New Mexico Day 1 - Arrive in Albuquerque and drive to Santa Fe

August 21, 2022

New Mexico Day 1 - Arrive in Albuquerque and drive to Santa Fe

We took an early morning flight (~8:00 am departure time) out of LAX to ABQ on a Wednesday morning. We landed in ABQ around mid-day and picked up our rental car when we arrived without any major hitch.

The chatty agent at the rental car counter suggested us to go have lunch at this place called the Grove Cafe & Market in downtown ABQ and we took his advice.

The chic cafe and market is located in the heart of Downtown not far from The University of New Mexico. We were quite hungry so we ordered quite a few items before we hit the road to Santa Fe.

Terminal 2 LAX, 6:42 am

DL3932 LAX to ABQ

Finally our turn to board

Ready for another adventure

The Embraer E175 regional jet will ferry us there today

Our turn to take off

Enjoying my tea at cruising altitude

Shortly before landing at ABQ, downtown can be seen in the distance

ABQ Sunport, 11:07 am Mountain Time

Cannot miss the "Dream of Flight", a sculpture by artist Lincoln Fox when you enter the center of ABQ

MM is welcomed by the enchanted state

Native American art dotted the cross beams at the rental car building

Made it to the chic Grove Cafe & Market

GG is ready for the salad

MM ready for the pancakes

The potato hash

OK, now I am really ready

After getting a good sized breakfast into our system, we were ready for the hour plus drive to Santa Fe.

Sante Fe

Santa Fe, Spanish for "Holy Faith" has been the capital of the state of New Mexico since the 17th century. Originally named Santa Fe de Nuevo México by the early Spanish settlers, it was renamed La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís or The Royal Holy Town of the Holy Faith of St Francis of Assisi. The city has retains its long form formal name up to today but we are ok with just calling it Santa Fe.

The drive on I25 follows the Rio Grande upstream and into the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Ranges. We would start at about 5'300 feet in elevation in Albuquerque and would reach 7'199 feet in Santa Fe. The elevation would rank Santa Fe the highest state capital in the United States.

We could see rain cloud and lightening on the way up but there was no rain when we got into town. We checked in at the Hotel Chimayo, part of the Heritage Hotel & Resort Group. The Heritage Hotel & Resort Group has 10 properties throughout New Mexico located in Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Las Cruces. The Hotel Group intends to present the culture and heritage of the state of New Mexico to its guests along with a sense of refined luxury. Hotel Chimayo, one of its properties in Santa Fe, is inspired by the annual pilgrimage to the El Santuario de Chimayo. This Catholic pilgrimage is one of the most important ones in the United States and the pilgrims can reach up to 300,000.

Because of this religious theme, the hotel is decorated almost like a Catholic Church accented with dried red chillies hanging from both sides of the main foyer.

We had another afternoon "snack" at the hotel bar Low 'n Slow featuring HAWT pizza, a local brand. After enjoying a few slices of brick oven pizza, we explored the old town on foot and used the gym facility at another Heritage facility near by, the Inn and Spa at Loretto.

MM at the main foyer of Hotel Chimayo, our room is on the left rear

The low rider themed hotel bar Slow 'n Ride

Enjoying a slice or two of the wood-fired HAWT pizza

Pizza freshly made at the bar

The ceiling light and the cross on the wall give almost a monastery vibe to the room

The Catholic inspired decor of the lobby

MM ready to hit the gym and explore the town

Swag with New Mexico State Flag

The Loretto Chapel, a 19th century Catholic Church known for its miraculous staircase

Trying to work off a bit of the pizza for dinner

The original Santa Fe Trail is right by the Loretto Chapel. The trail symbolizes US western expansion in the 19th century

The colorfully painted pillars of the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts

GG at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the mother church of the archdiocese of Santa Fe

Back at our hotel, the evening light is on surrounding the statue of Mary

A monochromatic take of the foyer

After exploring the town and hitting the gym, the traveling party was ready to eat again. We headed to Tomasita's, a local favorite located at the Railyard for dinner to end the night.