New Mexico: "It Ain't New and it Ain't Mexico"

This post gets its title from a post card we saw in Santa Fe. Tom and I have a tradition of picking up a post card every place we stop. While we didn't buy this one, we got a laugh out of it. :-)

Since we got to Albuquerque late Wednesday night, we just went straight to our hotel. Thursday morning, we decided to go explore Old Town Albuquerque, a central area full of lots of adobe shops and restaurants. The area was smaller than we expected, but the architecture and little gardens and squares were nice to look at.

We only spent an hour or two in Albuquerque, so since we had time, we decided to go up to the Sandia Mountains and check out the tram to the peak. This is the second longest tram in the world (their sign says it's the longest, but this year an even longer one opened in Armenia... bummer). It takes 15 minutes to get to the top, and the whole time you're suspended so high off the ground watching the terrain pass beneath you. The peak elevation is 10,378 feet, and when we got out at the top, we could see for miles all over New Mexico. It was incredible!

From here, we headed to Santa Fe, and we opted for the more scenic "Turquoise Trail" over the main highway. We had lunch at a little local spot called The Greenside Cafe. We read that they put a great spin on traditional French toast, so we had to try it, and it didn't disappoint. The Turquoise Trail runs through a few little towns but also has a beautiful and changing landscape all the way to Santa Fe.

We got to our hotel in Santa Fe in the mid-afternoon, so we checked in and walked over to the historic downtown. Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico. It's much bigger than Albuquerque and has a lot more going on. If you have to choose only one to visit, Santa Fe is definitely the right choice.

After walking around for a while, we decided to go to a rooftop pizzeria for dinner. Wanting an authentic New Mexican meal, we tried two of their unique menu items. Our appetizer was simple: roasted garlic with bread & olive oil. The pizza had a blue corn crust and was topped with chicken, green chile, cotija and asadero cheeses and toasted pinon with an alfredo sauce. Everything was DELICIOUS!   

After dinner we got some frozen yogurt and walked back to our hotel for the night. Friday morning, we got up early to explore a park that commemorates much of Santa Fe's history and gives a bird's eye view of the city.

Up next: Taos Pueblos and Great Sand Dunes National Park en route to Denver!