Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Hi Andrea and anyone else visiting our beautiful state!

 

Enjoy Albuquerque!  Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos all have

old town plazas in the spanish style.  Santa Fe's is the best.

 

In Albuquerque you don't want to miss the Indian Culteral Center

and Museum.  The museum tour is very interesting... atleast it

was when we attended a couple years ago.  If the weather is

cooperating, you can hire a hot air balloon and fly over the Rio

Grande and bosque.  Downtown there is the rattlesnake museum.

I've not been myself but it gets good reviews.  Just out west of

ABQ is the petrogylphs national monument.  It's an easy walk

around, but the petroglyphs are spellbinding.  Small, but I'm

pretty sure it's still free and makes an interesting stop. 

 

Just north of Albuquerque in Placitas there is a very small, but

very interesting winery... the Anasazi winery.  They make dry

fruit wines that are excellent!  It's a funky little place, but the

wine maker is an interesting person and you get very personal

attention.  If you take a day to drive up to Taos, you can stop by

the Black Mesa winery on the way up or back.  They have more

conventional wines, but they also have one called "Black Beauty"

that you need to try.

 

NM is a big art center.  All 3 towns have great galleries.  In

Santa Fe you will want to walk down canyon road.  These used

to be all artists studios, but they are mostly higher end galleries

now.  Viryl Goodnight's work is there.  Of course she's not to be

missed (she did the "Freedom Horses" sculpture when the Berlin

wall fell).  She lives right here in Tesuque.

 

Since we have lots of pueblo lands here, we have lots of casinos.

I'm not a big casino person myself, but there are several really

nice ones to choose from.  Of course there's the tram up to the

top of the Sandia Crest. 

 

I only have one horse at the moment, and none to borrow, so I

appologize for not being able to offer a ride.  However, there is a

pretty darn nice rental place (walk, trot, canter... and they will

take you out on a nice ride) in Cerrillos.  They ride the very same

trails Blue and I train on.  It's beautiful.  They have good horses...

all Tennesee Walkers and Fox Trotters.  It's actually pretty fun.

$65 each for 2 hours (not including wrangler tip).  All rides are

guided.  I took a non-riding friend there and we had a great time.

I really enjoyed riding the mare they mounted me on.  She gaits

and she was not spoiled or ruined.  I think they mix up the trails

so the horses don't get bored.

 

Cerrillos and their neighbor town Madrid are both old mining

towns.  Madrid actually was a ghost town until artists and the

county worked together to revive it.  It's a funky but fun place.

There is an original old tavern there.

 

Los Alamos is... well, just Los Alamos, but they have a wonderful

local museum in some of the original buildings that is free and

very interesting... of course it focuses on the bomb.  Outside of

Los Alamos is Bandalier NP which boasts marvelous cliff dwellings.

It's a beautiful park... exactly what you need when you think the

entire state is sand and sage. 

 

If you drive out to Moriarty, you can visit Sandia Trailer Sales!

They are the same people who advertise on the back of EN.

They have tons of trailers... what fun!

 

We are pretty high up here.  ABQ is at 5000 ft.  Santa Fe is

at 7000 ft.  Our humidity levels are very low.  You will need to

be sure to drink lots of water and a little gatoraide or sports

drink to stay hydrated.  Of course you must eat local food.

Green is a bit milder than red, but if you don't do heat, make

sure to order it on the side.  Don't miss the sopapillas.  Throw

Atkin's right out the window when the sopapillas arrive. 

 

Just a few ideas... there's lots to do here.  Enjoy!

 

Kathy Myers

in Santa Fe, NM