Santa Fe May trip
Apr 18th, 2006, 12:49 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 94
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Santa Fe May trip
Hi Everyone,
My husband and I will be going to Santa Fe May 13-20th. By reading posts on these boards and looking at guidebooks, below is what I think we would like to do. Does this sound about right for the amount of time, suggestions? We are 42 and in good shape but not athletes, walking all day is fine. We are not concerned with price either way, we like luxury and "hole in the walls". We are staying in a house that we found on vrbo.com.
Day 1- White Sands- it will be a full moon and I would love to star gaze
Day 2-Explore Santa Fe/ Sandia Tram
Day 3- Bisti Badlands
Day 4- Jemenz Springs
Day 5- Chaco Canyon
Day 6- Turquoise Trail/Taos
Day 7- 10,000 Waves spa/ Chimayo church
Restaurants we would like to visit:
Geronimo
The Shed
Rista
Tomasinas
Thanks for any comments/suggestions!
My husband and I will be going to Santa Fe May 13-20th. By reading posts on these boards and looking at guidebooks, below is what I think we would like to do. Does this sound about right for the amount of time, suggestions? We are 42 and in good shape but not athletes, walking all day is fine. We are not concerned with price either way, we like luxury and "hole in the walls". We are staying in a house that we found on vrbo.com.
Day 1- White Sands- it will be a full moon and I would love to star gaze
Day 2-Explore Santa Fe/ Sandia Tram
Day 3- Bisti Badlands
Day 4- Jemenz Springs
Day 5- Chaco Canyon
Day 6- Turquoise Trail/Taos
Day 7- 10,000 Waves spa/ Chimayo church
Restaurants we would like to visit:
Geronimo
The Shed
Rista
Tomasinas
Thanks for any comments/suggestions!
Apr 18th, 2006, 01:10 PM
#2
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I really enjoyed Bandelier National Monument. Also, I think you should eat at Maria's New Mexican Kitchen. Are you driving? There was a pretty good Mexican restaurant we ate at in Alamogordo called Margo's. The scenic loop north of Ruidoso is very pretty and doesn't take too long. You can see Smokey Bear Historical Park and Lincoln, where Billy the Kid lived, if you do that on your way toward Santa Fe.
Apr 18th, 2006, 01:34 PM
#3
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,690
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Bella. New Mexico is a yearly thanksgiving trip for us. Here's some comments on your itinerary:
First being that you are jumping around and could really streamline your itinerary by visiting areas that are close together eliminating extra driving and spending more time at each place.
Day 1- White Sands- it will be a full moon and I would love to star gaze
comment: White Sands is beautiful and with the full moon to boot, WOW. That's sure to be a ++. Since this is dependent on the moon phase then assuming you are flying in to Albuquerque, I would head out south to White Sands and stay the night there and head back to ABQ area then had out to Sandia Crest (do the tram) then do the turquoise trail to Santa Fe. Make sure to spend soe time in the funky little town of Madrid and check out the galleries there. Very cool.
Day 2-Explore Santa Fe/ Sandia Tram
comment: Sandia Crest is about a 15 min hwy ride from Albuquerque and is also the start of the turquoise trail to Santa Fe so by the time you get back to ABQ and head this way, I would imagine you'll arrive Santa Fe pretty late, which is fine. There's plenty to do in Santa Fe in the evening.
Day 3- Bisti Badlands
comment. Another option is to stay put and spend the day in Santa Fe visiting galleries and such (mostly open only until 6ish) then include this on a day tour en route to Jemenez Springs area on Day 4. I actually haven't been to Bisti badlands but it looks like it's in the northwest corner of the state and can be incorporated into another jaunt
Day 4- Jemenez Springs
comment: I would try to head out to Taos from here, exploring the high road to taos (includes Chimayo) and arriving late(ish)in Taos. Recommend staying at Taos Historic Inn & recommend Joseph's table (#1) or Doc's Martin (#2 - and in Taos Inn) for dinner.
Day 5- Chaco Canyon
comment: I would explore Taos here making sure to visit the Taos Pueblo (call ahead to make sure they are open to the public and not have some private ceremonies going on). In the area, make sure to visit the gorge bridge and from here, I would head to Ojo Caliente (near Jemez). Book a room for the night. While here, also book an hour in one of the 3 private mineral water pools. Make sure it's at night so you can see the beautiful stars. Massages and therapies are also available here (go to http://www.ojocalientespa.com/)
Day 6-
comment: I would get up early and have a soak in the many pools and head off to Bandelier Ntl Park, Los Alamos and head back to Santa Fe for another night.
Day 7-
comment: Take a day trip from Santa Fe to Abiqui Country, stopping by Georgia O'Keefe's old residence, echo ampitheater, Abiqui Lake, Ghost Ranch (you have many hiking trail choices here from easy to hard), take the old dirt road to the monastery in the desert which is a riparian trail (maybe stopping off by the river and having a picnic), visit the beautiful monastery, then head to plaza balnca and driving back to Santa Fe/ABQ
Restaurants we would like to visit:
Geronimo (good food, spotty service, expensive but only worth it if service is good)
The Shed (fun)
Rista (never been)
Tomasinas (never been)
additional recommendations:
You cant miss Pasquale's for breakfast (usually a line), lunch, or dinner.
Just my humble recommendations. Have a great visit. New Mexico is beautiful.
First being that you are jumping around and could really streamline your itinerary by visiting areas that are close together eliminating extra driving and spending more time at each place.
