Our Enchanted Vacation, Viva New Mexico!
Mar 22nd, 2006, 01:20 PM
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Our Enchanted Vacation, Viva New Mexico!
We live at the beach, so we usually like to vacation somewhere a little different. We had been to Santa Fe and Taos approx 8 years ago and loved both, but we didn't want to duplicate that vacation exactly.
So . . . we spent 6 nights in southern NM and the last 3 in Santa Fe (March 10-19). Caveats: we were on a low-budget mission to eat a lot of authentic mexican and southwestern food, see the sights, and relax to the extreme. I apologize for this being a little long.
Day 1: Stayed at Casa Blanca (yes, it's a an old white house converted to a B & B) in the tiny village of San Antonio just south of Socorro (about an hour south of Albuquerque on I-25).
Phoebe was a very gracious host, made a great frittata, and provided a very comfortable room with a recently updated bathroom.
Dinner at El Sombrero in Socorro (that ended up being one of our favorite restaurants).
We got up Saturday at dawn to drive the 12 or so mile loop in the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge. Great park; the thousands of migratory snow geese and cranes had just left a weeks before. But we still saw coyote, mule deer, and numerous other birds. Pretty cool to see wetlands in the desert.
Days 2 & 3: Stayed at Lundeen Inn of the Arts in Las Cruces (about 4 hours south of Albuquerque); great B & B! (hard to find though because there is no sign for it--I found it by the street number written on the curb).
We enjoyed driving into Mesilla (just a few minutes south of Las Cruces), shopping on the plaza, drinks at the Double Eagle (awesome bar), dinners at La Posta and Peppers (sister restaurant in the same building as Double Eagle).
Also enjoyed driving about 20 miles south of Mesilla to a winery called La Vinya. We found some great wines produced in NM.
In Las Cruces we ate at Si Senior for lunch, very good--not the best we had, but better than what we can get at home.
Took a day trip to see the White Sands National Monument (expansive white sand dunes in the desert), stunning visually, well worth the drive.
On the last day, traveling to our next stop, we visited another nice winery in Deming and then had a fantastic lunch at Si Senor in Deming; hottest red chile sauce yet!
Days 4-6: Stayed in Silver City (old mining town in the mountains, near Gila National Forest) at the Holiday Inn Express.
I waited too late to make reservations at our first choice places near Silver City. But we ended up really liking this Holiday Inn. Looked brand new--I couldn't believe it was 6 years old. It was a 5 minute drive into town.
In town, we browsed the numerous funky art & pottery galleries, enjoyed drinks at a wine bar called the Twisted Vine.
We had a great lunch at Shivek & Mi (really neat chef/owner, we talked to him for over an hour). Dinners: Jalisco's, which was just okay, and take out from La Cocina, which was excellent.
Nearby Pinos Altos was a very rustic, really cool, tiny little settlement; had drinks in the Buckhorn Saloon (dark, smoky, great bar staff, friendly locals) and visited the neat gift shop/museum across the street.
Drove up further into the mountains to do the Catwalk in a canyon park near Glenwood. It's a steel walkway anchored into the side of a beautiful, narrow canyon. Very cool.
On the last day we drove to the next stop, making a side trip for me to see the Very Large Array, a group of huge radio telescopes about 45 minutes west of Socorro. If you saw the movie Contact with Jodie Foster, you saw them--veyr impressive, gleeming white, 8 stories tall against a blue sky.
Days 7-9: Ah, Santa Fe. We stayed at the Hotel Santa Fe, a short walk to the plaza, and really enjoyed that hotel. Nearly every local in southern NM we talked to lamented the downfall of Santa Fe (and Taos) due to a Hollywood invasion. Santa Fe did look a little more grown up than when we saw it 8 years ago, but we thought it still has a lot of magic.
We had a decent dinner at Cowgirls the first night, more of a rollicking bar than a restaurant.
We basically just walked into the plaza area both days (and made one foray onto Canyon Road--now that has really changed some, nearly all galleries as opposed to the working studios we remembered). Bought a lot of silver jewelry from the Navajo and Pueblo Indians who show their art on blankets on the plaza (sidewalk that fronts the palace of the governors).
Other restaurants, etc.: outstanding lunch at the Shed (near the plaza), probably the best I had, mexican of course, chile relleno, enchiladas. Another great lunch at the Bumble Bee (grill, cafe? who knows, it was just the bumble bee to us)--very unexpected, as this looks like Moes/Qdoba type place; order at the counter, etc. BUT the food was awesome, grilled mahi mahi burritos, yum!
