Whereas the Inn of the Five Graces was a fabulous place to stay, Santa Fe was a bit too touristy for our liking and was full of arty shops selling over priced knick knacks. Santa Fe is not too big so most attractions are within walking distance except for some of the museums which are on the outskirts some 1.5 to 2 miles away.
We boarded the open-sided bus that is Santa Fe’s version of the Big Bus Company taking tourists around cities all over the World. The guide was very entertaining and the tour was worthwhile, but what he did say about his city was that much of the good looking adobe brick buildings were fake. Rather than being built in the traditional style, they had just been rendered to look authentic.That said, they did look nice, and close to our hotel was the oldest house in Santa Fe that was built in the mid 1600s and is now a small museum.
The oldest house is next to the oldest church structure in the USA, built in 1610 by the Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico under the direction of Franciscian pardres.
One thing worth seeing outside of town, in the museum area, is the sculpture called ‘Journey’s End’ by Reynaldo ‘Sonny’ Rivera portraying the lead wagon of a trail caravan as it makes its final approach into Santa Fe.
The Santa Fe Trail was an historic 19th century transportation route across southwestern North America connecting Missouri with New Mexico. First used in 1821 by William Becknell, it served a a vital commercial and military highway until the arrival of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880. Initially it was an international trade route between the United States and Mexico and served as the 1846 US invasion route of New Mexico during the Mexican-American war. The old Santa Fe trail is the city street that roughly follows the wagon path.
The next morning we left Santa Fe for the short drive (only 63 miles) to Albuquerque and on the advice of the hotel concierge, took the pretty route which went via small towns off the interstate. As it is currently Memorial weekend in the USA, many Americans were enjoying the extra day off so the scenic route was full of Harley Davidson’s, Dodge Vipers and more ordinary holiday traffic. When we got to the small but nice town of Madrid, about half way to Albuquerque, many of the travellers had parked up and were enjoying the food and drink on offer.
Madrid had some ‘antique’ shops just like Santa Fe, selling all those things you never knew you wanted but a bit less polished and it even has its own cannabis shop, as it’s legal in New Mexico.
After enjoying the delights of Madrid, we drove on to the El Vado Motel in Albuquerque which is situated on the old US66 historic road close to the old town. Tomorrow we see what delights Albuerque has to offer.
Copyright: Words and photos John Cruse 2022