Over the winter break, we went on an 8-day roadtrip through southern Utah and northern New Mexico. Here are pictures from the trip plus a few comments:
Day 1: Moab
Our first stop was Moab, to visit two national parks. First up...
Canyonlands National Park:
(quick intermission for Jac's delicious lunch food):
Then Arches National Park:
Monument Valley
Our visit to Monument Valley didn't start out very promising-- for hours leading up to it, there was a HUGE dust storm blocking out the entire landscape.
But just as we entered the park, it cleared up and...WOW!!
Then Canyon de Chelley National Park
We tried to squeeze in Canyon de Chelley in the same day, but ran out of sunlight. We did one quick hike to this overlook, but will need to return again to really do the canyon justice. [There's a Native American ruin way at the bottom of the cliff.]
In northern New Mexico's dry, stark wilderness, there's a big outcropping of rock in the middle of nowhere, and that rock protects a precious watering hole that has been visited by travelers for thousands of years. And, for thousands of years, those travelers have left their mark on the rock surrounding the pool. Today, visitors can view this historical "graffiti", some of which are hundreds of years old! There's graffiti by Native Americans, Spanish Conquistadors, American pioneers, Civil War soldiers, and more.
We enjoyed strolling around the rock cliff trying to make out the different inscriptions:
Next stop: Gallup, NM
Our stay for the night was the famous Route 66 town of Gallup, New Mexico. We enjoyed checking out this historic hotel full of Hollywood and Route 66 memorabilia:
And it was fun driving around the downtown area looking for all the charming, historical motel, restaurant and business signs dating to that era. (I've got a thing for mid-century kitschy signs!)
Santa Fe Area
We explored a large pueblo and ceremonial kiva on the valley floor, but what we really loved experiencing were the small, human-carved alcoves in the steep mountain walls.
There were little ladders that allowed us to climb up, peek inside, and imagine what it was like to live in those little protective but tiny spaces.
Then: Los Alamos
After Bandelier National Monument, we headed a bit more north to check out Los Alamos, NM, famous for being the place where the atomic
bomb was developed during World War II.
After 'accidentally' finding ourselves turned away at the gates of the super-secret US weapons testing grounds, we headed into town to learn more about the history of the atomic bomb at the Bradbury Science Museum.
Our time in Los Alamos also included lunch at a fairly yummy local Mexican restaurant:
Then: Pecos National Monument
and the remains of a Spanish Catholic mission, built in 1717 to 'save' the poor, already-okay-just-as-they-were Native Americans.
We spent day 5 exploring Santa Fe proper, including the centuries old downtown Santa Fe with it's beautiful pueblo-style buildings:
Since we were there at Christmas time, we had the added treat of having the buildings decorated for Christmas:
We loved the unique architecture and special Santa Fe touches, like the hanging chilis:
Here's the centuries old main cathedral in Santa Fe:
We
also saw the San Miguel Church (well, the outside at least -- the
inside was closed). Built around 1610, it's the
oldest church structure in the United States.
After all that walking, we treated ourselves to a very popular (and truthfully overrated) local chocolate shop to sample different flavored hot chocolates:
That night
Speaking of overrated...I "surprised" Jac with evening tickets to see Meow Wolf, a museum experience that is widely reputed to be a "modern art experience of a lifetime." I booked our tickets months in advance, and was eagerly anticipating how fun it would be to see Jac experience my big unforgettable surprise.
Yeah, he was surprised all right. We both were. That was definitely an experience. Crowded, noisy, and full of high-school-art-student-calibur projects. That one was NOT a winner.
The only part we liked was this room covered wall to wall with small items of trash:
On a brighter note...
One highlight of our time in Santa Fe was having a delicious dinner at Jambo Cafe, an authentic African restaurant:
This meal has us both curious to try more African food. So very delicious! Day 6: Taos, NM
From Santa Fe, we headed north to the charming, small town of Taos. We stayed at the super charming Old Taos Guesthouse. LOVED IT!
We went to Taos mainly to see the old Indian pueblo, only to discover that it was closed due to covid. :( Oh well, that just means we'll have to return again! Instead, we spent our time there exploring the old town area:
and driving out to see a big canyon (can't remember the name now though):
Day 7
Chimayo
Our last stop in Santa Fe as we headed back to Utah was the centuries old Chimayo church, a pilgrimage site that receives almost 300,000 visitors per year and has been called "no
doubt the most important Catholic pilgrimage center in the United
States” for it’s
magical healing soil. In the small prayer room next to the sanctuary is a
round hole filled with this soil. In fact, many come to the church in
pursuit of this soil, hoping to find a cure for their afflictions. While there, we were sure to rub some of the soil on Jac's back!
Then Blanding & New Years Eve
New Year's Eve just happened to fall right in the middle of our big drive back home. But, Jac was sure to make it special nonetheless. In our little motel room in Blanding, Utah, Jac made sure we had champagne and fireworks (a little sparkly light he brought) to ring in the new year. So fun and unexpected. :)