Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico were two cities we were looking forward to visiting as we made our way from Pawhuska, OK to Moab, UT. We would make an overnight stop in Amarillo, a 400-mile drive from Pawhuska. Cadillac Ranch was 2 miles from the Oasis RV Resort, our home for the night, so we had to stop to take a few pictures. From Amarillo, we drove 300 miles before reaching Santa Fe, NM.
Our original plan was to stay at the Cochiti Campground, which I booked in October of 2020. However, I received an e-mail cancellation notice a few weeks before our arrival date as the campground was still closed due to Covid restrictions. My backup plan was the Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, which I quickly booked.
Albuquerque is only a one-hour drive south of Santa Fe. It would be an easy day trip from Santa Fe Skies RV Park. We would stay here for three nights. The Santa Fe Skies RV Resort turned out to be a better option due to its proximity to everything, but it came with a higher price. It is a lovely park, and I would stay there again.
Before leaving for our trip, we knew we would be navigating our way through various Covid restrictions. Each state had different requirements, and New Mexico was one of the states with the tightest restrictions.
When we arrived at the Santa Fe Sky RV Resort, it was early afternoon. Wanting to make the most of our time, we headed to Santa Fe Plaza. We attempted to visit Loretto Chapel, but unfortunately, they would be closing soon. Not a problem as we would return a day later. Instead, we chose to walk the downtown area visiting the Plaza and the many side streets.
My wife had selected a restaurant for dinner, The Shed, well known for its authentic New Mexican cuisine. You see, I do all the trip planning research while my wife researches restaurants. We make a great team! We knew it would be hard to get a table, so we headed over to check their availability. Luckily they had available tables! If you chose to dine here, check out their website for reservations. It states they take reservations up to three months in advance!
New Mexico takes its cuisine and its chilies very seriously. We were excited as we read through the menu as this would be our first authentic New Mexican meal. For me, I had to order what I consider the holy trinity of any Mexican-influenced food: chips & salsa, enchiladas, and a margarita. For my wife, an order of fish tacos. Now the tough question, and new to us, I was offered red or green chilies. Be prepared for this when traveling to New Mexico, it is a big thing! To make life easy our waiter suggested one of each known as Christmas. I now could enjoy both without having to choose one or the other. When the food arrived, we paused to admire our plates and then enjoyed our first flavors of New Mexico cuisine. As for the chilies, I loved both. Christmas chili would be my staple for all future meals requiring a chile sauce. I would now sound like a local when ordering. An unusual surprise was the traditional garlic bread served with our meal, which did not go to waste. Everything was excellent! We enjoyed dinner on the outdoor patio, a bonus. This was a perfect way to end our first day in New Mexico.
The next day we set off to Albuquerque. With a 4.5-star Goggle rating and a description that reads “Down-to-earth counter-serve restaurant offering homestyle Southwestern fare since 1971,” we headed to Frontier Restaurant for breakfast. After figuring out how to place our order, we took a table and waited for our number to be called. To our order, we added what we thought was a cinnamon roll. In actuality, it was a Frontier sweet roll. We were caught off guard by the taste. It was not what we expected or hoped for based on the reviews we read. You see, we are always in search of the best bagels, cinnamon rolls, and scones. I do not know the difference between a sweet roll and a cinnamon roll, but this did not make our favorite list. The rest of the meal did not disappoint. Check out the portion size in the picture below. I wasn’t leaving hungry! Needing to work off this meal, we headed to Old Town to take a walk.
Like the Santa Fe Plaza, Albuquerque’s Old Town is a town square filled with gift shops, restaurants, native American jewelry, and souvenir shops. Fully masked, and several hours later, we took in all the area had to offer. My wife had selected Golden Crown Panaderia (4.6 Star Google rating) for lunch! Unfortunately, they were not offering table service due to Covid. We changed our plans and ended up at Two Cranes Bistro+Brew (4.4 Star Google rating). We enjoyed their outdoor patio dining area. I think they thought we were crazy for eating outside. We are from New Hampshire, the sun was out, and the temperature was just right, so we took advantage of the patio while all the other patrons sat inside. Perhaps they thought it was too cold and windy.
Between lunch and dinner, we headed to the Rio Grande Nature Center. From what we read, the Nature Center offered walking trails along the river, and we decided to check it out. After paying the $5.00 park fee, we headed to the Visitor Center, which was closed (Covid). We found the River Loop Trail and took a leisurely walk along the Rio Grande, discussing our next point of interest. We decided to end our day at Marble Brewery, it was a good choice. They offer outdoor patio seating with a large stage for live music and a large rooftop deck. They have indoor seating, but it was a beautiful evening so we sat on the patio and enjoyed their Double White Belgium style classic beer.
Our final day in New Mexico took us back to Santa Fe. We hit all the sites we missed during our first day. This included the Oldest House in the US (circa 1646), The Oldest Church in the US (circa 1610: closed due to Covid), Loretto Chapel to check out the spiral staircase, and The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. With these landmarks completed, I noticed a French pastry shop. I had to stop in for a look and maybe a treat. With pastries in hand, we headed to the Plaza and enjoyed them.
After taking in a few more shops in the downtown square, we headed to the Sierra del Norte Trailhead for a hike. This offered great views of Santa Fe. With our hike completed, there were two more places we wished to visit. We would stop at Maria’s, known for their margaritas, to have a late yet lite lunch: chips & salsa and mini tacos. Although we wanted more, we resisted as we would make our way to La Choza’s for dinner. La Choza is an award-winning Santa Fe favorite. This was evident the minute we pulled into the parking lot as there was a line outside the doors. As it was only the two of us, we were able to get a table fairly quickly. With the typical Southwestern and Mexican-inspired menu, I was ready to order my usual, but then I noticed something I had not seen before, Frito Pie! Frito chips, lean ground beef, red chile, pinto beans, cheese, onions, lettuce, and tomato. Frito Pie it would be. It was love at first sight. It was great, with a crunch you can only get with Fritos. Topping this off, they served sopapilla at the end of your meal, a New Mexican type of fried dough drizzled with honey.
We certainly enjoyed all the food New Mexico had to offer us. However, we left somewhat disappointed. We felt we missed out on the authentic charm of the Land of Enchantment as we had to mask up everywhere. With several historic landmarks and shops closed, we had to wonder what we missed. We feel a return visit might be necessary. Our time here was complete. It was now time to make our way to Moab!
What did we miss? Please add your comments below as we would like to return to this area again.
Favorite eats:
Favorite refreshments:
Places on our to do list but did not have enough time:
Savvy-Traveler 