Chaco Canyon - amazing
 

Just wanted to thank everyone who helped us with our April trip to NM. We spent 10 days driving around (1800 miles on the rental car! Yes, it is a huge state) but the last minute addition of Chaco Canyon was the highlight of the trip for the adults and even the 9 and 11 year olds loved it(although their favorite site was Carlsbad Caves). I know we wouldn't have added Chaco without the advice we got here so a big thank you to you all!

I'm glad you all enjoyed the Land of Enchantment! It would be great it you would post a trip report. :-)

Lee Ann

Glad all of you enjoyed Chaco Canyon and NM. Its a favorite of ours.

Have you time for a trip report? Would love to read it and see your pics, if you have any.

Sheila

Glad you had a great time!

Morning ladies :)

ok- I'm not sure about a trip report, but here goes.
We flew into Denver from Toronto for our short 1 hour stop over before flying into Alb. We made it ok but unfortunately, our bags did not.
We were assured that this happens frequently and that our bags would be delivered directly to our hotel in Santa Fe so, with a little skepticism, (and no clothes), we picked up the rental car and proceeded to Santa Fe. The Inn of the Anasazi was a wonderful start to this great trip. Santa Fe was amazing and we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the many galleries we visited.(Our bags were finally delivered at 1:30 a.m.).

We were a little apprehensive about driving to Taos as it was Easter Friday and we had heard about the pilgrimage to the Santuario de Chimayo, but we were actually able to witness hundreds of people travelling on foot and horseback, and we were even able to visit this most revered place ourselves.
My husband and one daughter absolutely loved skiing the last day of the season at Taos ski valley and the Taos pueblo was truely amazing.

We next had a beautiful drive through lovely forests to Jemez Springs where we stayed overnight before our big day to Chaco Canyon. As I stated at the beginning of this thread, Chaco Canyon was the absolute highlight of our 10 day trip in NM for me. The solitary and deserted drive into Chaco was the perfect introduction to this unworldly place. It was absolutely silent there and with only a handful of other visitors at that time I truely felt a sense of historical importance and beauty that is hard to describe. My only regret is that we couldn't stay longer.

We next visited White Sands National Park which the girls enjoyed and stayed in Ruidoso for some horseback riding and a great visit to Lincoln (the kids loved the Billy the Kid story).

Next up were The Carlsbad Caverns which were absolutely spectacular and our kids favorite NM site.

A very long drive back up to Alb (thank goodness for books on tape!) for a wonderful visit to Acoma where we purchased 2 beautiful pieces of pottery was an extroadinary end to this fabulous trip. I would like to say thank you again to everyone who answered my questions and all of the previous posts which I studied at great length to help me plan this memorable trip.