In years past I have given New Mexico a bad wrap. To be honest, I have never met anyone that gave it a good review. However, I am rapidly finding out that it may be because I have never really met anyone who has been to New Mexico, and those that have, have given it great reviews. Not only are the landscapes by far the most beautiful I have seen in any of my travels, the culture and cities are not far behind.
We made the trip from the Sedona area to Santa Fe in just over 7 hours as we hit a lot of traffic at the end due to a horrific accident. The path took us along a single highway which left the deserts of Arizona for the Red Mesas of New Mexico. Besides all of the repeated Indian pottery signs, the earth seemed endless. At one point of the trip I saw a biplane flying along the mesa walls and found myself wishing for the simpler life of this area. With the temperature never rising above 74 degrees, the sun shined profusely. Well minus a few brief yet violent stretches where the heavens opened up and decided to spite our seemingly peaceful journey with hail and raindrops along with lightning strikes that would make even the greatest painter jealous. Sorry for the extensive description but I can’t truly do it justice.
Once arriving we once again ran into the same “dog–no pet policy” issues we dealt with the night before, but in no means was I going to let this be the only thing we do at night. I gave Mark a call and we set up plans for drinks and dinner in Santa Fe. This would be the second time in as many states that I have seen Mark and I can’t help but think it will be the last time for quite some time which is too bad. We ended up meeting his girlfriend who is from a few miles north of Santa Fe.
We got dinner at Blue Corn Cafe near our hotel which has received great reviews and is written about as one of the best inexpensive restaurants in all of New Mexico. How bad could it be? The reviews hit it spot on, the guacamole was incredible and although there was a little bit of a miss with the blue corn taco that came as part of my meal, the enchilada more than made up for it. Just the right amount of spices (its amazing how many places think that hotter=better). A margherita, a local beer, and a goodbye and back to the hotel we headed. Possibly an early night as the next leg brings us to Oklahoma City and starts some of our longer days of driving with an 8hr, 10hr, 12hr, and 10hr to close out the trip. So far I have driven the whole way, hopefully the trend will continue because with the amazing views I have not even been slightly bored or tired at all during the trip. We will see, we will see. See you in 5 days Rhode Island.
