Over the long weekend we ventured down to see our friends, Kate and Richard, in Albuquerque. We hadn’t been down to see them or their new house so we thought why not go for a visit?
We didn’t take the most of direct routes down there. We made a stop in at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, which is where Eric went for a 2 week hiking trip for Boy Scouts when he was 16. The area is beautiful, and according to Eric looks the same and wasn’t at all disappointing. He had been a little concerned it wouldn’t seem as big, vast and cool now that he wasn’t a teenager. No worries, it was still all of that! We got some pictures of the area and there were deer EVERYWHERE. We pulled off to the side of the road to get some pictures and one was lying there about 5 feet from the car just staring at Indy. Indy didn’t stare so much as whine and panic and attempt to flee the car so he could play with this new found creature.
Once we left Philmont we continued on the back way through Taos and Angel Fire (ski areas) down through Santa Fe to Albuquerque. The road through the mountains to Taos was horribly twisted with switchbacks, so to keep from getting dizzy and/or car sick I took a nap.
As we got out of the winding roads and into some towns before Santa Fe, we were slightly concerned we took a wrong turn and actually ended up in Mexico. Everything was run down, closed, and everyone driving had some broken down heap of metal as a car. It was truly like Mexico, or at least like what they show on TV.
Any hoo, we got to Santa Fe and wanted to just poke around and take a break and walk the giant sleeping furball that was in our back seat. A few of the pictures below are from The Plaza. It’s the big square in Santa Fe, and many community events take place there, the open market where Natives sell their handmade jewelry is there, and lots of shops and restaurants are located on or immediately off the Plaza. We left Santa Fe and made it down to Albuquerque safe and sound on Thursday night.
Friday we woke up to rain. It’s the desert and we go to visit and it rains. Of course it does, why wouldn’t it?! We had originally planned to take the Tram up Sandia Peak to see the views across ABQ. Well, when its’ raining and cloudy there are no views to see. So we swapped that plan and decided to go back to Santa Fe for the day and really explore. We first stopped at The Cowgirl, which is a local Santa Fe restaurant, for lunch. Everyone else got burgers of some sort, but I got brave and tried a local favorite, Frito Pie.
It’s red chili with sirloin chunks in it {and of course some heat} spilled over a split bag of Fritos with some cheese on top. Not the best thing I’ve ever eaten, not the worst.
After lunch we made our way over to Kakawa, a local chocolate shop that doesn’t have your standard chocolate. Eric and I both got chocolate elixirs, these were similar to hot chocolate, but thicker and had agave nectar and chili powder in them. We also got some truffles to go along with our drinks. The truffles were good, but I don’t think either of us will be craving an elixir any time soon.
We wandered back over to the Plaza saw the locals selling their handmade jewelry, the lighting ceremony of the square, which not only includes your standard Christmas lights, but on the lines of the buildings each business puts up luminarias. It’s really pretty to see the roof lines illuminated. This is a popular practice throughout New Mexico, so much so their Boy Scout troops sell luminarias instead of popcorn!
We then left Santa Fe to go to Estrella del Norte {North Star} Winery. I’ll be brutal, the wine was not very good. Most of it was bitter and I think needed to sit in a barrel for another year or two{sorry, but I don’t like puckering my lips after I have a sip of wine!}. I did like the Shiraz that we tried and we did buy a bottle of that. I did, however, love the property. It was a little tchotchke and weathered/aged.
After our day in Santa Fe we headed back to Kate and Richard’s to relax with our dogs, who had managed to get a loaf of bread off the back counter and devour it while we were gone. I’m pretty sure it was all Indy and Zoe just took part when she realized what he’d accomplished.
Saturday was sunny and clear and a perfect desert day, albeit cold. We again made an attempt to do the Tram but on holidays weekends that’s apparently a bad idea. Kate called and the wait was over an hour. Sorry, maybe next time, Tram. So we decided to fiddle around ABQ. We took the dogs to a clearing and let them run around and wear themselves out and then we ventured to Old Town ABQ. We of course hit another candy store. I can’t resist! I think my new favorite candy is a piñon truffle. It’s so good with caramel and the broken piñon pieces inside {piñon is a Mexican pine nut more or less}. We wandered around the square in ABQ and I bought this really pretty turquoise ring. I wanted something with turquoise in it and this seemed like the perfect solution! Eric found a chili store and bought a bottle of local hot sauce. I didn’t even dare ask what heat level it was, but I’m sure it’s nothing I’ll eat.
We headed back again to Kate and Richard’s so we could start cooking dinner- prime rib, roasted veggies and pumpkin pie cheese cake for dessert :)
Before dinner we did manage to get some great sunset shots and a nice one of Sandia Peak, which pops up right in front of Kate & Richard’s house!
All in all it was a good trip. We had fun and didn’t even spend much money {that’s the best part!}. I told Eric I wouldn’t mind going back again sometime when it was a little warmer. It’s amazing how cold the desert can be!
