Pushing South to Santa Fe, NM

Posted from Albuquerque, NM
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Santa Fe Skies RV Park
Old Santa Fe, NM
Dale Ball Hiking Trail
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On August 22nd we drove a whopping 105 miles south to our next destination on the south side of Santa Fe. We would be spending the next two weeks at Santa Fe Skies RV Park. This was a somewhat "interesting" park. We had a back-in site and there was plenty of room between sites.

As we understand it, the owner and constructor of the park was (or maybe still is) into the construction business.  As such, he has a vast array of machinery scattered throughout the park. Pretty interesting to read the plaques detailing some of the history of the machines.

Also, metal art is prevalent at many locations in the park. It was keeping in spirit with the "artsy" attitude of Santa Fe.

Even a simple utility is fair game for metal art. Actually, kind of cool!

On August 23rd we looked for a bit of local cuisine and decided on Posa's Tamale Factory and Restaurant. This was a small local restaurant which had good reviews. Karen was introduced to posole. She also ordered two tamales with green chile and sopapillas on the side. She said that the green chile was a "lip burner". I had a combination plate of taco, tamale, and chile relleno (plus the sopapillas).  Excellent food at a fair price!

We met up with Pam and Randy on August 25th. They are old RVing friends from Virginia and have been FTing several years longer than us. We have crossed paths several times thru the years and we were very happy that they decided to drive up from Albuquerque to spend the greater part of the day with us. Randy lived in Santa Fe as a youngster, so he was able to give us the "tour" of the city. Here's a picture of us at The Shed Restaurant down in the historic part of Santa Fe. Randy and Pam had been here before and it certainly didn't disappoint. The red chile here burned my "eastern" lips.

When in Santa Fe, a must see is the plaza area. The Palace of the Governors is a very old structure. Native American vendors sell their wares on the covered porch area today. We were told that all of the items must be genuinely created by the Native Americans selling them and the selling "spots" are acquired through a rotating lottery system.

For those who love to shop for decorative items, Santa Fe is a mecca. I've never seen so many galleries and shops in such a small area. Sculptures are scattered throughout the area.

At the end of the Santa Fe Trail (here in the historic area of Santa Fe) lies the Loretto Chapel. For a small fee, tourists can go inside and view the miraculous staircase. The construction of the staircase is somewhat of a mystery as no nails or pegs were used in the construction process.

In 1873 construction was begun on the Loretto Chapel. Today, many marriages are performed in the beautiful complex.

What recent blog of ours would be complete without the mention of a hike!  On August 26th we drove just north of Santa Fe and hiked a relatively short (about 4 miles) trail named the Dale Ball Trail. We were able to get some great views of the Santa Fe area below.

Near the top of the peak we ran across what we believe to be an area where pets have been buried.









In our next blog we'll take a look at the New Mexico capitol building in Santa Fe and describe one of the "neatest" hikes we've done in a bit.



As always, thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Finishing Our Stay in the Taos Area

Posted from Santa Fe, NM
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            Vietman Veterans Memorial near Angel Fire, NM
            San Francisco de Asis Mission Church in Ranchos de Taos, NM
            An Evening and Dinner in Taos, NM
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On August 14 we decided to drive the scenic loop in the area known as The Enchanted Circle. This is an 84-mile drive through some very pretty parts of northern New Mexico.

(Map Courtesy of EnchantedCircle.org Website)

From Questa, it's approximately 12 miles to Red River across the mountains. Once on the eastern side of the mountains, the valley encompassing Red River, Eagle Nest, and Angel Fire is mostly flat and an easy drive. We received a recommendation from our friend Kathy B. to visit the Vietnam Veterans National Memorial State Park just outside of Angel Fire.

From the above website:
"Following the death of their son, U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant Victor David Westphall III, Jeanne and Dr. Victor Westphall began construction of the Vietnam Veterans Peace and Brotherhood Chapel to honor the memory of their son and the fifteen men that died with him near Con Thien, South Vietnam on May 22, 1968."

The memorial is unique in that it is the only state park dedicated exclusively to the memory of Vietnam Veterans.

This is the first view walking in through the gates from the upper parking area.

The Chapel is beautiful and simple in design, but the reverence felt inside (even with no one else around) was chilling.

As you enter the Visitor's Center of the Memorial,  a display detailing Dr. Westphall's son David as the inspiration for the building is shown.

There were many exhibit rooms showing the daily lives of the Vietnam soldier. There is also the ability to search by name (and many include pictures) of those lost in Vietnam.


In my opinion, this is something not to be missed if in this part of New Mexico.

On August 17, we headed down to just south of Taos to visit the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church. This church is located in Ranchos de Taos. The church was constructed between 1772 and 1816. It looks in pretty good shape for a church that old, doesn't it?

The reason that it looks so good is that each June, parishioners, visitors, and citizens of Ranchos de Taos come together for a 2-week period to completely "re-plaster" the exterior walls.

Here's a closer view of the front courtyard area. Although visitor's are allowed inside, no photos are allowed. (You can take a look at the link beside the previous picture to see at least what it looks like.)

(Photo Courtesy of  Le Cueva Website)

After a grueling day of sightseeing, it was time to look for a place to have dinner in Taos. Based upon the recommendations in TripAdvisor.com we decided to try La Cueva Cafe for a taste of the local fare. Although the outside isn't much to look at, the food was very good.

We had a chance to get our first taste of  "New Mexican" style cuisine and I would certainly go back again.  The prices are fair and the service was reasonably quick.

After dinner we walked a couple of blocks to Taos Plaza to enjoy an evening of music.  Taos has a series of free concerts in the summertime for everyone to enjoy.

Tonight's group was named Katie P and the Business.  They played a style of "rock-funk" (if that's possible). They were actually pretty good and the crowd enjoyed it. This was a gathering of the crowd prior to the music.

The Taos Plaza is much smaller than Santa Fe Plaza (where we are now), but the shops were nice and the folks friendly. You get a very "artsy" feel here.







Our time in Questa, NM is up. We stayed there from August 8-22. For such a small place, we definitely found enough things to do to occupy our time. As I said in an earlier blog, however, you'll probably need to travel about 20 miles to Taos to do an major grocery shopping. Next blog-on to Santa Fe!


Thanks for stopping by to take a look!