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Cumbres and Toltec are on our list. Along with the Enchanted Circle. Return to the Mineshaft Tavern in Madrid. Shiprock and the Cloudcroft Rug Auction.
Like I said: Too many places and too little time/money. See Ya soon anyway.
I think you mean the Crownpoint Rug Auction.
We have been several times and really enjoyed it. You will occasionally find a really good rug there but many of them are not the Navaho weaver's best (not saying they are bad but the best weavers tend to sell through trading posts or galleries. The values vary but the experience is well worth it and we almost always come back with a couple of rugs. Go early and you can inspect and handle the rugs as the weavers check in.
If you want to see great rugs in that are I can heartily recommend the Toadlena Trading Post (up near shiprock), The Hubble Trading Post (out west of Window Rock), and further north (toward Taos) the Chimayo Mercantile. Of course the rugs you see at these places will be three times as expensive as the rug auction and the skill on display will be commensurate.
Charley
PS Be sure and take a Tony Hillerman mystery to read while you are traveling through the res.
Hi, just got back from a week in NM and I thought I'd share a little bit of our experience.
My wife and I flew in from Atlanta and drove up to Ojo Caliente. We stayed at the mineral hot springs for two days. The hiking around the resort was quite nice, and the numerous pools were great, but crowded. Luckily they reserve some of the pools for just the hotel guests. Not too much to say about that other than it was relaxing.
From there, we headed to Sante Fe with a stop at Bandelier on the way. Bandelier was really impressive with fascinating history. We were lucky that it wasn't very crowded, but my wife and I were both a little under the weather that day and didn't get to enjoy it as fully as we might have. I think by this time the altitude and unrelenting sunshine was taking a toll on us.
In Sante Fe, we stayed at Las Palomas, which is a few blocks from the Plaza. We greatly enjoyed al the architecture of the entire area, as well as the Loretto Chapel/magical stairway and the Basilica. We aren't religious, but we always enjoy the beauty of old church buildings like these when we travel. We were also highly impressed with the food and service we received while there. The only downside to Sante Fe is that it's overrun with tourists (which I am, as well, but I try to be as much like a local as possible when I travel, rather than the typical tourist behavior of being quick to jump in front of people and slow to get out of the way.) I can only imagine how crowded it is in the high season, and how annoying it is for the locals.
Leaving Santa Fe, we headed to Albuquerque, and stayed at the Albuquerque Parq Hotel on Central. Our first day, we tried to take it easy. Had a quick look around Downtown, dinner in Nob Hill, and went to bed early. The next day, we drove out to Tent Rocks, which is one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. What an incredible site. I expected this to be the highlight of our trip, and it far exceeded my expectations. It is baffling to me that none of the locals I spoke to had ever been there, and some hadn't even heard of it. How can this be?
On the way back from Tent Rocks we rode the Sandia Tramway, which was a lot of fun and not as scary as I thought it'd be. Incredible scenery!
After a short rest, we went to see some bands at a little hole in the wall called The Tannex. The Alibi newspaper recommended this show, featuring "Albuquerque's second best punk band" Rudest Priest, who were hilarious and very entertaining. The venue promised the show would end by 9:30, and it did. That was perfect since we had an early flight home the next day.
Anyway, thanks for the hospitality, people of NM. We had a great time and I hope we'll be able to visit again and see many of the things we weren't able to fit into our itinerary on this visit.
Just a couple of quick comments which may have already been made. I haven't taken the time to read what others have said: 1-Yes, Sante Fe is a bid touristy; remember you were there during spring break for many. it was probably more crowded than usual. The other thing I will mention: It takes some people a while o adjust to the altitude. Glad you enjoyed your trip. NM has a lot to answer and can be absolutely lovely to visit.
Even though we are retired the old problem of too many places and too little time is still there.
We spent a few days in Albuquerque last spring. We drove up to the top of the Sandia Crest a couple of times. One was in about 4 inches of fresh snow. I thought it was a bit ironic to fly to the Southwest to get more snow but I like driving in the stuff with a front wheel drive rental with summer tires. Then we took the Tram. Completely different experience.
Any auto racing fans should visit the Unser family museum.
Greg, I thought you were planning on retiring in NM, somewhere around Socorro.
Next trip, be sure to visit Taos, north of Santa Fe. It's a pretty little art town with a lot of scenery, and one of the oldest continuously-inhabited Indian pueblos in the Southwest. It's a National Historic Monument. The Rio Grande gorge is nice to drive along, and walk across the bridge over, north of Taos. There are several museums in the area, too.
Yes, I would love to visit Taos and see the gorge. Hopefully I'll make it back to NM in the not too distant future.
We are planning on retiring or, at least snowbirding, near Socorro. Like most great ideas reality sets in and plans get changed. It looks like we will be here for several more winters. Damn, I hate to have to realize that.
I guess my New Mexico fix will have to be in the form of extended trips. That is , at least, better then not visiting at all.
We are planning on retiring or, at least snowbirding, near Socorro. Like most great ideas reality sets in and plans get changed. It looks like we will be here for several more winters. Damn, I hate to have to realize that.
I guess my New Mexico fix will have to be in the form of extended trips. That is , at least, better then not visiting at all.
Same boat. We have a cattle ranch in Eastern OK and NM is like 10 - 12 hours away. My kids/grands live in OKCity which is almost 3 hours away.My husband retired from his job so we thought we'd sell and move to NM. If someone came here and wanted my ranch I'd sell in heartbeat and way below apraisal. So, at present we pay someone to watch the ranch and take vacations to either Santa Fe, or Chama which is 2 hours north of Santa Fe. I have thought of buying a vacation rental in Santa Fe but gosh to worry about something you can't get to on a moment's notice. I've thought about buying land but then I'd be in the same boat of having to rent everytime I am there.
One of the problems we have in visiting NM is it is around a four day drive from New Hampshire. So for a vacation we fly and rent a car (poor car). That works fairly well and is actually less expensive then driving. If we were to spend a couple of months there we would drive and then stay in a long term motel so we could drive to other places in NM.
On the other hand last summer we drove to Yellowstone National Park. It took five days while doing some tourist things like Theodore Roosevelt National Park on the way. We had just bought a used Chevy (2004 Corvette) so the driving was not all the big a chore. Overall the trip took about 21 days. The USA from your Chevrolet with your eyes about 3 feet off the ground is a really interesting place. You look up at the hay bales and darn near under the Elk.
As they say good things eventually come to those with patience.
As they say good things eventually come to those with patience.
Keep pushin' on with the plans. Same with us - we're in SW Kansas, and, no, this is not where we'd like to stop at and retire. More like New Mexico or Arizona. A few months over 5 more years to work and if a decent healthcare insurance plan is available, I can try and retire 3 years early. Then we'd move to the desert SW. Lately we are talking about possibly RV-ing, but that has it's own challenges.
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