Santa Fe and Albuquerque

We arrived in Santa Fe in the late afternoon of Friday, August 22.  We stayed at Santa Fe Skies RV Park, situated on a mesa that overlooking the town. From the RV Park you can see an unobstructed 360-degree view of the Santa Fe area.  The Jemez Mountains to the west are the remnants of a huge volcano which some believe to have been taller than Mount Everest. The Valle Grande lies just behind the peaks that one can see in the Jemez and is one of the largest and most perfectly shaped volcano calderas in the United States. 

To the Northeast are the tallest mountains of all, the Sangre de Cristos that rise up to 12,622 feet above sea level at Santa Fe Baldy. To the Southwest, at a distance of about 90 miles, you can see the peak of Mount Taylor rising to 11,301 feet. Farther to the southwest lies the Sandia Crest of the Sandia Mountains rising to an altitude of 10,678 feet, with the Ortiz Mountains rising to 8,897 feet in the foreground. Far in the distance beyond the Sandias is the Manzano Mountain range about 60 miles from the park. Finally to the southeast the land drops off at the foot of the Sangres into the Galisteo Basin.

The city of Santa Fe is located at the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains at an altitude of 7,000 ft. above sea level (breathe deep).  Santa Fe was on the "original" Route 66, although it was bypassed during the 1930s.  We hit a remnant of the highway in Pecos, NM.

By coincidence, we hit Santa Fe during the 87th Annual Santa Fe Indian Market, which includes 1,200+ artists from about 100 tribes. The event attracts an estimated 100,000 visitors to Santa Fe from all over the world. It is estimated that the the event provides nearly one-third to one-half of many participating artists' annual income.  Buyers, collectors and gallery owners come to take advantage of the opportunity to buy directly from the artists. For many visitors, this is a rare opportunity to meet the artists and learn about contemporary Indian arts and cultures. Quality is the hallmark of the Santa Fe Indian Market.

Walked around in downtown Santa Fe in the early evening.  The city was originally occupied by a number of Pueblo Indian villages with founding dates between 1050 to 1150.  It was the capital of Nuevo México, a province of New Spain explored by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and established in 1515.  The Palace of the Governors is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States, dating to 1610.

Had dinner at The Shed.  Someone had recommended it to Mic.  We had almost an hour wait for a table, but walked around the old town during our wait.  I had a green chile burrito to die for.

Chiles are a big part of New Mexico cuisine.  We had breakfast at Harry's Road House.  The waitress who served us said the green chile was a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10.  I'd hate to see her 10.

New Mexico Capital building.  Pretty bland architecture.  Although they do have a good governor.

Santa Fe's adobe architecture.

Church in Albuquerque old town.

Drove to Albuquerque via the Turquoise Trail.  It's a national scenic highway like Rt. 97 along the Delaware River.  I wonder who decides on those designations?  It's an enjoyable way of traveling between Santa Fe and Albuquerque.  Stopped at Cerillos at the Casa Grande Trading Post.  They own a local turquoise mine.  The area turquoise and lead deposits were critical to the jewelry and pottery making of the prehistoric Indians and these mines influenced Spanish settlement.  Turquoise mined here found its way to the crown jewels of Spain. Cerrillos was full of hearty miners who extracted gold, silver, lead, zinc and turquoise from area mines at its peak in the 1880’s. The miners supported the town’s 21 saloons and four hotels.  Today, it's damn near a ghost town.  It's been used recently as a movie set for B movies ("Young Guns" was filmed in the area.)

Walked around the old town in Albuquerque.  Interesting and old.  Bought some jewelry from the Indian market  there.