This is the third post in a four part series about our family’s recent trip to New Mexico. You can read the previous posts about Ojo Caliente, and about Bandelier National Monument.
Santa Fe doesn’t seem like the North Pole, but maybe it’s Santa’s vacation home. There was a lot of confusion from the 3 year old about Santa Fe and what exactly it is. (“But when are we gonna be to Santa Fe?”) And, upon realizing what it is, some disappointment. Sorry kid, it’s just a town in the desert.
The disappointment was only from Alistair though. I loved it. As far as towns in the desert go, I think it’s tops. Truth is I was getting antsy at Bandelier, what with all of the camping and lack of cell signal and all. While I loved the ruins, I was craving some additional Southwest culture, and above all else: food. I had the quintessential Santa Fe experience imagined, and we more or less nailed it. My only complaint is that I would’ve liked to stay longer.
We made the 45 minute drive from Bandelier to Santa Fe late Sunday morning, arriving just in time for lunch. We Yelped our options as we strolled through the heart of town, and landed on El Callejon Taqueria and Grill. The tacos were tasty and the salsa fresh, and I was one happy girl. To make things even better, right next door was a combination book store / coffee shop, Iconik, that came highly recommended from a friend. Few things get me to open up my purse strings like a book store. Alistair and I each left with some new reads – On Writing by Stephen King for me, and Trashy Town for Ali. Sounds about right, right?
Lodging that night was at Hyde Memorial Park’s main campground, just outside of town at 8500 feet elevation. The name of the park makes it sound like we were camped out in a city park with baseball fields, but it was actually as remote as you can get within 20 miles of a city. Surrounded by dense forest with big trees, it gave no hint of the its proximity to Santa Fe. There was even a small playground where Ali could run around and stretch his legs and where Jurgen tried his best to keep up. We snagged takeout for dinner on our way out of town from The Burrito Company, a local fast food burrito place, perfect.
In the morning, we headed back into town to visit the other location of Ikonic. This one was just a coffee shop, but I loved it anyway. We hadn’t slept great the night before, so the lattes provided us with the needed kick in the rear to jump start our day.
This is the only picture I have from our time in Santa Fe, and while it’s not a good picture, I love it because it’s honest: both of them are clearly being coerced into saying “cheeeseee!!!”, Alistair has icing all over his face, is wearing my watch, has a dirty shirt, and Jordan is being a good sport when all he really wants is to enjoy his coffee and cinnamon bun in peace. It doesn’t show both boys being rambunctious in an otherwise quiet cafe where people are trying to work on a Monday morning, or the tantrum Ali threw because I threw out a straw wrapper, or that he got a bloody nose the second we walked into the place. It’s real life, traveling with kids, and these tough moments are fairly frequent, but they are still looked back on fondly (especially as I write this in peace and quiet from a coffee shop in Golden while the kids play happily at home with Grandma!).
Good thing, because it was a long day. We cruised north, with the compass set to Taos, but then only passed through, stopping at a market for essentials. We ended up pushing on to Rio Castilla, a giant expanse of open space that isn’t quite open space because it’s privately owned, near the Colorado border.
Up next: Rio Castilla
