate)of Albuquerque. It's a fascinating ancient pueblo on the top of a mesa with fabulous views all around. You must enter the pueblo via a specially built bus and stay with a tour guide. There is only one tree (jokingly referred to as the Acoma National Forest) on the mesa, so if it's hot and sunny, you'll get pretty warm, but it's still worth going. Check ahead of time to make sure the pueblo is not closed for private ceremonials. On the way out or back, stop in at Laguna Pueblo and hopefully, take a peek in the pueblo church. It's a lovely pueblo church with interesting latillas and vigas (part of the roof structure). Also, guests usually enjoy the view from the top of Sandia Peak, which can either be reached by a winding (but not scary) road up the east side of the mountain or by the Sandia Tram, a wonderful experience if you're not afraid of heights. There is nice hiking/walking on the top of the mountain (nothing too strenuous). Also Petroglyph National Monument on the west side of Albuquerque makes an interesting 2 hour or so visit. As to places to stay: I know some folks who recently stayed at Hacienda Antigua, in the north valley part of Albuquerque. It's pretty far from many things, but they thought it was lovely and enjoyed it except for the very early morning train that rumbles close by.

If you've never been, the trip through Carlsbad Caverns is a glorious walk. Though the walk through the natural entrance is a bit of a hike, most visitors prefer to take the elevator 800 feet down to the caves. If you've not walked enough (the cave is a half-day walk) then you could make a trip to Sitting Bull Falls, New Mexico's only falls, nearby the CAverns. It has a cement walkway from the parking to the falls. The local favorite hotel is the Motel Stevens but there are many chain hotels between Carlsbad and the Caverns that are nice. The Winer Diner, the Pecos River Cafe, and the Cortez are good food choices.

Ruidosa is also lovely. You'll pass through on your way from Albuquerque to Carlsbad. Roswell has a great art museum with lots of Native American cultural artifacts. I've not been to the UFO museum. And if you happen through Hatch, buy a ristra of red chiles and be sure to stop at one of the modest Mexican restaurants. This is where NM's best chiles are grown.

i would drive to gallup by way of acoma pueblo (my favorite) then either stay in gallup and get up early and drive to canyon de chelly or drive directly from alb. stay at the thunderbird two nights. take the all-day tour of canyon de chelly, which includes lunch. you can make tour reservations with your thunderbird res. you will see the staggeringly beautiful red cliffs and ruins. the navajo-guided tour follows the river on the valley floor.

another wonderful trip is to santa fe. there are many posts on where to stay, what to see and where to eat. great museums, also native jewelry sold by artists in the small downtown square. i usually spend days in s.f.

high road to taos is beautiful - also red rocks north of santa fe, ghost ranch, georgia o'keefe country, bandelier natl. mon., good for a day trip. also other places mentioned above.

ft. sumner, roswell and carlsbad are a good distance away, too much driving time for the limited scenery in my estimation.

Don't miss Chaco Canyon, NW of Albuquerque. Also, Bandilier Nat'l Park, near Sante Fe, is a great place to visit. 10 Days just isn't long enough for New Mexico but you can see some and return.

If you decide to drive around the state, check out White Sands National Monument, a huge white-gypsum sand dune "field" near Alamogordo. It's awesome to see, and even middle-aged people (like me) were sliding down the dunes when I was there.

Donna

white sands is a fur piece too. there is so much more history in the northern nm area - navajo, pueblo, spanish, pioneers. the scenery is wonderful also. you don't need to spend days on the road.

p.s. balloon festival in albuquerque is oct. 2-10. a lot of motels raise their rates, some in santa fe do not.

The Turquoise Trail from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, especially Madrid...eating at all the great drive-in burger joints...Leona's Green chili in Chimayo...Las Vegas, NM and the hundreds of buildings on the historic register...the Very Large Array...White Sands National Monument...the beautiful but haunted old hotel in Cloudcroft...old Las Cruces...Silver City and all the espresso you can drink and art you can absorb...the visitors center at the White Sands Missel Range...Los Alamos...the Navajo Reservation...a swap meet in Farmington on a Saturday morning with blue corn porridge and fry bread...breakfast or lunch at La Posada in Santa Fe...all the faded, barely-left towns that Billy the Kid menaced...Route 66 in Gallup...