Route 66

Wednesday, June 10 - After leaving Santa Fe today, our route on the interstate traced the path of the old Route 66. So, we had some fun tracking down some of the kitsch along the way.

The first stop was The Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque, across the street from the University of New Mexico. At the top of their menu they claim that they are the "Home of the Latest in Broiled Food and The Frontier Sweetroll." We sampled a couple of their popular items, the Frontier Burrito and the Fiesta Burger. We also felt *obligated* to also give the Fronter Sweetroll a try. Sandy asked the college kid taking our order if it was better to get the sweetroll with or without the topping, since you can get it both ways. He said definitely with the topping. Sandy inquired, "What is in it?" His reply, "Butter and cocaine." Well, then. Sounds like we need a Frontier Sweetroll.

Back on the road, we come up behind a man and his wife riding motorcycles, with Route 66 flags flying on the back of their bikes. The only thing that would have made this picture better was if you could see the Route 66 sign on his flag. Gotta love the open road, huh?

Next, we crossed the Continental Divide, elevation 7295 ft. Gotta love American ingenuity - taking a geological feature and making it into a tourist trap.

Gallup, NM was next up. It's main claim to fame in pop culture is that it is mentioned in the lyrics of "Get your kicks on Route 66." However, every guidebook we read mentioned that you have to see or eat at the El Rancho Hotel and Motel, which was a favorite of movie stars in its heyday, with black and white glossy photos of stars like Ronald Reagan, Spencer Tracey and Jack Benny. Several of the sandwiches in the restaurant are named after stars, including the Mae West, which is described as "stacked beef or ham." The Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, proudly displays the motto, "The Charm of Yesterday, The Convenience of Tomorrow."

Hippie Taurus

Wednesday, June 10 - When we checked out of the lovely Hotel Santa Fe this morning, we were caught a little by surprise by the Taurus with an enhanced paint job that was parked out front. Maybe they're on their way to Taos for the Summer of Love 2009 festival that they are promoting the heck out of, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Easy Rider.

Big Night at the Ranch

Tuesday, June 9 – This evening brought one of the most highly-anticipated – or most-dreaded, depending on who you ask – activities of the trip: Horseback Riding. The mere mention of it made Sandy's palms sweat anytime the subject was brought up over the past couple of weeks. However, a horseback ride through the Sangre de Christo mountains at Bishop's Lodge just north of Santa Fe came highly recommended, so we took the plunge.


We signed up for the sunset ride, and we were lucky enough to be the only ones to do it tonight, so we essentially had a private tour with our wrangler, Matilda. When we called to reserve the tour yesterday, Sandy told her about her lack of riding experience, and she said, "I have just the horse for you." Hmmm.... what does that mean, we wondered? It turns out Sandy was appropriately given "Cadillac," a nice, gentle female horse. I got "Preacher," the tallest horse at the ranch. Fortunately, they had steps to get us up on the horses.

Matilda was great, and was very helpful - and successful, I think - at calming Sandy's nerves. She gave us a brief lesson in horseback riding basics: starting, stopping and turning. Then we went out on the path for about an hour. Heaven help us. If Sandy had a horse incident, I'd never hear the end of it.

To get a little flavor for the experience, check out the Horse Cam:

In the end, it was a beautiful night, the views were awesome, and a good time seemed to be had by all... or at least the horses.

Around Santa Fe

Tuesday, June 9 – It was really great to not have to pack up the car this morning. We had breakfast at Tecolote Café, a hole-in-the-wall place that is famous for great breakfasts. To demonstrate the level of class in the parking lot of the café, we were parked next to a truck with an owner that got a bit creative when he lost his antenna.

We spent most of the morning at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, where we took a docent tour. Afterward, when we were walking around town, we bumped into this really great marimba band on the grounds of the St. Francis Cathedral . There was a good crowd around and they were selling CDs. Then we noticed a little commotion going on, and the guys started a little conference while they were still playing. It turns out that they didn’t have the right kind of permit, so the cops were kicking them out.



Next stop, the Five and Dime, the alleged home of the "famous” Frito Pie. Chili, cheese and Fritos, mixed together and served right in the Fritos bag.

This place was featured in a Frugal Traveler video on NYTimes.com.

No, we didn’t actually get a Frito Pie, since our name was on a waiting list at a great restaurant for lunch, so instead Sandy tried on a pink tiara cowboy hat – a fitting outfit for the snack bar at the Five and Dime.

