Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [134]
About 45 miles north of Corrales is the 200-acre El Rancho de las Golondrinas, originally built around 1710 to accommodate travelers on the Camino Real. During weekend festivals in the summer and fall, period-dressed docents demonstrate wool spinning, hide tanning and other tasks typical of colonial New Mexico. At the Harvest Festival in October, you can stomp on the grapes to make wine, cook your own tortillas, and taste beans, biscochittos (anise cookies), green chile and other traditional New Mexican food.
In Santa Fe, stop for lunch at tiny Pasqual’s or Harry’s Roadhouse, both with excellent food focusing on locally grown ingredients. Try the grilled salmon burrito with black beans, goat cheese and cucumber salsa at Pasqual’s, followed by thee sinful dessert sampler. Don’t let the long lines scare you off. Harry’s, an adobe with several rooms and gardened patio, feels more like a roadside diner, New Mexico style. Spend the night at the rambling Galisteo Inn, a country retreat just south of Santa Fe. The inn serves upscale dinners (be sure to make advance reservations) and organic breakfasts.
Drive Hwy 84 north from Santa Fe up to Second Bloom Inc, a small goat farm in Los Alamos that makes goat-milk soaps and lotions. Try the Mesa Herbal, made with New Mexico comfrey root and oats. In the farmlands surrounding Española, 20 miles northeast of Los Alamos, visit Santa Cruz Farm. Using nothing but solar energy, this vegan and organic farm grows more than 70 different kinds of produce and welcomes visitors year-round.
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FARMERS MARKETS
Of New Mexico’s many farmers markets (www.farmersmarketsnm.org), one of the biggest and best is the Santa Fe Farmers Market (www.santafefarmersmarket.com), held Tuesday and Saturday morning from 7am to 12pm May through September, from 8am October through April at the Farmers Market Pavilion (in the Santa Fe railyard). Here, growers from across northern New Mexico sell organic veggies and fruits, cheeses, jellies and more.
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Wind along the Chama River Valley to the town of Abiquiu. Founded in 1754, Abiquiu today is home to an eclectic population of Hispanic farmers, organic-farm newcomers and artists and is most famous as the heart of Georgia O’Keeffe country. About five minutes past Bodes General Store is Purple Adobe Lavender Farm. Showcasing 15 varieties of organic lavender, it offers private tours and classes, and sells oils, soaps and lotions made on site. Spend the night at Las Parras de Abiquiu, a small organic vineyard in the bosque west of Hwy 285. If you’re lucky, Stan will include some of his homemade raisins along with your evening tray of cookies or bread, nuts and sugar-snap peas, strawberries or other goodies from his garden.
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DETOUR
At the tiny Ritchie-Slater Winery (www.ritchie-slaterwinery.com) in mountain country just north of Taos, Lan and Charlot Slater forgo standard grapes in favor of making wine from pears, apples, blackberries and other local fruit. While the distinctive flavor is not for everyone, the spectacular views of the meadow and woods from the winery’s informal patio make this a great place for wine tasting.
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Finish your trip about 15 miles north of Abiquiu at Walter’s Place, a tiny adobe restaurant with orchards and a small courtyard that fills your spirit as well as your belly. It feels as if you’re eating in someone’s home, and they are cooking their favorites for you. Green-chile and piñon meatloaf, goat cheese made on site, fresh berry cobbler served warm with whipped cream and a glass of fresh goat milk. Everything homemade, everything fresh, everything delicious. Take that, McDonalds!
Jennifer Denniston
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TRIP INFORMATION
GETTING THERE
Albuquerque