One take-out dinner from Whole Foods, one fru fru style dinner at a restaurant on Agua Fria Street, called Cafe de Estevan I believe (very nicely prepared new mexican cuisine, but it left me craving the spicy, sloppy, comfort food I had gotten used to). Finally, brunch on our last day at Cafe Pasqual near the plaza, what a great, great place (winner of a James Beard award I believe). Very casual, very funky, witty waiters, outstanding mexican cuisine (among other things on the menu).
General comments:
NM has mountains everywhere, sometimes next to you, all round you, off on the horizon, the scene always changing with movement.
It can be very very windy (we got gusts up to 50 mph the first two days). But weather was great, very little rain, blue skies, 60s most days.
NM people, at least the ones we talked to (and judging from the signs I saw along the roadways), are very open, willing to discuss nearly everything. I guess I am used to the southern tradition of not talking politics, etc. It was a welcome change to have interesting discussions about current events, without it being heated.
In short, what a magical place southern NM is; it left me wanting to see more. Land of enchantment indeed.
So . . . we spent 6 nights in southern NM and the last 3 in Santa Fe (March 10-19). Caveats: we were on a low-budget mission to eat a lot of authentic mexican and southwestern food, see the sights, and relax to the extreme. I apologize for this being a little long.
Day 1: Stayed at Casa Blanca (yes, it's a an old white house converted to a B & B) in the tiny village of San Antonio just south of Socorro (about an hour south of Albuquerque on I-25).
Phoebe was a very gracious host, made a great frittata, and provided a very comfortable room with a recently updated bathroom.
Dinner at El Sombrero in Socorro (that ended up being one of our favorite restaurants).
We got up Saturday at dawn to drive the 12 or so mile loop in the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge. Great park; the thousands of migratory snow geese and cranes had just left a weeks before. But we still saw coyote, mule deer, and numerous other birds. Pretty cool to see wetlands in the desert.
Days 2 & 3: Stayed at Lundeen Inn of the Arts in Las Cruces (about 4 hours south of Albuquerque); great B & B! (hard to find though because there is no sign for it--I found it by the street number written on the curb).
We enjoyed driving into Mesilla (just a few minutes south of Las Cruces), shopping on the plaza, drinks at the Double Eagle (awesome bar), dinners at La Posta and Peppers (sister restaurant in the same building as Double Eagle).
Also enjoyed driving about 20 miles south of Mesilla to a winery called La Vinya. We found some great wines produced in NM.
In Las Cruces we ate at Si Senior for lunch, very good--not the best we had, but better than what we can get at home.
Took a day trip to see the White Sands National Monument (expansive white sand dunes in the desert), stunning visually, well worth the drive.
On the last day, traveling to our next stop, we visited another nice winery in Deming and then had a fantastic lunch at Si Senor in Deming; hottest red chile sauce yet!
Days 4-6: Stayed in Silver City (old mining town in the mountains, near Gila National Forest) at the Holiday Inn Express.
I waited too late to make reservations at our first choice places near Silver City. But we ended up really liking this Holiday Inn. Looked brand new--I couldn't believe it was 6 years old. It was a 5 minute drive into town.
In town, we browsed the numerous funky art & pottery galleries, enjoyed drinks at a wine bar called the Twisted Vine.
We had a great lunch at Shivek & Mi (really neat chef/owner, we talked to him for over an hour). Dinners: Jalisco's, which was just okay, and take out from La Cocina, which was excellent.
Nearby Pinos Altos was a very rustic, really cool, tiny little settlement; had drinks in the Buckhorn Saloon (dark, smoky, great bar staff, friendly locals) and visited the neat gift shop/museum across the street.
Drove up further into the mountains to do the Catwalk in a canyon park near Glenwood. It's a steel walkway anchored into the side of a beautiful, narrow canyon. Very cool.
On the last day we drove to the next stop, making a side trip for me to see the Very Large Array, a group of huge radio telescopes about 45 minutes west of Socorro. If you saw the movie Contact with Jodie Foster, you saw them--veyr impressive, gleeming white, 8 stories tall against a blue sky.
Days 7-9: Ah, Santa Fe. We stayed at the Hotel Santa Fe, a short walk to the plaza, and really enjoyed that hotel. Nearly every local in southern NM we talked to lamented the downfall of Santa Fe (and Taos) due to a Hollywood invasion. Santa Fe did look a little more grown up than when we saw it 8 years ago, but we thought it still has a lot of magic.