Lunch was fantastic. We ate at Café Pasqual’s, which had come recommended from several sources, and it didn’t disappoint. We sat at the communal table, and got lucky by sitting next to a couple that has been coming to Santa Fe since 1988 and now have a second home here. They gave us some great advice on things to see and do, which led Sandy to a great jeweler to do one of her favorite types of shopping. I also went to some rug stores, but didn’t make a purchase. Yet.

Also at their recommendation, we went to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. No one thought a staircase to the choir loft could be built in the tight space in this small church. This famous staircase, built in 1878, appears to have had some divine intervention, since a mysterious carpenter finished the staircase and then disappeared without taking any pay, it has two 360 degree turns, and it has no supports to hold it up. It is pretty amazing.

Finally, we took a self-guided New Deal Art Legacy Tour, which features several locations around town with artwork created by artists hired by the US Government in the 1930s under the WPA.

A little creepy

Monday, June 8 - When walking home after dinner, we came across a locked alley/courtyard next to a store with these for sale... A cow's skull can be yours for only $45! Do you think one of these will go with the decor in a New York City apartment?

Arriving in Santa Fe

Monday, June 8 - Today was a pretty low-key day with an easy drive. A nice break after a couple of busy days. Even when just arriving in Santa Fe, you can tell that it has a great vibe to it. It's a stop on the old Route 66, and every other storefront in the center of town is an art gallery. We had dinner at La Plazuela at the La Fonda hotel on the plaza. Another location for some great margaritas...

There was a lot going on around the plaza, and there was a crowd in the center listening to musicians with some cute kids dancing. St. Francis Cathedral is at the end of San Francisco Street a couple of blocks off the plaza.

San Francisco de Asis

Monday, June 8 - On our way out of town, we stopped at Ranchos de Taos to see the mission church San Francisco de Asis, which is one of the oldest churches in the country. It was finished in 1815 and is made of real adobe - none of the "fake" stucco stuff you see on modern buildings - and it has to be re-plastered every year because it cracks and flakes off with the weather. They are actually in the process of replastering it with the mud and straw mixture now, which was really interesting to see.

The church has been the subject of many artists, including Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams. The back of the church is what you see first from the road, and is really striking.

Around Taos

Monday, June 8 - Taos is a really great town. We had a really relaxing few hours today before getting back in the car for the 1.5 hour drive to Santa Fe. First off, the Taos Inn is great. Our room was really comfortable, and it was right off a courtyard with a fountain. The town plaza was just a couple of blocks away, so we walked over and had great lunch at the Bent Street Deli and Cafe sitting outside. The cafe was on the corner of a pedestrian street with a bunch of shops. There was also a pretty creative sign to prevent kids from playing in a fountain.

Historic Taos Inn

Sunday, June 7 – We ended the day by arriving at another historic hotel, the Taos Inn. After unloading, we went straight to the patio of their Adobe Bar to have one of their “legendary” margaritas.

Entering New Mexico

Sunday, June 7 – We had a nice drive today from Durango to Taos, NM, and crossing a state line and seeing the state’s “welcome” sign is always a highlight. We were counting the miles, anticipating its approach with camera ready, and then there was… NOTHING. We saw the back of the “Welcome to Colorado” sign, but no New Mexico sign. Highway US-64 is pretty weak. This picture shows where the sign should have been, so you can see the landscape. (It’s not a desert in northern New Mexico.) Fortunately, I snapped a New Mexico sign when we were at the Four Corners, so merge these two pictures in your mind.

(Sorry, no photoshopping going on tonight.) You'd think New Mexico would rather have a nice welcome sign on this beautiful green road, instead of at the bleak scene by the Four Corners.

As we got closer to Taos, we crossed the Rio Grande River Gorge. We got out of the car to take a look from the bridge. (Don’t worry, there was a safe place to park on the other side of the bridge.) It was REALLY windy out there. We saw a woman have her husband take a picture of her getting windblown, so we thought we’d reenact her photo ourselves.

Four Corners madness

Friday, June 5 – Ok, so we know that the Four Corners Monument is not on Conde Nast Traveler’s top vacation destinations, but since we were so close, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be in four states at once. Even our great guidebook, The Rough Guide to Southwest USA, only gave it a paragraph saying, “However exciting you may find the concept, the reality is bleak and dull. A steady stream of visitors mooch around the pivotal brass plaque, contorting a limb into each state for demeaning photographs.”

Guilty.

However, there was one hilarious family there that took it to the next level. Mom, Dad and two teenage girls were having a blast trying to take self portraits. It was really windy out there in the middle of the reservation, so the girls started to ham it up, as pictured here. They also thought we were pretty funny with the banana, so when they left, they said, “Bye, banana people.” They asked for our blog address, so hopefully they’ll see that they made it into the blog.