This morning, we drove northeast into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost range of the Rocky Mountains. The Santa Fe National Forest Scenic Byway begins in downtown Santa Fe and winds its way for 16 miles through an aspen and evergreen forest to the Santa Fe Ski Basin, just below 12,000-foot Tesuque Peak.
Santa Fe National Forest Scenic Byway
Today we had an important purpose: to find somewhere to say goodbye to the son of my good friend Charlene. Robert passed away far too soon, in August of last year, at age 53. In his final days, he requested Tom and I take his remains “someplace cool” after he was gone, and I immediately proposed the mountains of New Mexico. Bert had loved the idea. We found the perfect spot.
Bert's Rest
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
In the afternoon, we explored historic and artsy downtown Santa Fe. Despite being the capital of New Mexico, Santa Fe has a population of only about 87,000 people. Its downtown is fairly compact, but we still ended up walking 4.2 meandering miles.
Santa Fe souvenirs
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
Wavy roofline
San Miguel Chapel, the oldest church in the US
Oldest House Museum
Founded in 1610, Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States and also its highest in elevation, at around 7,000 feet above sea level. It was once the capital of Spain's, and then Mexico's, territories north of the Rio Grande. The city is also well known for its interesting art.
Whimsical wabbits
Jana swings beneath Barn Dog
Zozobra, a Santa Fe icon
Buffalo Bill and Tom
Jana and friend at the New Mexico State Capitol
In the late afternoon, we made our way to Second Street Brewery at the Santa Fe Railyard. We had one beer each on site and picked up four 6-packs to go. We've got a camping trip coming up in a few days and need to stock up!
Santa Fe Railyard Park and Plaza
Later, we had dinner at Adelita's Mexican Restaurante – asada chiles rellenos for me and a carne asada burrito for Tom. Nice! A big storm rolled through while we ate, leaving a significant amount of sleet piled up in the parking lot.
Asada chiles rellenos
Sleet storm!