The New Mexico state motto is "Land of Enchantment." It fits. From the New Mexio Rockies, through mesa country, into the southern desert, the land has an ethereal, almost mystical, quality. Granted, in 15 hours it can get somewhat monotonous, but then so can the topography pretty much any place.
To go from Denver to Tucson, you make one turn. You drive 10 hours south on I-25, turn right and drive 5 hours west on I-10. For the first three hours, you move along the front range of the Colorado Rockies, then drop out of Raton Pass into northern New Mexico.
The first real town of any size is Las Vegas, NM. If it's lunch-time, go downtown to the old Plaza Hotel. Last time I was there was for Sunday brunch, and it was accompanied by a fine performance by a local folk-singer.
From Las Vegas to Santa Fe is about an hour. Along the way is Glorieta, which was the site of the western-most battle of the Civil War, a Union victory. About 3000 Confederates got it in their head to attack west. Their ultimate goal was said to be capturing San Francisco and turning California Confederate. This was quite an ambitious strategy, which, in any case, was foiled by Union soldiers at Glorieta.
Santa Fe--the "City Different"--is its own unique experience. Until about 20 years ago, Santa Fe was roughly a third Anglo, a third Native American, and a third Hispanic. Unfortunately, having been discovered by the plutocrat crowd, Santa Fe has now become a majority-Anglo city. Definitely visit the Georgia O'Keefe Museum, the Palace of the Governors, and the Indian Museum of Arts and Culture.
Santa Fe has several notable churches. The Cathedral of St. Francis is right at Plaza Square in the heart of the city. (Plaza Square is the end-point of the Santa Fe Trail.) The Loretto Chapel is interesting because of the weird legend about a mysterious stranger who built the winding staircase. The architecture is gothic, however, which seems out-of-place in a city of abode.
Christo Rey, however, is a classic example of southwest mission architecture. Personally, my favorite is the Sanctuario de Guadalupe (photo). The archdioceses' collection of New Mexican santos (holy pictures) is here as well as a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe painted by renowned artist, Jose de Alzibar.
North out of Santa Fe is Taos, one-time home of Kit Carson and, in the 1930's, some of the southwest artists, such as Walter Ufer and Bert Geer Phillips.
Also north is the small town of Chimayo. Visit the Sanctuario Chimayo, one of the early Catholic missions of the southwest. The sanctuary itself is a great example of hispanic folk art.
Off to the side of the sanctuary is a room the walls of which are festooned with walkers and crutches from the people who were healed by the "healing dirt" of Sanctuario Chimayo. You can take some for yourself from a hole in the floor.
Also worth a visit is Bandolier National Monument, a cliff-dwelling site once occupied by the mysterious Anasazi. The rock walls were formed from lava and contain a number of "bubbles." The people lived in these "bubbles." It is unlike any other Anasazi site in the southwest.
If you're up for an adventure, take the highway northwest out of Albuquerque and head for Chaco Canyon. Northwest New Mexico can be pretty bleak. Look for the turn-off to Chaco, which, last time I was there, was a dirt road that extended for thirty miles. It's worth it, though. Eventually, you drop off into a canyon, turn a corner, and there stands the oldest ruins of North America, occupied by the Anasazi around AD 900, about a century before it's believed Mesa Verde was founded.
For the longest sustained beautiful drive in America, try the seven-hour jaunt from Santa Fe through Abiquiu (one time home of Georgia O'Keefe), to Chama, NM, then north to Ouray and Montrose in Colorado. Try the Chama Toltec scenic railroad in Chama, or drive north to Durango and take the Durango-Silverton line. For an end-of-the-trail meal, try the restaurant at the St. Elmo in Ouray or the Glenn Eyrie in Montrose.
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