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The Best of New Mexico
Great places that renew the spirit
and remind us why it's so wonderful to live here:
A Spectacular
Drive - The Turquoise Trail, Hwy. 14 from Santa Fe to I-40
You drive back into New Mexico history, along the Ortiz Mountains as the land stretches into breathtaking vistas.
Ranches, old mining towns and geological curiosities of all kinds punctuate a drive that is well worth the extra 30 minutes it takes when you forsake
I-25.
Stop in Madrid and check out the galleries, great stores, and the hippies.
Aren't we glad no one bought the town when it was for sale some years back?
History whispers in the rough dirt streets and you catch your breath as you gaze out from this mesa across - Acoma's sacred land. Coronado thought he'd found one of the fabled seven cities of gold when he first saw it. "Too bad he was wrong," one mesa top tour guide opined. "We'd be doing things a lot differently up here." Try to see it on one of the feast days that are open to the public, when the main square fills with dancers and the mood is celebration. Be sure to go back down the
steep, ancient footpath that for hundreds of years was the only access.
The Best Pueblo in the Sky
-
Acoma: about an hour West of Albuq. off I-40
Best
Hike for the "Athletically Challenged" Rio Tesuque Hike
Sure, there are lots of great day hikes in our mountains except most require you to shlep up and down steep hills in the hot sun. If your idea of strenuous hiking is the Canyon Road Arts Crawl, here's a relaxing non challenging shady stroll along the banks of the Rio Tesuque that's no sweat even for a 5-year-old. To get there, drive north on Bishop's Lodge Road, and about one mile north of the entrance to the Bishop's Lodge, as the road curves sharply left, go right onto a dirt road, County Road 72A. A few minutes later, look for parking signs and the trail is a few minutes up the road on the right, crossing the creek on a footbridge.
This and Acoma are said to be the two oldest inhabited settlements in the United States. Which means that long before Europe emerged from the Dark Ages, the Taos people drew their water, as they do today, from the Rio Pueblo as it cows down from sacred Blue Lake.
This is the architecture you see captured in so many paintings and photographs. Again, when feast days and dances are open to the public, these are highlights and a look into a culture that many anthropologists doubted would survive the white man.
The Best Pueblo with a River Running Through It.
Taos Pueblo, north of Taos on 285
Best Tram and Best View :
The Sandia Peak Tram, follow the signs on Tramway Blvd.
At 2.7 miles it really is the world's longest tram ride, rising 4,000 feet to Sandia Peak at 10,500 feet or so.
There's
about 11,000 miles of New Mexico to see from up there, including the Rio Grande turned to a silver ribbon, as it winds through Albuquerque. Visit their web site.
Even more sights to see in Albuquerque:
Must see for visitors and
locals alike: Discover New Mexico Magazine
Online
- features topics from around the Land of Enchantment, multicultural heritage,
arts, climate, environment, and the uniqueness of New Mexico's people. Old Town Merchants
Association
- Discover the enchantment of the Old Town district in Albuquerque.
A Spectacular
Drive - The Turquoise Trail, Hwy. 14 from Santa Fe to I-40
