Places to visit in and near Santa Fe

• Museum Hill Four museums located together on a hill southeast of The Plaza. Spanish Colonial, Native American, and International Folk Art (see the next item).
• Museum of International Folk Art A stunning and almost unbelievable collection of folk art.
• Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 989-8359. A wonderful place to take the kids.
• The Santa Fe Plaza This is the center of old Santa Fe. The surrounding streets have many art galleries, museums, shops and restaurants. A place to browse.
• Canyon Road Over one-hundred art galleries and shops spread out over a mile of old Santa Fe.
• Ten-Thousand Waves A japanese-style spa with wonderful open-air hot tubs and massages to die for. Located 15 minutes away from the house on Hyde Park Road about 3 miles East of Santa Fe.
• Meow Wolf An amazing art installation for the entire family

Favorite Restaurants

New Mexico is one of those places that has developed its own unique cuisine. True Northern New Mexican cooking is unobtainable anywhere else in the USA. It is characterized by its chile's - red and green. Beware, they can be very hot and the locals will show no sympathy for Anglos with weak palates. Ask about heat and don't assume that red is always hotter than green.

• Geronimo 724 Canyon Road, (505) 982-1500. A favorite high-end restaurant in Santa Fe. Expensive, elegant, and well worth the cost. The best of Santa Fe fusion cooking. Continental, a bit of Asian, and a splash of the Southwest.
• The Compound 635 Canyon Rd, ((505) 982-4353. Another supurb high end restaurant on Canyon Road.
• Atrisco Cafe & Bar 193 Paseo De Peralta, (505) 983-7401. Located in the De Vargas Center just down the hill. Our current favorite local restaurant. Great Northern New Mexican. Very family friendly.
• Tomasita's 500 S. Guadalupe, (505) 983-5721. An excellent place to sample local Northern New Mexican cuisine. Try the green chili and a sopapilla with honey for lunch. Family friendly.
• Tia Sophia's 210 W. San Francisco. Breakfast and lunch only - closes at 2:00 pm. Located just off The Plaza. Classic Northern New Mexican cuisine.
• Cafe Pasqual's 121 Don Gaspar Ave, (505) 983-9340. A local favorite serving innovative regional dishes. Located South of The Plaza on Water St. Creative Northern New Mexican cuisine.
• Los Potrillos 1947 Cerrillos Rd, (505) 992-0550. Genuine Mexican cooking. Very reasonable prices and family friendly.
• Gabriel's Locaded on Highway 285/84 just north of Santa Fe. Northern New Mexican cooking for the entire family. Located in a spanish hacienda with an open inner courtyard that is wonderful in warm weather. Try the guacamole which is freshly made at the table.

Short Trips in and around Santa Fe

• Madrid A funky little old mining town in the Ortiz Mountains about 30 miles south of Santa Fe on NM 14. Filled with little shops and galleries and hippies. Pronounced locally with the accent on the first syllable,unlike the capital of Spain. (map)
• Shidoni Foundry and Galleries. An outdoor sculpture galley located at the site of the Shidoni Foundry. Shidoni was one of the few foundries in the country capable of casting very large bronze sculptures. Sadly, the foundry has closed. Wonderful outdoor scupture garden. The Tesuque Glass Works, a glass blowing studio and gallery, is right next door. Both are located on Bishops Lodge Road in Tesuque just north of Santa Fe. (map)
• The Santa Fe Flea Market at Buffalo Thunder. A new fleamarket that replaced the now closed one in Tesuque. Lots of "stuff" from many places including bargains, junk and rip-offs. Make sure you know what you are looking at. If you do, there are some great finds. Located North of Santa Fe on US 285/84 at exit 177. Open weekends May through October.
• Chimayo Weavers Irvin and Lisa Trujillo (Centinela Traditional Arts, 946 State Road 76, Chimayo, NM 87522) are carrying on a 400 year old tradition brought from Spain with the original settlers of New Mexico in the 1600's. Their work represents some of the finest Hispanic weaving in New Mexico. In Chimayo on the high road to Taos. (map)
• Pecos National Monument The ruins of what was once one of the most powerfull and important Pueblo Indian settlements. Pecos also has the ruin of one of the greatest of the old Spanish missionary churches. About 30 miles west of Santa Fe on I-25. (map)

