We plan to head back to Santa Fe. Dwarka and Larry suggest we go a back way & stop off to see the Santuario de Chimayo and eat at the Rancho de Chimayo. Heading off, we are seeing gorgeous views of Carson Forest and the mountains. Lovely!
One thing we have noticed are the ornate roadside memorials. Some of them are really spectacular and much better kept up than the sad cross with a half-rotted teddy bear we sometimes see around the highways where we live. The roads are somewhat windy and dangerous though and it seems foolish to stop or even slow down much (as much as we admire them, we don't want our families having to erect such things just yet). Eventually we came across a small graveyard where we could park safely. I always thought of plastic flowers as tacky, but in this context they work somehow.
This back route has been so much more interesting and pretty than the main highway. Curt was sort of icked out by it all until hanging out with our friends and seeing this way. Now I think he's caught the Taos bug too (despite the warnings from the oh-so-happy bartender last night - If you've met 5 types of people in Taos, then you've basically met everyone).
Settled in to a wonderful meal at the Rancho de Chimayo - a little kitschy w. the ladies working there all in ornate Spanish dress & ristras hanging all around, but still charming and backed by excellent food that really exemplifies SW cuisine.
Satiated, we drove around the bend to the Santuario. Beyond peculiar with the pit of healing dirt, "in memory of all innocent victims of abortion" plaque & big hands wooden Jesus just to name a few.
Moved along to the Potrero Trading Post (basically a gift shop) where we found a cool Fred Harvey bracelet for me, a coupla tshirts, some roasted piñon nuts and several types of dried chili powders. These last are like nothing you find elsewhere in the country - they have a flavor that is almost like sundried tomatoes. Please stop and get some if you're ever out there and send it back to me - yummy-yum!
Started to get late and with the sun setting, we headed out to meet backup with the main highway around Española and on back to Santa Fe. Booked in to the Hotel Chimayo which turned out to be a good location and perfectly adequate, but not as good with their customer service as the Anasazi next door where we had another really nice meal. They were getting ready to close down for the night, but seemed happy to stay around and made us feel not at all like the nuisance we must have been.
On Sunday morning we trotted out, but everything seemed slow to get going. There must have been places that open for brunch, but all we found was Starbucks (which, if you've been following any of the other posts, you will realize was really not a problem for us). There is something cool about being here off-season, but also (and to be fair, I've found this in every city/town I've ever known) it is a great feeling to walk around when everything is closed and all the good people are still in bed asleep.
Walked around and watched the Native Americans setting up their blankets in the plaza, talked with a woman from Israel who loves living here and enjoyed all the sculptures, art around the streets. We saw an old fella that looked like Gandalf with many pounds of silver and turquoise on his cell phone. Fabulous!
Stopped in at LaBoca for lunch. Tasty Tapas and fun wait staff. I love the way everyone here interacts. It's so easy to learn about life here and what people are into.
After that, we walked around the perimeter of the downtown & over to the St Francis Basillica.
After sitting on a bench in the sun for a bit, Mr headed back to the room and I went inside the church. A gang of teenagers were pounding away on drums and it was amusing to me to hear this sort of world-beat stuff in such a setting. The stained glass was glowing, so I was a happy chicky.
Found my way back via Mira where I discovered the most awesome Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) mask. The lady who was behind the counter suggested that if we were in town for just a couple of days, we should totally hit 10,000 waves hot springs & spa.
Can I tell you how much I want to do this?! Curt will have zero interest. This I know. It will not happen, but it would be such an awesome way to unwind and get rid of some of the griminess that a hotel shower can never fully penetrate. Clearly I must return with some of my girlfriends one day (no, not necessarily in my Subaru)
After crashing out in our
Tomorrow we will start back in earnest. For tonight, we are all walked out and well fed. Back to the room for some repacking and a zombie tv show.
Santa Fe leaves me feeling content. I am reaffirmed in my love for the SouthWest. Mr can now share in this - part of the great pleasure in this whole trip has been hearing what his interpretations of places and events are. Maybe he will write a blog about it someday:)
Anyhow, it is beautiful and quirky here in a way that is different while still being recognizably, very American somehow. I would like to return maybe for a few days in a May or October sort of time. If a trip was going to be longer, then it would make sense to really use it as a base and travel around to see more of this amazing state.