We had a decent dinner at Cowgirls the first night, more of a rollicking bar than a restaurant.
We basically just walked into the plaza area both days (and made one foray onto Canyon Road--now that has really changed some, nearly all galleries as opposed to the working studios we remembered). Bought a lot of silver jewelry from the Navajo and Pueblo Indians who show their art on blankets on the plaza (sidewalk that fronts the palace of the governors).
Other restaurants, etc.: outstanding lunch at the Shed (near the plaza), probably the best I had, mexican of course, chile relleno, enchiladas. Another great lunch at the Bumble Bee (grill, cafe? who knows, it was just the bumble bee to us)--very unexpected, as this looks like Moes/Qdoba type place; order at the counter, etc. BUT the food was awesome, grilled mahi mahi burritos, yum!
One take-out dinner from Whole Foods, one fru fru style dinner at a restaurant on Agua Fria Street, called Cafe de Estevan I believe (very nicely prepared new mexican cuisine, but it left me craving the spicy, sloppy, comfort food I had gotten used to). Finally, brunch on our last day at Cafe Pasqual near the plaza, what a great, great place (winner of a James Beard award I believe). Very casual, very funky, witty waiters, outstanding mexican cuisine (among other things on the menu).
General comments:
NM has mountains everywhere, sometimes next to you, all round you, off on the horizon, the scene always changing with movement.
It can be very very windy (we got gusts up to 50 mph the first two days). But weather was great, very little rain, blue skies, 60s most days.
NM people, at least the ones we talked to (and judging from the signs I saw along the roadways), are very open, willing to discuss nearly everything. I guess I am used to the southern tradition of not talking politics, etc. It was a welcome change to have interesting discussions about current events, without it being heated.
In short, what a magical place southern NM is; it left me wanting to see more. Land of enchantment indeed.
Mar 22nd, 2006, 01:32 PM
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What a great trip, beach dweller. I love New Mexico and go to Santa Fe every summer, but haven't explored the southern parts much. I'll definitely refer to your restaurant recs when I do!
Did you get Hotel Santa Fe on Priceline, by any chance?
Did you get Hotel Santa Fe on Priceline, by any chance?
Mar 22nd, 2006, 03:16 PM
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Excellent trip report!
Too bad you missed the birds at Bosque del Apache; it's been so warm this winter that I think they all left earlier than usual. The last time we were there was November 2004, and the huge flocks of birds are incredible.
We live here, but have yet to visit the Silver City area. I'll have to mention it to Mr. Pickle.
Lee Ann
Too bad you missed the birds at Bosque del Apache; it's been so warm this winter that I think they all left earlier than usual. The last time we were there was November 2004, and the huge flocks of birds are incredible.
We live here, but have yet to visit the Silver City area. I'll have to mention it to Mr. Pickle.
Lee Ann
Mar 22nd, 2006, 04:41 PM
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Great report! We are thinking about going to Santa Fe and Albuquerque and getting excited reading your report gets us really excited about it. Are all NM food hot and spicy? Did you bargain at the Plaza (by the Palace of Governors)? Is bargaining allowed? Did you book all your hotels ahead of time? Would love to hear more about your trip.
Mar 22nd, 2006, 08:40 PM
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New Mexican food has sauces made from red or green chile, as opposed to other kinds of Mexican food which have tomato or other things blended with the sauce.
It's not all spicy, and usually you can ask for mild chile (which may still be too spicy for you if you are one who thinks Ortega canned green chile is spicy).
There are plenty of other restaurants you can enjoy if you don't want to try New Mexican cuisine, but if you do, I know El Pinto in Albuquerque has good mild chile.
Lee Ann
It's not all spicy, and usually you can ask for mild chile (which may still be too spicy for you if you are one who thinks Ortega canned green chile is spicy).
There are plenty of other restaurants you can enjoy if you don't want to try New Mexican cuisine, but if you do, I know El Pinto in Albuquerque has good mild chile.
Lee Ann
Mar 23rd, 2006, 05:15 PM
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Lee Ann, we love to try local food wherever we go but we just can't stomach spicy food. Guess we have to make sure that the sauce is on the side. Is there any sweet but slightly spicy sauce in the Southwest? That may go down a bit easier.
Mar 24th, 2006, 07:48 AM
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Jayne,
We didn't get Hotel Santa Fe through priceline; rather, I think I booked it through the link on TripAdvisor. We got a pretty good rate though--IIRC it was in the $150 range, maybe a little less.