Day trips in the Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico

• The High Road to Taos (map)
• Taos Pueblo
• Bandelier National Monument (map)
• Valle Grande and Jemez Springs (map)
• Eagle Nest and Red River (map)
• Villanuevo and the Pecos River valley.
• Chama and the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad (map)
• Acoma Pueblo (Sky City) (map)
• Sandia Peak Tramway (map)
• Las Vegas, NM (map)
• Chaco Canyon National Monument (map)
• Gran Quivira
• Bosque del Apache (map)
• Aztec
• Zuni
• Capulin Volcano (map)
• Monastery of Christ in the Desert (map) (detail) The last fifteen miles (see detail map) are on a rough dirt road and will take almost an hour. Do not try in bad weather!

Overnight trips in and near New Mexico

• Mesa Verde
• Canyon de Chelly
• Carlsbad Caverns
• White Sands
• Monument Valley
• Grand Canyon
• Bryce Canyon and Zion
• Durango and Silverton
• Great Sand Dunes
• Hopi Reservation

Books about Santa Fe and New Mexico

• Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History by Paul Horgan (1955)
• Lamy of Santa Fe by Paul Horgan (1976)
• Kiva, Cross, & Crown The Pecos Indians and New Mexico, 1540-1840. By John L. Kessell
• Day Hikes in the Santa Fe Area by the Northern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club. There should be a copy this book in the house.
• A Field Guide to Western Birds (Peterson's Field Guides)
• The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America (our favorite)
• All of Tony Hillerman. His books about two Navaho detectives, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, are so authentic that they have been used by Navaho schools as assigned reading. A great way to learn about Navaho culture.

An eclectic list of local food vendors we use and like

• Market Street: A good nearby local supermarket located in the De Vargas Center. Drive down our hill either via Old Taos Hwy or the back way, Juniper to Rio Grande, and turn right on Paseo de Peralta. At the Guadalupe light turn right again. Market Street will be at the second entrance to the mall on the left.
• Whole Foods: Expensive but very good produce. On the South side of Cerrillos Rd between Guadalupe and St Francis Dr.
• Sprouts: Good organic produce. A Whole Foods wannabe. Nearby in the De Vargas Center on the Paseo de Peralta side of the mall. Follow the Market Street directions above but go straight at Guadalupe and take the first entrance to the mall on the right.
• Trader Joe's: At the SE corner of St Francis and Coronado. Take St Francis Dr south, turn left on Coronado, and right into the parking lot.
• The Farmers' Market: Tuesday and Saturday mornings in The Rail Yard.

An few places to exercise or to be pampered.

• Ft Marcy Recreation Complex: The closest and least expensive place to exercise. The Ft Marcy Recreation Complex has a nice pool, a gym, raquetball courts, workout areas, and a weight room. It is about 1.3 mi by car, 4 min driving time. Also an easy 1.2 mi walk. We use the pool frequently.
• Santa Fe Spa: Another nearby facility offering exercise classes, personal trainers, and extensive work out facilities. We have not used it. It is just under 2 miles away. Looks nice. It has daily and weekly rates.
• Ten-Thousand Waves: The ultimate Santa Fe spa, Ten Thousand Waves, is a luxurious Japanese style spa with private and public hot tubs, sybaritic massage offerings, skin care, and spa treatments. It is quite expensive but if you have never experienced an private outdoor hot tub it is worth a trip. Reservations required. It is located 5 miles up Hyde Park Road, NM 475, the road that leads to the ski basin