Super-fantastic Journeys

 The food in Santa Fe is amazing and there are lots of options.  However, the first thing I want when I come and visit is the flavors of New Mexico.  There is a big difference between New Mexican cuisine and eating Mexican food at your local Mexican restaurant back home.  Especially if you live and Texas and they serve everything smothered in queso and call it Tex Mex. For this category, I am going to break it into several posts, based on the different regions of New Mexico so the list is manageable and to help with a forced ranked order for each list.  The North Central region incorporates the towns of Taos, Espanola, Chimayo, Santa Fe, and others located in the frequently visited portion of New Mexico. These are ranked ordered based on my favorite locations.  When evaluating we try to visit new places all the time.  The first two places are locations that we always hit because they are simply amazing.  It is hard to rank them and we usually visit both on every trip unless we just are

When we visited Santa Fe the last time we committed to trying new places that we had never visited before.  I was doing some searching on Yelp for highly rated locations with lots of reviews and learned about Herve Wine Bar.  We have walked by this location every time we have come to Santa Fe, but the signage does not really tell you what it is.  This is a hidden gem right in the middle of downtown.   The long alleyway-like entrance is beautifully decorated and gives some hints as to what is inside with the half wine barrels along the wall. The alternating colored sail canopies capture your eye up against the sky.  All of this leads to the large wooden door at the end of the entry that takes you to the secret. When you enter Herve you go into their retail area where a hostess greets you and shows you to a table.  As you enter the main seating area, it opens up into a glass ceiling atrium with plans, patio string lights, and an inviting atmosphere.  We visited on a Saturday night and go

 The Old Santa Fe Inn has its roots as a motel along Route 66.  It is in a great location, just four blocks from the historic Santa Fe Plaza and two blocks from the Railyards, a new and growing area with breweries, distilleries, restaurants, shopping, and restaurants.  If you want to park your car and explore Santa Fe on foot, you have found an ideal spot.  The Old Santa Fe Inn is our first choice when making reservations to stay in Santa Fe. The original portion of the motel has been refurbished with new bathrooms and comfortable guest rooms.  You can still feel the motel's history and imagine guests pulling in after journeying across Route 66.  When we first started staying here, this was the full extent of the hotel.  Over the years, they have built several expansions, and the rooms in the new building are just as magical as the older section of the hotel. When you pull into the hotel, the main parking area is in the center of the complex.  The main office is conveniently locate

Every time that I come to Santa Fe, the first place that I want to eat at is La Choza.  La Choza is where the locals go for great New Mexican dishes inspired by the local cooking style.  The food at La Choza is always excellent.  The challenge with La Choza is that you either have to arrive right after they open or know that you will need to wait for a table because it is so popular. I have tried a variety of the dishes on the menu to ensure I have had a comprehensive sampling of their dishes, but my go-to favorite is the delicious but straightforward stacked enchiladas.  Stacked enchiladas are definitely a local style, unique to New Mexico cuisine.  It is two tortillas with cheese and onion inside and smothered in green chile and more cheese. It is heated until the cheese is fully melted.  It is also quite common to get an over-easy egg on top, which is the icing on the cake. Choza offers the common sides of rice and beans, but an item that seems to be another New Mexico favorite is p

Don't forget to look up, you may be missing one of the best parts! As you travel the United States visiting the State Capitol Building, or in some places called the State House, is a great activity to build into your trip plans.  As a governmental building, the State Capital is open to the public and often provide tours, either guided or self-guided.  While visiting the house and senate chambers and learning something about the history of the state taking a moment to pause in the  rotunda  and looking up can be rewarding. Take a look and see some of the rotundas I have been fortunate to visit. State of Washington State of Texas State of Maryland State of Illinois State of Connecticut State of New Mexico State of Montana State of Arkansas

Through our multiple visits to Bandelier National Monument, we have hiked a number of the trails that depart from the visitor center.  The hiking here is very accessible and is friendly to the time-crunched traveler.  I would highly recommend one of the trails that takes you through the ruins.  This is a dream spot for kids to hike because they get to climb ladders and go through narrow passageways. Main Ruin Loop Trail Distance: 1.4 Miles Trail Type: Loop Elevation Gain: 291 feet Difficulty: Easy All Trails Map The Main Ruin Loop Trail begins and ends at the visitor center.  The trail is 1.4 miles in length and is broken into two sections.  The first section is paved and is handicap accessible.  The second portion of the trail has some narrow sections of stairs to climb as you work your way up onto the cliffs sides to be able to access the carved out alcoves that were made in the side of the canyon for homes and storage.  Ladders from the trail will allow adventurers to climb

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located in the Southeast portion of New Mexico, 20 miles from the town of Carlsbad.  The park has over 117 caves made in the limestone which was once an ocean reef.  The caverns were formed in this area when waters rich in hydrogen sulfide mixed with rainwater to create sulfuric acid.  The acid ate away the limestone and created the chambers that you are able to visit today.  About four million years ago this process stopped and the cave started making formations as surface water started working its way into the cave.  The formations that we see today is a result of the surface water bring minerals down and depositing them in the area. Carlsbad Cavern is the cave that most people visit and is developed for the large number of visitors the park hosts each year. The Carlsbad Cavern has 30 miles of passages surveyed and has been developed extensively for visitors.  The great room that you visit is 8.2 acres in size and is the largest cave chamber p

National Park Sites in New Mexico New Mexico is called the land of enchantments for a reason.  The diversity of high mountains and deserts provide some great diversity to the activities available at the National Park Sites throughout the state.  While I have traveled to New Mexico for much of my life and have my favorite spots, there are still places I need to visit for the first time.  This is my ranking of the National Park sites located in New Mexico that I have visited and my bucket list to complete my exploration of all the National Park sites in the state. #1 Carlsbad Caverns National Park Explore the world that lies beneath the earth by going deep into Carlsbad Caverns.  You will stand in majestic great halls with mighty stalagmites and stalactites hanging tight to the ceiling.  Let your eyes adjust to the darkness and begin to see all the features of the cave while you listen to the water dripping into the cavern bring life fo the next formation. Read More - Carls