A Random Collection of Travel Recs: New Mexico Edition
Note - Most of these recommendations are from pre-COVID travel. Do your research to confirm any closures or mask requirements.
Welcome to the next post in my 'Random Collection of Travel Recs' series! These posts are loose travel guides to a general area or destination. For the past few years, my personal travel style has been pretty in the moment and primarily road trips around the United States. I'll usually do some general advance planning including a basic route with potential stops along the way and possible places to sleep (especially if I'm visiting a popular destination, such as a National Park or larger city). Beyond that, I'll do a lot of picking based on talking to locals, doing an internet search for 'best of' posts, or doing a map search of what's nearby or along my route and seeing what catches my eye. All that to say, I don't always create specific and detailed itineraries for myself, and so what I'm left with is something that looks a lot like what I'm sharing below. Though this guide might be most helpful as a resource on your own meandering road trip, I hope that anyone traveling in these areas can find a useful tip or two. So without further ado, I present to you...
A Random Collection of Travel Recommendations: New Mexico Edition
SANTA FE
MUSEUMS
Santa Fe is ideal for museum hopping. The museums aren’t overwhelmingly large so it’s easy to go to two or three in a day while also grabbing lunch, wandering through the plaza, or hitting up happy hour.
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (https://iaia.edu/mocna/) - The art pieces were amazing, but more than that it had one of the most beautifully designed exhibit spaces I've ever experienced. While larger museums that I’ve visited often have a pale neutral background that flows between the galleries, the designers at MoCNA didn't hesitate to use rich textures and vibrant colors in the design of their exhibit space and the connecting galleries played off of each other and the artworks beautifully. I've been to some of the best art museums in the United States and Europe and this one was incredibly well done.
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum (https://www.okeeffemuseum.org/) - I enjoyed this museum more than I expected. To be honest, O'Keeffe's flower paintings have never been among my favorites and visiting this museum opened my eyes to other subjects that she painted. There were several pieces that I absolutely fell in love with.
DO
Meow Wolf (https://meowwolf.com/visit/santa-fe)- A truly immersive experience and well worth a visit. If you have the chance to see a concert here, I say go for it. Meow Wolf is an incredibly unique venue to see a live show.
Loretto Chapel (https://www.lorettochapel.com/) - The Loretto Chapel is a former Roman Catholic church that is now a museum and chapel used for weddings. It is most well known for its spiral staircase, often called miraculous not only because of its construction methods, but also due to the events surrounding the arrival of the carpenter himself. You can read more about the story here.
Wander around town experiencing the galleries and architecture. There are a multitude of galleries and shops spread throughout town and you could spend days just admiring the architecture and wandering in to different shops and galleries.
EAT + DRINK
Secreto Lounge at Hotel St. Francis for cocktails (https://www.hotelstfrancis.com/eat_drink/secreto_lounge/). I will almost always prefer sitting at the bar and chatting with the bartenders and other patrons. It's one of my favorite ways to get to know a town and also an excellent way to get local recommendations. If you're traveling solo and nervous about striking up conversations with strangers, it's a great place to practice connecting with people in a low pressure way.
Second Street Brewery (https://www.secondstreetbrewery.com/) - While their original location on 2nd Street has sadly closed, they do have a taproom in the Santa Fe Railyard and one on Rufina Street. I enjoyed the IPA I got from here, enough that I purchased a six-pack to-go.
ALBUQUERQUE
DO
Petroglyph National Monument (https://www.nps.gov/petr/index.htm) - A fabulous spot for a hike on the northwest edge of the city. I did the Rinconada Canyon trail which is a 2.2 mile loop with views of more than 300 petroglyphs with my pup, Zoey. I thought this was a very cool hike as you can see so many petroglyphs from the trail. The Rinconada Canyon Trail was an easy hike/trail walk, but do know that there is no shade on this trail. In total, there are three hiking trails within Petroglyph National Monument. Two are dog friendly (Rinconada Canyon and Piedras Marcadas Canyon) and one is not (Boca Negra Canyon). Be sure to bring plenty of water for you and your pup and be a responsible pet owner (aka, follow the rules put in place by the Park Service. Don't ruin it for the rest of us.)
International Balloon Fiesta (https://balloonfiesta.com/) - This event takes place annually in early October. I made a last minute decision to come to Balloon Fiesta and I don't think that it could have worked out any better. I ended up boondocking at a nearby Walmart with about 50 other vans and RVs and it was perfect (for me - I'm totally comfortable doing this). I was able to get up early and quickly drive to the parking area to take the shuttle to the launch field for the morning mass ascension. I was so fortunate because I bought a ticket for one day only and hoped for the best and I was lucky enough that the weather cooperated and they did the full ascension that morning. You're able to walk among the balloons as they're being inflated and launched. This event is worth the early wake up and I can't recommend it enough.
EAT
Green Jeans Food Hall (https://www.greenjeansabq.com) - A collection of food vendors in a shipping container complex.
TAOS
STAY
Hotel Luna Mystica (https://hotellunamystica.com/) - Taos is stunning. I went for a special event so I didn't explore the area, but if you're interested in some glamping, Hotel Luna Mystica is cool and has campers for rent as well as a field for vans and tent campers. This is where the event was held and I had a positive experience staying there in the tent area.
EAT + DRINK
Taos Mesa Brewing (https://www.taosmesabrewing.com/) - Great beers and their main location (aka The Mothership) is conveniently situated right next to Hotel Luna Mystica. They also have a taproom located in downtown Taos.
TUCUMCARI
STAY
Blue Swallow Motel (https://blueswallowmotel.com/) - My mom and I stayed here on a road trip to California and it was such a cool experience to stay in a restored Route 66 motel. While not fancy, the room was comfortable, the staff friendly, and the restoration well-done which made for a delightful overnight stay.
DO
Appreciate the neon signage all over town. Tucumcari has several restored Route 66 motels, all with their own cool neon signs. I definitely recommend doing a little exploring once the sun goes down.
NEW MEXICAN FOOD
Fry bread. The fry bread tacos are delicious and not to be missed, but also as you're driving around through or near reservations you'll see roadside stands where fry bread is being made fresh to order. I bought some while on a road trip near Jemez Springs and it was the best snack.
Green chile everything. When in doubt, add the green chile.
If you're a coffee drinker, I recommend you try the piñon coffee. It's a local specialty.
ETC.
If you happen to drive through Los Alamos, be prepared for a security checkpoint depending on your route. When I drove through there, I was doing a long haul day and barely paying attention to the towns I was driving through and came up to a booth with a uniformed officer asking for my ID and travel plans. I didn't realize where I was until I started seeing atomic bomb references around town and looked at a map. So maybe be more aware than me.
A few things still on my NM to-do list:
Hot Springs - I haven't been to them yet, but I hear there are some hot springs that may be worth checking out in Gila National Forest.
Abiquiu - After visiting the O'Keeffe museum in Santa Fe, I really want to visit Georgia O’Keeffe’s home and studio in Abiquiu in northern NM (https://www.okeeffemuseum.org/home-and-studio/).
All right, that’s it for the New Mexico travel recommendations - at least until my next visit! Have you visited New Mexico? If so, what was your favorite experience? If not, which of these recommendations looks most interesting to you? I’d love to hear, so let me know by sending an email to hello@thewelltraveler.co!
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