The mix of Native American, Spanish and Anglo cultures is the reason Santa Fe is often called “The City Different”. In addition to the diverse cultures, the city that was founded over 400 years ago is the oldest state capital in the United States.

We stayed at La Posada hotel just a couple blocks off of the main plaza. We loved being able to walk to the town center and restaurants.

We are pickleballers and pack paddles when we travel. We enjoyed playing with the Santa Fe Pickleball Club. The club has over 500 friendly, fun, skilled members. The 6,900 ft altitude adds a new challenge to the game.

Brian enjoyed a couple of rounds of golf at Black Mesa.

We were lucky to take a historical walking tour with Ana Pacheco. Ana is a well known historical author and former Santa Fe city historian. Her ancestors arrived in Santa Fe in the 1690s and she is passionate about the city’s history. We highly recommend her tour.

We took a day trip to Taos. Ski season had just finished and the town was quiet. What a beautiful drive. On the way home, we stopped to visit the Rio Grande River Gorge.

Santa Fe is a lovely city with plenty of museums and sights. We enjoyed the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the Ansel Adams photography display at the New Mexico Art Museum, the Meow Wolf interactive art installation and the Railroad District.

Another day trip was to Bandelier National Monument. We were fascinated with the history of Frijoles Canyon and Pueblo people. The cave and petroglyphs were intriguing.

Canyon Road is a street in the center of Santa Fe that is know for the endless art galleries and it did not disappoint. I chose to photograph many of the interesting doorways along Canyon Road as we wandered and enjoyed the galleries.

We thoroughly enjoyed the restaurants and found reservations to be required at most places. Some of our favorites include The Compound and Paper Dosa. We took a shine to the hatch peppers and “Christmas” (red AND green) sauce on burritos and enchiladas. Brian enjoyed the margaritas that were on offer everywhere and favored those with smoked salt on the rim at the St. Francis hotel.

That’s a wrap for Santa Fe,

Betty & Brian