Hippies and Hopis in Santa Fe

Trip Start Sep 07, 2009
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Trip End Nov 17, 2009


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Flag of United States  , New Mexico
Sunday, October 18, 2009

We couldn't leave the Narrow Gauge Railroad Inn quick enough in the morning! We had both hardly slept and I was still under the weather, but we were looking forward to getting in the car and driving across the border to New Mexico and down to Santa Fe. The drive was as spectacular as ever (for us anyway!), and the golden autumn colours were dazzling. The drive took around 3 hours down the 285 and we arrived at our motel mid-afternoon. The motel, a traditional Puebloan adobe building, had a a lot of character and, although the rooms were a bit basic and dark, at least they were reasonably clean.

We dropped off our bags and headed straight for the towncentre (via Taco Bell for lunch, a crime I know, but actually quite good!), about 2 miles up the road. We had been expecting Santa Fe to be really cool, and it didn't disappoint. The old narrow streets and main plaza looked pretty idyllic in the warm sunshine and there was a chilled 'hippy' atmosphere in the air
Santa Fe architecture
Santa Fe architecture
. On one side of the plaza a group of Hopi Indians were selling jewellery and artifacts, which we browsed for a while, before walking on to Santa Fe's main church. We also stumbled across a couple of pretty courtyards tucked away behind the streets, that were filled with shops selling all sorts of touristy memorabilia, and fancy restaurants. On the way back to the motel, Jim popped into the local supermarket and got talking to an old hippy from Lewisham of all places! Kinda sums the place up!

In the evening, we returned back to the main plaza and found a great diner for dinner, The Plaza Cafe. We filled our stomachs and returned back to the motel (with a piece of cherry pie to soften the blow of the dingy room), as we would be on the road again early in the morning. We really wish we could have spent a bit longer in Santa Fe - it would have been a nice place to rest off for a few days - but we still had so much more to see in the southwest...
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