Chocolates to Sunken Meadows - the Uniqueness of Santa Fe

 October 1-4, 2020

Santa Fe, New Mexico

So excited to do a post on our travels, I forgot one pretty spot we found on our way back from the VLA - I'm a little rusty with my blogging!!

No canyon, just the box.

A small parking lot, pit toilet and two trails into this pretty spot make up the Box.

A short dirt road with one boondocking spot facing this beautiful view, then a turn around 100 yards further up.

Back to this post....

Departure and 150 miles of freeway driving to Santa Fee are uneventful. A bit of wind reminds us we're in New Mexico, the continuing check engine light reminds us this is the RV life, billboards and lighted signage remind us there's a pandemic and masks are required.

Trailer Ranch RV Resort was my second choice with Santa Fe Skies RV Park being booked for most of October. I'm not looking forward to a park in the middle of town, but as soon as we pull into the small park with lovely large trees I'm impressed. A masked staff person greets us at the rig, confirms our reservation, provides a receipt and information packet, and leads me to our large back-in site. 

I'm happy to say we can still back in with one try, and the young couple across from us give me two thumbs up - I really like this place :-)

Per my request at reservation we have open skies for satellite but still enjoy the beauty and wind-break of all the old growth trees. The park WiFi doesn't work for us, but otherwise everything is perfect with easy access to 50 amp FHUs, level gravel for parking, concrete patio with nice picnic table, small shade tree, paved interior road, bus stop in front, and other than Cerrillos Road it's quiet. 

No one is ever in the trailer behind us, and only small rigs park on this side twice during our week's stay. 

No views, but perfect temps for being outside.

Anytime someone asks about things to do while in Santa Fe I always include the chocolatier in the little town of Madrid. I discovered it tucked back in a corner the first time we visited and always make sure to pick up a treat when we're here.

Sugarman's offers unique combinations, and I always forget to get pics of the pretty sheets of dark and white chocolate. This time I bring home French white chocolate (superior to our white chocolate by a lot) with graham cracker, dark chocolate with margarita salt, lime, hazelnut and green chili, and my favorite dark chocolate with candied ginger and hibiscus flower. 

From their Facebook page - always something special.

The Turquoise Trail is a designated scenic drive on NM-14, from Santa Fe to the Sandia Mountains. There are other stops along the way, but Madrid is the main destination. A cute artsy place with numerous shops, galleries and eateries, there are lots of masked visitors on this sunny Friday. In addition to the quick mandatory chocolate stop I pick up a couple items at a shop with no one else inside and we continue the pretty drive.

New Mexico and Louisiana are at the top of our list for best food in the country. One of the dishes we both love, and always eat when in Santa Fe, is stuffed sopapillas. While sopapillas are offered all over the state we've only found the savory ones stuffed with meat, cheese and beans in a few places. The very best are at Cafe Castro, so we try our first inside restaurant meal. Again, all staff are masked, everyone required to wear them when up from table, hand sanitizer before entry, and here they take your temperature at the front door. Only half the tables remain and we tuck into a corner away from anyone. As always we love every bite. And we return on our last day to eat the same thing on their patio :-)

Keeping New Mexico at the top of the list!

One place we missed last time is the country's newest (2000) national preserve, Valles Caldera National Preserve. 

We were hopeful that the hazy skies in San Antonio last week were from dust, but here it's clearly (?) smoke from the fires still burning to the west. A pretty drive through trees and rock, sadly the expected turquoise skies are dull and the distant mountains difficult to see.

Climbing into the Jimenez Mountains we begin to see signs of Fall along the highway. This route takes us through a corner of Los Alamos so a quick stop at the security kiosk is required. It's always seemed so weird to me that residents of this town pass through security every time they leave/return home. Now that we're living in a border town we also have to stop every time we leave town and it's already just part of our life. You just never know :-)

What a treat!

Pretty color among fire scarred mountainsides.

I know I've said "We didn't know what to expect and this was such a great surprise!" multiple times, and the caldera is another of those times. The smoke mutes the experience, but the vastness of this geological wonder is still impressive. A small Elk herd is visible in the distance, and visitors are parked along the highway with scopes and big cameras, and picnic lunches. The caldera itself is the big draw for us though!

Around 1.25 million years ago a large magma "bubble" of gas and ash collapsed creating this 89 acre caldera. It's huge!

A dirt road into the basin is open, crossing golden grasses and a small river. 

The small parking lot is half full and masked Rangers talk with masked tourists. Empty corrals and clean pit toilets sit beside the small, closed visitor center.

We take the Highway 4 loop back through pretty canyons.

Glowing Aspens peek out from the surrounding forest.

I love coming home to the rig. Being able to visit these wonderful places, come back to cook in my own kitchen, and sleep in our own bed - it's the best!!

We still have a few more days here with more to see and do.