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Known as The Land of Enchantment, New Mexico is full of wonder. Flying in from the East Coast likely means arriving into Albuquerque. If you rent a car, you will have to take a shuttle to the rental car area. Alternatively, you can Uber, but be prepared to wait a bit for your car to arrive. I went to see the balloon festival, but also to enjoy a spa with some friends.
Albuquerque
Necessities during the fall: Once the sun is up, it is pretty warm – even hot in the direct sun! But it is very cold without the sun. I wore a warm sweatshirt and pants in the early morning. I had brought gloves but found it hard to take pictures with my gloves on so my hands were freezing. Luckily I had my trusty rechargeable handwarmer!
Fall in Albuquerque is wonderful. The intense summer heat is gone and, if you are in town for the world famous balloon festival, be prepared for an amazing experience. The festival began in 1972 with about 13 balloon and is now the largest balloon festival in the world with about 600 balloons. You can find my review here.
There are plenty of things to do in the area, outside of the festival. Old town is a cute and easily walkable area that has many restaurants, small winery storefronts, wineries in the back of stores and plenty of shops. It seemed quite touristy, but it was also a place locals seemed to enjoy. There is street parking but there are also pay lots at a low price. I had great lunch at Church Street Cafe, which looks like a hole in the wall place but it is actually quite large and has a really pretty outdoor space. I was seated at about 4:30pm and when I finished my meal there were people on the street waiting for a table.
I was lucky to have time for a wine tasting at Sheehan Winery. What a pleasant surprise! The staff was lovely and the wine was very nice. Who knew that New Mexico has good wine?!!
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is another popular place to visit and has easy parking. If you want to have lunch at the Indian Pueblo Kitchen, make sure to put your name in early. I put my name in at 11:30am and had a two hour wait. While waiting for my table, I visited the museum and outdoor area with tables selling various items and different groups demonstrating some Native American dances. The cost to visit the museum and outdoor area was $12pp. I ended up purchasing three turquoise bracelets there, which were the best prices I saw my entire trip. So the entrance fee ended up being worthwhile for me!
There are plenty of other places around Albuquerque to visit, such as Sandia Peak, the Turquoise Museum and Petroglyph National Monument, I just didn’t have the time. After two nights, I was off to Santa Fe.
Santa Fe
I left for Santa Fe around 8am and was able to see a beautiful panorama of the balloons in the sky from the highway. It was an easy one hour drive to our next hotel. The hotel I chose was Inn on the Alameda, a really nice boutique hotel that is family owned and offered free breakfast and free parking. It is a short walk to the famous Canyon Road, which has about .5 miles of art galleries. I arrived at about 10am on a Sunday and about half of the galleries didn’t open until 11am. Luckily it didn’t matter. The amount of outdoor sculptures to see was inspiring.
One of my favorite galleries was the Wiford Gallery. Inside is the home to beautiful acid on copper “paintings” that I found to be amazing and different. Outside is filled with Kinetic Wind Sculptures.
There are also some cute stores and restaurants on this road. I enjoyed stopping at Ahmyo Wine Garden and trying New Mexico’s award winning Gruet Champagne.
Old Town Santa Fe is also cute and quite busy. They have a walkway along the Palace of the Governors, home to the New Mexico History Museum, that sells Native American crafts.
A short walk from there is the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. Adult tickets are $22 and offers a nice insight into Georgia O’Keefe and her life and work. Make sure you arrange tickets in advance since they often sell out by midday.
Also in Santa Fe is the famous Loretta Chapel with its “miraculous” staircase. The Chapel was completed in 1878 with no way to access the choir loft. No carpenter could figure out how to address the problem other than by using a ladder. There are three mysteries regarding this staircase.
1. Nobody actually knows the identity of its builder. Supposedly the nuns prayed to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On their last day of prayer, a man appeared with a toolbox looking for work. He completed the staircase and then left without pay or even being thanked. No trace of him was ever found some say it was St. Joseph, himself.
