We’re here at the Holiday Inn in Santa Fe and I finally have a moment to catch my breath and do some updating. We Pricelined this 3-star hotel for about the same price as the hostel we stayed at in Albuquerque. The Holiday Inn has everything we need including a 4th floor view of the mountains. (None of the buildings in Santa Fe are over 4 stories.) Gotta love Priceline!
After Amarillo, Shanghai and I made our way to Roswell then Albuquerque then Santa Fe. If I’ve learned anything from this trip so far, it’s how to spell Albuquerque. Even the locals tend to abbreviate it as just ABQ. Check out our updated Flickr photos. We have some video footage as well but it may take some time to get it edited and uploaded.
Albuquerque and Santa Fe are the first places we’ve been to that are actually on my “to visit” list. The clear blue skies, snow dusted mountains and green trees were a sight for sore eyes after the seemingly endless plains of Texas and eastern New Mexico. Albuquerque is a medium-sized city (about 500,000 people) that looks old but is going through the early stages of revitalization. There’s a long stretch along Route 66 featuring renovated buildings with many eclectic shops, bars, restaurants, etc. and the University of New Mexico. Santa Fe is just an hour north of Albuquerque and has a smaller community feel to it. The city has done a great job of preserving its adobe architecture. Even the McDonald’s resembles an adobe-style house. There’s also a town square called The Plaza where we will be heading tonight for dinner and drinkie drinks. The best thing about both cities is the mountains towering in the background. But I prefer the tighter community feel and uniqueness of Santa Fe to Albuquerque. Plus I’m looking forward to checking out Aspen Vista in Santa Fe’s Sangre de Cristo mountains tomorrow morning on our way to Durango, Colorado.
UPDATE
I don’t think I could live in Santa Fe. The population is older in general and the nightlife is a little too sedate for me right now. There was a Mardi Gras band hopping from bar to bar that was pretty cool. We happened upon a decent bar called El Paseo where the Jagermeister girls were. But the coolest thing was, out of the handful of people we met in Albuquerque, we ran into two of them in Santa Fe. What are the chances??
Here’s our planned route as we make our way from New Mexico to Colorado to Utah. We’re going to try to make it to Denver by Friday or Saturday in case any of you want to meet us out.
Roswell -> Albuquerque -> Santa Fe -> Durango -> Telluride -> Crested Butte -> Salida -> Denver/Boulder/Fort Collins -> Fruita
Cheers,
-Sammy B