Taos and Santa Fe get A+ for colorful scenery and art galleries, along with food and museums.
Do you know a direct flight to Albuquerque takes about two hours from Houston? And is only a two-hour trip from Dallas? Our adult children and their families meet annually. Because of the pandemic, it didn’t happen last year. We jumped at the chance to join them this year.
My favorite travel consultant and a good friend told me about several “must see” sites. New Mexico is full of colorful locations. Let me share the highlights.
Taos
We wanted to stay a few days in Taos without the family, as I don’t think the teenagers would be overly excited about the plethora of art galleries. Our schedule allowed us a few days before the teenagers arrived.
Taos is a two-hour drive from the Albuquerque airport with very few places to stop to eat, except for a several Casinos. We gobbled a wonderful lunch at Antonio’s, as we arrived in Taos, and registered at La Dona Luz Inn, the most colorful place we’ve ever stayed.
The hotel is a half a block from the square which has many retail stores and a farmers’ market on Saturday and Sunday. The stores hold trinkets for tourists, a couple of high-end jewelry shops, retail shops, an ice cream parlor, and a wonderful coffee shop.
Le Doux Street
We could walk everywhere from our hotel. My favorite stop was the Inger Jirby Gallery. People like the bright, basic crayon colors in her themes. She has two 200-year-old adobe guest houses she rents and a backyard full of life-sized animal sculptures. When we viewed the gallery, many southwestern scenes covered the walls: the Rio Grande River, the mountains, the churches, and adobe structures.
Ms. Jerby’s gallery and guest houses are located on narrow LeDoux Street, where visitors explore her gallery, two museums farther down the road, and other buildings. The Harwood Museum of Art at the end of the road is a “must-see” of history and artwork. The temporary display of paintings of “Low Riders” or crazy, fancy cars fascinated us. The decorated Match Box cars caught my eye in the gift shop. Gaily decorated with jewels and color, but certainly not toys any more. An artist who works with only a hammer and nail in Central Indonesia engraves them, according to Leslie Ivy, the Gift Shop Manager.
Before we left Taos, we drove the “Enchanted Circle,” an 84-mile road trip. We stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and had lunch in Eagle Nest. I’m told the little towns of Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, and Red River on the circuit become crowded in the winter with skiers. The scenery offered unexpected beauty with snowy white clouds, turquoise sky, lush green trees, and surrounding shades of the purple mountains for a backdrop. Mountains reach 13,000 feet. It took us five hours of joyful exploration to complete the Circle.
Santa Fe
Time flew the three days we stayed in Taos. We departed for Santa Fe with a desire to return to Taos on another trip, if possible.
Hotel Santa Fe , where we stayed, is centrally located. If we wanted, we could have walked to the Plaza, the heart of activity for tourists. Jewelry, clothing, artwork, museums, restaurants, churches, and lots of people in a small area. The prices are watched carefully by the police so the tourists aren’t gouged. However, high-end and street vendors sell a wide range of something for everyone. I returned with two pairs of reasonably priced earrings. We visited several cathedrals and ate well. I especially liked the pastry and bread shop across from the hotel called Sage Bakehouse.
Our children and grandchildren made dinner every night at their elaborate VRBO. Books lined several walls. No pool, but very comfortable. We hadn’t seen the Portlanders for almost two years. The kids are old enough that they enjoyed activities with their parents. They especially liked white water rafting, but we declined that pleasure.
One night a son drove a carload of us up the winding road to the Cross of the Martyrs at dusk. We saw the entire town by looking every direction from the vantage point. The magenta, pink, lavender, purples and yellows in the sunset kept us in awe. Walkers shared the twisting brick path at the bottom of the cliffs. One of our daughters-in-law made the trek during the day, suggesting we drive to the top that evening, since sunset would soon arrive.
Museums
All twelve of us forked over the money for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Not only is this museum fairly small, but with excellent lighting and detailed information for an exceptional learning experience. On museum hill our attention turned to the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. We slowed our walk as the Indian glass display captured our attention with its large glass objects, such as bowls and blown glass. Videos of the artists repeated in a small theater area. At the Museum of International Folk Art we held no expectations, as we had not heard of it. It, too, was fabulous with the vast extent of dioramas from throughout the world and variety of international displays. The stories unfolded the history, not only for New Mexico, but all over the world.
Alas, it was time to go home. Would I return again? In a heartbeat. The week flashed past us, but I saw my Portlanders, listened to the banter of the teenagers, enjoyed the mesas, mountains, rivers, valleys, and ate wonderful food, yet I can think of Sage reasons to return tomorrow.
