Albuquerque - Santa Fe

 June 4^th – Thursday – We left Aztec, NM mid morning and drove to Tijeras, NM to Leisure Time RV Park.  Weeeelllll, we have learned that in this traveling across the country and finding RV parks, you can get anywhere in a range from the good, bad, and the ugly.  We’ve been pretty much on the “good” side of that, but today, let’s just say we found the bad AND the ugly.  Haha  We would have immediately moved on BUT we have had mail forwarded here so we’ll have to wait until it comes!  Right now, we just have all our curtains closed and we’re locked in.  What can we do but laugh?  Seriously, it’s not THAT bad, but let’s just say I haven’t taken any pictures here….LOL  We’ll be gone almost all the time seeing places and doing things, so at least it’s cheap here. 

 The mountains are majestic, for sure, but I must say, I don't find them as beautiful - these are covered primarily with scrubby green plants or barren with only rocky surfaces. I do love the weather here though, while it may feel hot (so far not above 84) in the middle of the afternoon, by early evening and all morning, it is extremely pleasant. Don't these photos make you think of old western movies you've seen? 

June 5^th – We slept late today!  I was amazed but I guess it’s because I haven’t slept well for a couple nights in a row, and then I read really late to begin with, so…. we got up and after our devotional time, we headed out to Old Albuquerque.  Another quaint and interesting town, full of history and folklore.  Really cute shops, as you can see….

We ate lunch at a neat sidewalk café and tried sopapillas for the first time.  We had what we thought were sopapillas in Flat Rock, NC with our friends, Bob and Nancy, but they were a dessert like pastry with powdered sugar, and maybe honey?  Anyway, these were the sopapillas stuffed with chicken, beans and cheese with cheese sauce on top and of course, served with the ever present green and red chili sauces.  The chips and salsa were awesome!!  HOT, but really fresh and tasty!

 Does anyone know what this plant is?  They're all over here and full of blooms.  Stalks as high as 6-7 feet!  I know I've never seen these in Florida.

This building was from the 1700's as are most of the buildings in Old Albuquerque.  Can't you just see the heaviness of this door and wish you could hear tales of all who had entered here?

 We came home to our less than desirable park, but hey, once you’re inside, we are right at home and cozy as ever.  We love our RV – we are so comfortable and surprisingly, have plenty of room although it forces us to be extremely organized, which we both tend to be, anyway, so it is our happy place for now.  I balanced our checking accounts, caught up on mail that Lisa had just sent us (always fun to get mail from home!) and then we relaxed and read the rest of the day until dinner time.  Too full still from lunch, so we just had a light snack here in the RV.  Tomorrow is a big day of sightseeing in Santa Fe.

Saturday June 6^th – LONG fun-filled day!  After a little quiet time this morning, we got up and headed out toward Santa Fe. What a beautiful scenic drive down the Turquoise Trail!  On the way we took a side trip and headed 14 miles continued ascent up to the Sandia Crest.  I could not believe how many bikers we saw!  Y’all this is 14 miles without one bit of it in anything but an incline, some steeper than others, but ALL uphill!  The magnificent summit of the Sandia Mountain has an elevation of almost 11,000 ft. and the view from the observation deck is outstanding!

You can't really tell from this photo but you can overlook all of Albuquerque from this height.

Explain to me how I'm this close to these huge towers at the top of Sandia Crest and still had no cell coverage.

The Turquoise Trail provides sightseeing all along the historic route.  We stopped in Madrid and discovered its rich history, dating back from the mid 1800’s when it was a mining town, and today it’s a distinctive artist’s community! Since the 70’s it has attracted a variety of artists and craftspeople. This scenic and historic area encompasses over 15,000 sq. miles in the heart of central New Mexico and links Albuquerque to Santa Fe.  We drove through Golden and Cerillos too, all alive with arts and crafts as well as museums and unique gift shops.  And then on to Santa Fe.

The diner above was featured in the 2007 movie Wild Hogs, with John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William Macy.  It is now just a shop of T-shirts, motorcycle memorabilia, etc.

 Santa Fe is the shortened name from La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis!  I think it was a wise decision.  Haha  I fell in love with this city.  It’s relatively small but still rich in history with many of the buildings dating back to the 1700’s!  With over 250 galleries, it is the third largest art market in the country! With jaw-dropping 360 degree mountain views, it has fabulous weather, and is the country’s oldest capital city at 405 years old with the highest elevation in the country at 7,000 ft.  It has a unique blend of Native American, Spanish and Anglo cultures and it influences everything there resulting in the most beautiful and unique shops! There is a modern sophistication there that contrasts well with the ancient buildings!

We had lunch at Coyote Café, at the recommendation of our friend Lloyd Heilman from Jensen Beach, FL.  He has been here so many times and knows all about what we should not miss and where to eat, and I finally told him after the 3^rd or 4^th restaurant recommendation, to STOP or we’d weigh 300 lbs when we got home!  It was really fun, like having an off-site tour guide. Santa Fe has been rated the number one small town city to visit in the U.S. and on of the top destinations in the world for travel, culture, art and food.  Now that we’ve been, I can easily see why!

We ate lunch on the roof top of the building - very memorable place. We shared yummy fish tacos and a tres leche. 

We spent the majority of the day in the historic Plaza/Downtown area, but later enjoyed going down Canyon Rd. as well as the hip Railyard/Guadalupe district.  Historic landmarks, fabulous shopping and delicious places to eat made us want to just stay here awhile, but we’ll likely head on out early next week.  

 This was an interesting fellow sitting on the park bench... and the guy below, wow, who would want to have those dreadlocks? (sp?).

 Look at the massive doors on this cathedral. What workmanship!

I was so hoping we could go in - I love going into these old cathedrals, but there was a wedding taking place, so we only snapped a couple of photos through a glass window from the foyer. But you can see it's majestic and beautiful.

 They had a lovely garden area on the side of the cathedral....

Continuing to the back of the cathedral was a meditation garden with the Stations of the Crosses.

This is the well known Loretto Chapel with its Miracle Stairway.  Apparently the chapel was built with two stories, and for some unknown reason they had not planned a way to get to the 2nd level.  Carpenters all said there was no way to do it, there would just have to be a ladder.   They started praying to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters.  On the 9th day of prayer, a man appeared at the chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later the elegant stairway was finished.  The carpenter left with no payment or thanks.

Canyon Rd is an art lover’s mecca, and is a one of a kind experience with its narrow streets and picturesque little shops and galleries – reminds me just a bit of St. Augustine in the downtown area.

 

The photo above is of a jewelry store owner whose name was Ash, very personable and he had a big smile due to the purchases we made in his store.  haha

Again, on Lloyd’s recommendation, we came back by way of Bernalillo to eat at the Canyon Ranch Café.  Once again, Lloyd didn’t steer us wrong.  I think we’ll decide to fast all day tomorrow.  Whew…. Awesome packed fun filled day!

Sunday, June 7th - A much needed day of rest!  We slept in and then watched the service at Mosaic in Winter Garden.  Our son-in-law's brother was preaching there today so most of the Coffman family was there to hear Joel.  What a great job!  Love seeing how this young man has abandoned his life to God, and he is really being used in great ways.  We read the rest of the day.  I'm reading "The Auschwitz Escape" by Joel Rosenberg.  If you're looking for a gripping, unable to put down read, this is it!  Tomorrow, we're on the road again....