ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
Like Doc Martin's, the Adobe Room is part of the Taos Inn, a bar where you can also order snacks. Since we weren't too hungry, we just decided on a basket of tortilla chips and margaritas. The salsa (☆☆☆) was pretty good, thick, tomatoey and spicy. The chips also came with a side of nice... Continue Reading →
Michael's Kitchen is a very popular restaurant with the locals. One big reason is that it serves all kinds of food besides New Mexican, a diner that appeals to many tastes. Today being Saturday, patrons (including families with children) were out in force. There was a wait for us to get seated. It's a testament... Continue Reading →
Having just left Chaco, where the night before all we had to eat was freeze-dried food and this morning, coffee and nut bars, we were ready for some real food. Luckily for us, one of the legendary restaurants in New Mexico happened to be in Cuba, less than 2 hours away, and on the way... Continue Reading →
In 2009, we avoided it because of its remoteness and the difficulty of getting there on unpaved roads. This time, we reversed course and decided to visit Chaco Culture National Historic Park (a mouthful, but it used to be called Chaco Canyon National Monument). This is the mother lode of all ancient Puebloan ruins, having... Continue Reading →
Of all the places in the Southwest, known for its extraordinary rock formations, that can claim the title of the weirdest and most fantastical, it would have to go to a part of New Mexico virtually inaccessible by car—the vast wildernesses of Bisti and De-Na-Zin. Visitors most likely to make the effort are adventurers, the curious and the intrepid... Continue Reading →
Our third visited pueblo was one that surprised us. Known in artistic circles for their intricately decorated clay pottery, the Acoma people have one village perched on a 365-foot mesa high above the surrounding valley. Guided tours are the only way to visit the village, more commonly known as Sky City. Photography permits for a fee are... Continue Reading →
Lava, lava, everywhere. New Mexico might as well be called the Volcano State for all the young, exposed and hardened lava flows that are virtually everywhere. I had always thought that Oregon and Washington laid claim to the largest lava flows ever to have happened on the continent, but New Mexico is not lacking in that... Continue Reading →
As we drove east along Hwy 53 past Gallup toward El Malpais, the terrain was pretty unremarkable with little to pique our interest until a massive mesa came into view. Travelers in previous centuries surely would have been drawn to it. The area has been made into El Morro National Monument for reasons explained below.... Continue Reading →
The town of Zuni is indistinguishable from any other small American town. The only difference is that it is inhabited by about 6,000 Zuni people. Like the Hopi, Zuni are thought to be descended from the Ancient Puebloans who famously and mysteriously abandoned their cliff dwellings centuries ago, but the languages of the two groups... Continue Reading →
We dreaded eating yet another motel continental breakfast (in this case, Red Roof Inn in Gallup). Although it's economical to have something to eat included in the room rate, the stuff does get old after a while. Here we were on historic Route 66, so what better way to have breakfast than at a highly... Continue Reading →
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