2. Nobody knows the exact type of wood used. It has been confirmed that it was made from some sort of Spruce, not native to New Mexico and not “scientifically identified anywhere else in the world.”
3. Nobody knows how it was actually done. According to the Chapel’s website, “The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. It is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs.
*Note that the staircase handrails were added almost ten years after it was built.
One note about Santa Fe: Restaurants were booked up on a Sunday night so if there is a place you want to eat at, book in advance.
Bandalier National Monument
Bandalier is located an hour from Santa Fe. If you arrive before 9am, you can drive right up to the entrance. If you arrive after 9am, you have to park at the Visitor’s Center about 15 minutes away and take a shuttle to the entrance. I was happy to arrive at 8:45am, parking close and avoiding any crowds. The Monument is easily visited in under an hour unless you want to hike more. The area was formed by volcanic eruptions and followed by erosion. The village below is called Tyuonyi Pueblo (pronounced QU-weh-nee) was home to about 100 people (and 400 in the cliff dwellings) and was occupied 500-700 years ago. There are many more Pueblos in the area, most of which remain unexcavated.
Taos and Taos Pueblo
Taos is a two hour drive from Bandalier if you choose to take the high road. A number of people told us the drive was worth it so this is the route we took. There were definitely some pretty parts.
With limited time, I was only able to stop for lunch in Taos. I can highly recommend the La Cueva Cafe. It is a very small restaurant but the food was authentic and delicious. There is no waitlist, so you literally must wait in line. Luckily the line moves fast! I was headed to Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located about 10 minutes outside of town. We came upon parking but were told to turn around and return in thirty minutes. However, there was parking almost across the street and we discovered the lots were independent of each other. It was easy to purchase entry into Taos Pueblo. There is a free guide if you are interested and starts at the St. Jerome Church, but I enjoyed walking around peacefully on the North side. It is easily visited in under an hour. There are Native American goods for sale at a decent price and horno ovens in use where you can purchase baked goods. Ruins indicate this was built over 1000 years ago. Sometimes someone will allow you into their home, for a small donation. The one I visited had no electricity but they have working wood burning ovens and light filters in through “skylights” that are covered by metal and a rock at night. I was told that most homes on the North side are no longer inhabited, but there are a few. Across the Red Willow Creek are the South Houses that seemed to be closed to the public but much more occupied with children running around out front.
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
Outside of Taos is where you will find the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, located 650 feet above the river, making it the second highest bridge on the US Highway System. On approach, it doesn’t look like much other than a flat continuation of road. But get out of your car and walk it, or drive across and you will see the draw. Fun fact: When it was built, there was no road on the other side, so it was nicknamed “Bridge to Nowhere.”
Ojo Caliente Spa Resort
Necessities during the day: Flip flops, bathing suit, sunglasses and/or a hat, mineral sunscreen like Coola or Elta.
Necessities at night in the fall: sweater and pants
Ojo Caliente has been written up many times by Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast and TripAdvisor as one of the best hot spring resorts in the country, if not the world. How do you go to New Mexico and not at least get a day use pass?! It was a great place for a girls’ trip, but would also be wonderful and romantic with a significant other. I spent two nights there with friends, opting for a Cliffside Suite with a private “pool”, plus access to a pool that only people staying in the suites could enter. Additionally, you can pay for a 50 minute private soak in a small pool area with a kiva fireplace. Although we had a few issues during our stay, the hotel was quick to address the problems. As a result, I would not hesitate to recommend them. The food at the Artesian Restaurant was delicious with large portions. Casual attire is required in the restaurant, but robes are fine in the bar area! The pool area is quite large with multiple types to try including mud, iron, arsenic, soda, lithia and a mixture of it all. They all vary in temperature. There was no direction about how long to soak, but I asked an employee who told me twenty minute intervals is recommended.
There are plenty of other things to see around New Mexico, the most famous probably being Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands. It’s a place that will definitely draw me back, as I am definitely enchanted!
