What to say about Santa Fe
May 12, 2021 - Some reflections after one day here.
Adobe! I was unprepared for the pervasiveness of adobe buildings. Kudos for their all-in dedication to this theme. It sets a tone like few other cities have.
Red or green chiles? This question is a whole thing here, apparently. I ordered enchiladas for lunch but wasn’t prepared with an answer to the red-or-green chiles question, so I asked for both. Our server said, “ok, a Christmas tree for you” and I’m still not sure if he was making fun of me.
The “Santa Fe” song from Rent runs through my head on a continuous loop. Although I think my ignorance about red and green chiles precludes me from actually opening up a restaurant here.
Fun facts. Santa Fe sits at an elevation of 7000 feet. Seven thousand! This city is higher than Denver. In elevation. But legal pot is coming next month, so, you know, game on, Denver.
Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the states (established in the early 1600s) and their capitol building doesn’t have a dome but instead they made the whole frickin’ building round. Seriously, it’s a circle. With walkways extending out in four directions. Like a compass. TURNS OUT, the overhead view makes it look like the ancient sun emblem on their state flag. Oh my gosh New Mexico you are so clever.
There’s a lot of art here. It’s kind of their thing. Along with the adobe. We had planned to visit some art galleries so we drove to the art-centric Canyon Road but weren’t really feeling in the mood. Instead, we went to a pickle brinery and I stand by this decision. Art comes in all forms.
Our first day here has been relaxed and chill, like Santa Fe itself. We super love our Airbnb house (adobe!) -- it’s full of good vibes and artwork and plants. The plants! Like, enough greenery we could stick a sign out front and open our own plant shop. Guests are asked to water the plants, and I’m considering whether actually opening a shop and selling them might be less work than watering all of them.
Tomorrow we head out of town for some hiking and old cave dwellings. Get excited.
May 14, 2021 - Wrapping up Santa Fe
Yesterday we opted to seize the day with an early start, driving to Bandelier National Monument. An hour from Santa Fe, Bandelier is in a canyon area that used to be inhabited by the ancestral pueblo people, and you can explore what remains of their dwellings in the cliff faces. We arrived when the park opened, so it was quiet and peaceful, and we enjoyed a few miles of trails without many people around. I loved seeing the ancient cave nooks, which didn’t seem all that comfortable if we’re being honest. But, their average life expectancy was only 35 years, so their youthful backs and joints could probably handle it.
After Bandelier, we took our own non-youthful backs to a spa for massages, enjoyed by D and endured by me. Massages aren’t my thing but I’m a team player.
Our seizing-the-day ended by seizing pizza and beer on a rooftop in the Plaza while watching the sun dip. Rooftop Pizzeria has best wild mushroom pizza I’ve ever had, and I don’t say that lightly.
We browsed some shops in the Plaza area but it turns out that Southwest art/jewelry/pottery just isn’t my style. I kept waiting for something to speak to me, and then when finally something did -- a storefront showcasing colorful, gorgeous glass lamps -- I got excited and then looked up to see “Istanbul Bazaar” on their sign. Damn. I’m sorry Santa Fe. I’m super charmed by you even if I’m not bringing back turquoise jewelry or a Southwest weave blanket. (I’m not bringing back a Turkish lamp either. That would’ve been just offensive.)
Today, final morning here, we got notice that our train was delayed, so yay! We had time to visit the Meow Wolf “House of Eternal Return” immersive art experience that’s been closed the past few days. Sometimes things work out! This cool, trippy place has dozens of rooms to explore and interact with, and I think something like 150 artists collaborated in developing it. It’s not a boring art gallery.
OK. Time to head for the train. We returned our Prius rental car, which spent much of the past three days screaming at us for every perceived threat. This car lives a very paranoid life, worrying about imminent disaster at every turn. But, we drove all over the place and only spent like $1.87 on gas, so I guess it was a good trade-off.
Now waiting at the Amtrak station, and our train is 5 hours late. I get updates about every 15 minutes that it’s another 15 minutes delayed. Ah sweet Amtrak, you lumbering soul. This antique of a train station is a half hour south of Santa Fe, in the middle of the desert, and there is NOTHING here. A guy sitting here just told us that this station was bought last year by Game of Thrones author George RR Martin, who plans to restore it and develop the area around it. (Railroad IS his middle name, after all.) We’ll probably get to watch all this development happen while we’re still sitting here waiting for the #3 train to arrive. If you don’t hear from me again, look for our dusty skeletons sitting here on the old train station bench. Maybe Mr. Martin can name this a national monument and charge people to hike here and ponder how uncomfortable it would have been to live here. Archeologists will certainly have some questions when they find our empty wine bottle and pickle jars, which we can probably live on until tomorrow.
Signing off from the desert. “Tumbleweeds... Prairie Dogs...”
