On the Road to Santa Fe

Tim and I managed to get the house ready to go, we packed the RV, and we were ready to head south.

We planned to break up our drive to Albuquerque with an overnight in Trinidad, Colorado. The drive was mostly uneventful, although it was quite windy. When we arrived at La Quinta, the front desk staff gave us the keys to two rooms. I had only booked one room. We all joked that I had decided to put Tim in his own room, but I relented and let him share mine. We had a lot of fun with that.

I had always wanted to visit Santa Fe at Christmas, and I had always wanted to stay at La Fonda, one of the original Harvey Houses established by the Fred Harvey Company in 1922. On this visit, I was able to check both wishes off my list.

The weather was beautiful when we arrived in Santa Fe. We first went to the New Mexico State Capitol since I am trying to visit as many capitols as possible. New Mexico’s was beautiful and totally different from any other. It is the only round state capitol in the United States and was designed to resemble the Zia sun symbol when viewed from above.

New Mexico State Capitol

New Mexico State Capitol

We asked if we could park the RV in the visitor lot overnight to avoid paying the $50 fee at the lot near the hotel. The staff members were so helpful and graciously said that would be just fine.

We checked into La Fonda, and I enjoyed exploring the historic hotel. We ventured out to walk around the plaza area and admired the Christmas decorations. A New Mexico tradition is to line the adobe walls of the century-old buildings with thousands of farolitos. What a beautiful sight!

La Fonda

Who Is that Masked Man? - Tim and the La Fonda Gingerbread House

Palace of the Governors

Saint Francis Cathedral

We had dinner at the Plaza Café overlooking the plaza and enjoyed the colorful lights as it got dark. Santa Fe at Christmas was as lovely and magical as I had expected.

Santa Fe Plaza

Santa Fe Plaza

On our way out of town, we stopped to see the Santa Fe Railyard and then visited with the conservator who will be guiding the project at LYDO. Jeanne just happens to live in Santa Fe and invited us to see her while we were in town. We had a great visit, and I know we will enjoy working with her.

Santa Fe Railyard

New Mexico Rail Runners at the Santa Fe Railyard