Incredible bronze statue/fountain. Outside of an art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A Dianne Lima photo.
October 10
The sun didn’t seem as bright coming through our window as it had the previous day. It didn’t take long to find out why there was less sunlight. The sky was dotted with white, puffy clouds that are typically present after a storm. While it wasn’t surprising to see those clouds after the previous night’s rain, the light dusting of snow across the Sangra de Christo Mountains did surprise us. It was a vivid reminder that winter was around the corner.
We headed downstairs and enjoyed a great ginger pancake breakfast. While waiting for our food, we were joined by a couple from Northern California who were doing a driving trip through the Southwest (much as we were). They had flown into Salt Lake City and had spent the previous two weeks in various towns throughout New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. They had mentioned about staying in Cortez as a base to visit Mesa Verde National Park. That reminded me that I needed to make some arrangements in the Cortez/Durango area because we were headed there the next day.
We had decided to spend the day driving up into New Mexico’s high mountains. But, we wanted to do a little shopping before we drove off. We were particularly interested in the tiles gracing the front of El Paradero, which spelled out the establishment’s name. We were interested in getting a set for our house as well. The owner told us that she had got them at Artesanos on Maclovia just south of where we were. Once we got instructions, we went back to our room, moved our belongings into our new room, and headed off to Artesanos.
We had no trouble finding Artesanos with the instructions she gave. It didn’t take long to realize why the locals went there for their tile purchases. They had a great selection at reasonable prices. We ordered a custom decorated tile and had it shipped back to our home in Fresno. After our purchase, we headed off to accomplish our day’s itinerary.
As we left Santa Fe, we noticed that many of the mountains around town were dusted with snow. There wasn’t any on the roads, but it was still a little unsettling to think that we were in shorts just a few days earlier, yet now needed winter coats. Such are the joys of travelling in the Fall.
We continued driving north out of Santa Fe. Our goal was to reach the town of Red River and hopefully find some fall foliage. We passed through the towns of Espanola and Taos on our way to Red River. While Taos gave off the impression of a Southwest Carmel, the other towns along the way were definitely much lower on the socio-economic ladder. I was amazed at the number of unpaved streets that were in these towns. It really brought home the fact that, despite the wealth evident in places like Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico still had great areas of poverty that needed to be addressed.
The high desert landscape eventually gave way to great tracts of pines and aspens. We were skirting Wheeler Peak on the way to Red River. We stopped a couple of times on the drive to take pictures of aspen groves decked out in their yellow leaves.
We pulled into Red River about an hour after we had left Taos. The town was spread out through a narrow valley in between majestic pine covered mountains. Most of the buildings were the typical wooden, high-pitched roof structures seen in skiing communities. However, there were also enough “western” decorations on the exterior to remind a visitor that they were in a “western” town. We drove through Main Street until we found a store we thought we would like to explore. After making some purchases, we walked over to the Main Street Café for some lunch. The café was a typical “greasy-spoon” found in most small towns. But, the food was good and the prices were reasonable. Two hot dogs cost $5.95, while a beef sandwich lunch cost $6.00. The only major downside to the restaurant was the hours: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. There are probably better places in Red River, but the Main Street Café is a very acceptable choice for lunch.
While we were eating our lunch, one of the customers exclaimed that it was snowing. Sure enough, a light snow had begun to fall. It stopped by the time we left the café, but that was enough to convince us that it was time to get out of the higher elevation and back to the relative low lands of Santa Fe.
We arrived back in Santa Fe after an uneventful drive of about two and a half hours. We rested in our new room for a moment, and then headed out to get serious about souvenir shopping. Unfortunately, most of the stores in Old Town Santa Fe were closed. But, the excursion did give us another chance to absorb the wonderful atmosphere that permeates Old Town at night.
Our shopping trek around Old Town had left us rather hungry. However, we’d had our fill of Southwest cuisine. Fortunately, we stumbled across a Chinese restaurant named Yin Yang in a non-descript office building just a couple of blocks north of El Paradero at 418 Cerrillos Road. The restaurant didn’t look like much from the outside, but the qualities that were inside were excellent. I had pork fried rice ($6.00), while Dianne had some garlic chicken ($9.95). We thought both dishes were delicious. Additionally, the service was prompt and courteous. It was no surprise that Yin Yang had won awards as the best Chinese restaurant in Santa Fe (although I have to wonder how many competitors it had). Bottom line: Yin Yang is a must visit regardless of whether a tourist is tired of Southwestern dishes or not.
We waddled back to El Paradero after dinner. The air was crisp and cool, again reminding us that winter was not far away in this part of the country. We got to our room to deposit our shopping haul. Then, we headed down to the common room to watch a bit of television. After an hour, we headed back to our room and went to sleep.
October 11 Home
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