Day 1- White Sands- it will be a full moon and I would love to star gaze
comment: White Sands is beautiful and with the full moon to boot, WOW. That's sure to be a ++. Since this is dependent on the moon phase then assuming you are flying in to Albuquerque, I would head out south to White Sands and stay the night there and head back to ABQ area then had out to Sandia Crest (do the tram) then do the turquoise trail to Santa Fe. Make sure to spend soe time in the funky little town of Madrid and check out the galleries there. Very cool.
Day 2-Explore Santa Fe/ Sandia Tram
comment: Sandia Crest is about a 15 min hwy ride from Albuquerque and is also the start of the turquoise trail to Santa Fe so by the time you get back to ABQ and head this way, I would imagine you'll arrive Santa Fe pretty late, which is fine. There's plenty to do in Santa Fe in the evening.
Day 3- Bisti Badlands
comment. Another option is to stay put and spend the day in Santa Fe visiting galleries and such (mostly open only until 6ish) then include this on a day tour en route to Jemenez Springs area on Day 4. I actually haven't been to Bisti badlands but it looks like it's in the northwest corner of the state and can be incorporated into another jaunt
Day 4- Jemenez Springs
comment: I would try to head out to Taos from here, exploring the high road to taos (includes Chimayo) and arriving late(ish)in Taos. Recommend staying at Taos Historic Inn & recommend Joseph's table (#1) or Doc's Martin (#2 - and in Taos Inn) for dinner.
Day 5- Chaco Canyon
comment: I would explore Taos here making sure to visit the Taos Pueblo (call ahead to make sure they are open to the public and not have some private ceremonies going on). In the area, make sure to visit the gorge bridge and from here, I would head to Ojo Caliente (near Jemez). Book a room for the night. While here, also book an hour in one of the 3 private mineral water pools. Make sure it's at night so you can see the beautiful stars. Massages and therapies are also available here (go to http://www.ojocalientespa.com/)
Day 6-
comment: I would get up early and have a soak in the many pools and head off to Bandelier Ntl Park, Los Alamos and head back to Santa Fe for another night.
Day 7-
comment: Take a day trip from Santa Fe to Abiqui Country, stopping by Georgia O'Keefe's old residence, echo ampitheater, Abiqui Lake, Ghost Ranch (you have many hiking trail choices here from easy to hard), take the old dirt road to the monastery in the desert which is a riparian trail (maybe stopping off by the river and having a picnic), visit the beautiful monastery, then head to plaza balnca and driving back to Santa Fe/ABQ
Restaurants we would like to visit:
Geronimo (good food, spotty service, expensive but only worth it if service is good)
The Shed (fun)
Rista (never been)
Tomasinas (never been)
additional recommendations:
You cant miss Pasquale's for breakfast (usually a line), lunch, or dinner.
Just my humble recommendations. Have a great visit. New Mexico is beautiful.
Apr 18th, 2006, 04:24 PM
#4
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 91
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hey Bella,
We just returned from a week in NM. Chaco Canyon, Chimayo Church and Santa Fe were the highlights. (We also spent time in Cimarron and Las Vegas (NM) which were fascinating in an old west kind of way. We didn't like Taos - very touristy.)
If you're staying in Santa Fe it's hard to picture going to Chaco. We camped there and it was amazing but it's a long drive. You could spend a night at Cuba possibly in order to visit there. It's well worth it. We took the hike to the farthest, unexcavated ruin. It was 7 or 8 miles round trip and really great. You can see many petroglyphs and pictographs as well as explore an unexcavated ruin. At night the ranger program made the petroglyphs meaningful and we saw the moon and saturn through telescopes.
Years ago we went to White Sands and spent the night on the dunes. It was unforgettable. The town of Lincoln, sort of on the way there, was fun as well.
We just returned from a week in NM. Chaco Canyon, Chimayo Church and Santa Fe were the highlights. (We also spent time in Cimarron and Las Vegas (NM) which were fascinating in an old west kind of way. We didn't like Taos - very touristy.)
If you're staying in Santa Fe it's hard to picture going to Chaco. We camped there and it was amazing but it's a long drive. You could spend a night at Cuba possibly in order to visit there. It's well worth it. We took the hike to the farthest, unexcavated ruin. It was 7 or 8 miles round trip and really great. You can see many petroglyphs and pictographs as well as explore an unexcavated ruin. At night the ranger program made the petroglyphs meaningful and we saw the moon and saturn through telescopes.
Years ago we went to White Sands and spent the night on the dunes. It was unforgettable. The town of Lincoln, sort of on the way there, was fun as well.
Apr 18th, 2006, 05:35 PM
#5
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I posted in my recent trip report that I found White Sands to be so seductive, it was a real trip highlight. I'm a real go-go-go person, and we were getting ready to head home, but I found it so hard to leave that place. It was magical. I think there was a Siren singing to me or something. It was such a dreamy, great place.
Apr 19th, 2006, 06:23 AM
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 94
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wow! Thanks for all the great comments! I am glad to hear White Sands is so cool. I went to the Badlands in S.D. and there were sand dunes there and I was so mesmerized. I am really looking forwards to this! I loved your "siren's song" comment sfamylou!
Maria, you really put time and thought into this, thank you so much! I am going to print out what you wrote and use it as a guide! It sounds terrific.
I will have to add Maria's and Pasquales to the restaurant list!
Maria, you really put time and thought into this, thank you so much! I am going to print out what you wrote and use it as a guide! It sounds terrific.
I will have to add Maria's and Pasquales to the restaurant list!
