My original plans were to try to share a blog post every night during this cross country road trip.
Sometimes things just don’t go as planned. Here we are, in the car again as I type this…on day 4 of the road trip from St. Louis to Las Vegas and back…and I’m only on blog post 2 of the trip.
Sante Fe, New Mexico was our first real destination of the 3,500 mile road trip. Day 1 was spent driving through Missouri and Oklahoma. We spend the first night in Elk City, OK and then hit the road again.
When I was looking for a place to stop between Elk City and the Grand Canyon, Albuquerque was the most logical stop. It’s directly on the path we were traveling and certainly offered things to do and dog friendly hotels.
Sante Fe, in comparison, meant our drive for the next leg to the Grand Canyon would add another hour of driving on an already long drive.
All I can say is the extra time in the car was definitely worth it.
40 Hours in Sante Fe, New Mexico:
Sante Fe, NM is an art lover’s paradise. There are galleries and shops selling high end and inexpensive art everywhere. Outside there are sculptures and paintings dotting the landscape.
As a real estate agent, I always notice the homes and architecture of everyplace I go. In St. Louis, almost all of our homes are brick, vinyl or some other sort of siding. Not so in Sante Fe. I didn’t see a single brick in the city.
Instead, the homes were made of concrete that looked like traditional pueblo flat roofed dwellings. This may not seem like a big deal to other people, but one of the things I love about traveling so much is seeing things that are different than I find in my St. Louis, MO hometown.
The city is also clean and everyone is friendly.
We did run into more homeless people and beggars than I see at home, but my guess is the warm climate and constant influx of tourists make it an ideal place to live if you are homeless.
Plaza Shopping and Dining
With just one evening plus another full day in Sante Fe, we managed to do quite a bit. He explored the Plaza, drove to nearby Taos for a pueblo tour (pronounced touse as in house), walked across the Rio Grande bridge, found an amazing dog park and a great restaurant for eating outside with dogs.
Gorgeous scenery on the drive to Taos Pueblo
View of the Rio Grande River from the bridge
Off-leash dog park
I’ll share more information on each of these experiences once I get back home. For now, just a few of the pictures will have to do.
I really loved Sante Fe and could easily have spent a week there. I can even imagine buying a small casita and spending the winters there someday, renting it out to tourists when I’m not there.
On the other hand, I’ve got a traveling spirit…so the Future Expat side of me might not let me settle down in one place.
Next up…Grand Canyon.
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