Road Trip -> New Mexico

New Mexico is a quiet state bordering Mexico sandwiched between Texas and Arizona. At first you may think, ah, what can you do there. But trust me it is very pretty and very different from the rest of the US. First off is the architecture. They have made it a point to be different from the rest of the states. They follow Spanish, Pueblo and Tao architecture, complete with Stucco finishes and flat roofs so common to the Native American designs. This gives an air of romanticism to the cities, which are all smaller and more peaceful. The state is a haven for artists, both painters and other handicraft artists. You can see some of the designs on display in Santa Fe especially.

Vintage Car Show, Santa Fe

A fun thing to do is to visit an antique cars exhibit! There are more than 30 cars on show in beautiful condition in Santa Fe during vintage car festivals. For Coimbatore-ians like us, with family and friends into car races and rallies, it was a paradise! We loved seeing the vintage and classic cars, and ooh-ed and aah-ed over them!

Mercedes Benz Sports Coupe

Corvette classic car

Sandia Mountain Cable Car Ride

The drive to the mountains themselves is scenic and the ride up to the peak of the Sandia Mountain in the cable car is breathtaking!

The drive from Albuquerque to the mountains

The area around the tram station is awesome, I’m actually running out of words to describe the beauty…!

Western Tanger – a song bird common to middle-America

The ride in the tramcar up to Sandia Peak at approx. 10,000 ft

The 15 min ride is a lot of fun as it slowly makes its way up to the top. There are only two support towers for the cable-car, so that is fascinating! the tram holds about 16 people standing. Grab a spot close to the front to get the best view.

View of Albuquerque from Sandia Peak – cloud burst!

The view from another point on Sandia Peak

Taos, New Mexico

A quaint little town with a population of about 5500, this town has old Pueblo Indian settlements which have been occupied continuously for more than a millennium! The clay houses still stand today, of course, repaired and redone many times over.

Taos is also a home to artists and there are a lot of art festivals here.

Taos Pueblo settlement continuously occupied for a Millennium!

I remember this trip vividly because of an adventure we had there courtesy our Google Map. We used the map to find the Taos Pueblo settlement. Google insisted we follow a trail, which turned out to be the wrong way. We had to cross a small stream, slick with mud and rocks! Our four-wheel drive did a crazy little turn, righted itself and took us across the stream with a roar! My heart was in my mouth, so many scenes of water entering the vehicle or being swept away (there was about a foot of water) or at the very least having to get down and walk, went through my mind! We later realised we had crossed through private property and there was a perfectly good road going to the settlement! Thanks Google Maps for the free adventure ride!

A great place to taste New Mexican food, the Enchiladas is to-die for! The Frontier Restaurant is right opposite The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Road Trip Suggestion:

We drove from Colorado, so it was a long road trip.

Denver -> Taos -> Santa Fe -> Albuquerque -> Monument Valley -> Four Corners Monument -> Coral Pink Sand Dunes -> Denver

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