SSN, Lee Ann has it right about chile sauce in NM (no surprise, she's lucky enough to live there!) We had everything from super-hot, which we love, to very mild but still flavorful green chiles. Just ask your server; we found all of them to be very helpful in getting you exactly the taste you're looking for. Especially in Santa Fe you'll have lots of variety, lots of different styles.
We did bargain a little with the Native American artists on the plaza, and if you are polite about it, I don't think they mind. My wife would usually ask what the price was and then ask if they could do a little better; if the price was already reasonable, she would simply pay whatever reduction the artist suggested. I would have felt very hesitant offering half of the price quoted or bargaining aggressively though. That may just be me though.
More about the trip, SSN? Looking back on my post, it's as long as a novel
Anyway, one thing I forgot to mention altogether was visiting the City of Rocks about 20 miles south of Silver City (on the way there from Deming). That was a really cool place. I don't want to spoil it for you; you drive out in the country for several miles and never see it all until you come over the top of one final hill. Let's just say the description of it as America's Stonehenge seems apt. We really enjoyed it.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.
We didn't get Hotel Santa Fe through priceline; rather, I think I booked it through the link on TripAdvisor. We got a pretty good rate though--IIRC it was in the $150 range, maybe a little less.
SSN, Lee Ann has it right about chile sauce in NM (no surprise, she's lucky enough to live there!) We had everything from super-hot, which we love, to very mild but still flavorful green chiles. Just ask your server; we found all of them to be very helpful in getting you exactly the taste you're looking for. Especially in Santa Fe you'll have lots of variety, lots of different styles.
We did bargain a little with the Native American artists on the plaza, and if you are polite about it, I don't think they mind. My wife would usually ask what the price was and then ask if they could do a little better; if the price was already reasonable, she would simply pay whatever reduction the artist suggested. I would have felt very hesitant offering half of the price quoted or bargaining aggressively though. That may just be me though.
More about the trip, SSN? Looking back on my post, it's as long as a novel
Anyway, one thing I forgot to mention altogether was visiting the City of Rocks about 20 miles south of Silver City (on the way there from Deming). That was a really cool place. I don't want to spoil it for you; you drive out in the country for several miles and never see it all until you come over the top of one final hill. Let's just say the description of it as America's Stonehenge seems apt. We really enjoyed it.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.
Mar 26th, 2006, 11:16 AM
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Does anyone know the difference between real turquoise and the imitation turquoise? We also are thinking about visiting some pueblos and taking some pictures in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Lee Ann which pueblos do you recommend? Thanks.
Mar 26th, 2006, 01:16 PM
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SSN,
no offense, but you might get more responses if you make your question a new post.
Anyway, probably the best guarantee is either to buy from someone you trust (e.g., a gallery or one of the licensed native americans in front of the palace of the governors) or develop your own expertise. Generally speaking, you can expect natural turquoise to have lots of color variation, and it's usually striated. If it looks uniform in color it's probably not natural.
no offense, but you might get more responses if you make your question a new post.
Anyway, probably the best guarantee is either to buy from someone you trust (e.g., a gallery or one of the licensed native americans in front of the palace of the governors) or develop your own expertise. Generally speaking, you can expect natural turquoise to have lots of color variation, and it's usually striated. If it looks uniform in color it's probably not natural.
Mar 26th, 2006, 01:41 PM
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If you are buying turquoise, know what you're doing. Most people (including native American jewelers) get their supplies via wholesalers, and most comes from China (same difference, for the most part, minerals are minerals across the globe). Look on the web for sellers, check out colors, prices, sizes (weights), etc., then decide.
Mar 26th, 2006, 10:33 PM
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SSN, the most scenic pueblos (IMO - I certainly haven't visited them all) are Taos (about an hour north of Santa Fe) and Acoma (about 45 minutes west of Albuquerque). Taos has the multistory adobe buildings you've probably seen pictures of before, and Acoma sits on top of a big mesa. Google the Eight Northern Pueblos website for information on other pueblos in northern NM.
Do ask permission before you take pictures at any pueblo. There may be a fee, and photos are restricted on feast days and at other times.
Lee Ann
Do ask permission before you take pictures at any pueblo. There may be a fee, and photos are restricted on feast days and at other times.
Lee Ann
Mar 30th, 2006, 06:40 PM
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Thanks everyone for your response to my questions. Lee Ann, really envy you for having all those sunshine and beautiful scenery. Sylvia3, will check the web for turquoise and other stones too. Thanks again and I'll start another post for any more questions.
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