A Stop in Lamy on the Way to Albuquerque

From Las Vegas, I visited Lamy, New Mexico, named for Jean-Baptiste Lamy, the first Archbishop of Santa Fe and the next stop on the Santa Fe Railway line. The terrain around Santa Fe made building train tracks a challenge, so Lamy, instead of Santa Fe, was selected for the train depot. I had hoped to see another Harvey House, but I learned that the El Ortiz Hotel had been demolished in the 1940s.

The Mission Revival style depot, built in 1909, is still in operation, however, and across the street, two nineteenth century commercial buildings have been restored as the Legal Tender Restaurant and Saloon.

Amtrak Still Stops at the Lamy Depot

Lamy Depot

The Story of Fred Harvey and Harvey Houses

Legal Tender

The Lamy depot has a direct connection to another site I plan to visit on this trip, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The depot was typically the first stop for staff and their families arriving in New Mexico. From this depot in the middle of nowhere, a shuttle would arrive and transport the workers to Santa Fe, where they received their passes to enter the secret city of Los Alamos.

From Lamy, I turned onto the Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway, which links Santa Fe and Albuquerque. I passed through the picturesque mining towns of Cerrillos, Madrid, and Golden and couldn’t get over how much these once sleepy towns had become tourist destinations since my last visit more than 20 years ago. I didn’t have time to stop, but it was fun to see the changes.

Turquoise Trail

When I arrived in Albuquerque, I had hoped to get together for lunch with Lou, our friend who lives in town, but we kept missing one another. Instead, I went ahead and checked into the Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn, the headquarters hotel for the Road Scholar program in which I was participating.

Orientation for the “Highlights of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta” program was at 5:00 pm, and we reviewed the most up-to-date program schedule and logistics. Our group leaders were quite personable, and I think we are in good hands. At dinner, I met several of the other “Road Scholars,” and we compared notes about our travels and experiences. My only disappointment was the lack of any New Mexican foods at dinner. Johnny, one of our group leaders, promised that we would have a great regional meal later in the program.

The Road Scholar Program