On the Santa Fe Trail

We left Tucumcari around 9:30 and headed west. Sue and I debated whether we were going to take the straight shot to Albuquerque or take the pre-1937 route which looped up through Santa Fe. I had been to Santa Fe briefly 20 years ago and wanted to go back and spend a little more time there. So we opted for that option which added 150 or so miles to our trip.

The drive this morning was predominantly on Interstate 40 with a few loops off to go through some towns where Rt66 hadn’t been paved over by the interstate. The scenery through New Mexico’s scrub lands was pretty and unique. As we turned north toward Santa Fe, we were on Interstate 50 most of the time.

More Rt 66 ruins

Wide open New Mexico scrublands

We took a side trip to Las Vegas, New Mexico which was a beautiful 300 year old town on the Santa Fe trail. It’s hard to remember that many of the towns in this part of the country are as old or older than many of the cities in the North East, dating back to the rule of Spain and the Conquistadors.

We followed the Santa Fe Trail from Las Vegas NM to Santa Fe

Carving in the Town Square, Las Vegas NM

Historic Buildings in Las Vegas

From Las Vegas to Santa Fe was again mostly frontage roads. We arrived in Santa Fe around 2:30 and checked into our fancy hotel room at the La Fonda.

Old Catholic church at Concito at the western end of the Glorieta Pass, highest point on Rt66 at over 7000 feet. Also the sigh of several Civil War battles, which was certainly a surprise to me

We had lunch then went to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, which was fabulous. I didn’t realize she was so well educated and traveled, spending much of her early life in Texas, New York City and Lake George before settling down in New Mexico after her husband died.