Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [169]
See also TRIPS 38, 54 & 55
BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT
Pale and pockmarked canyon walls plunging into lush, narrow valleys would have marked Bandelier National Monument for preservation even without the beautiful and well-preserved Ancestral Puebloan Indian ruins, occupied between 1150 and 1550. Show up early on weekends to beat the crowds. More than 70 miles of trails traverse almost 33,000 acres of pine forest. Standouts include the easy 1.4-mile Main Loop Trail, which runs past petroglyphs and the Frijoles Ruins, with a worthwhile 2-mile round-trip spur out to the sky-scraping Ceremonial Cave, otherwise known as the Alcove House. (The 150ft of ladders at the Alcove House may not be suitable for smaller kids, but climbing into these actual ancient dwellings is a remarkable experience for everyone else.) The Falls Trail offers a 3-mile round-trip to the Upper Falls, and a steep and recommended 5-mile round-trip past the Lower Falls to the Rio Grande. In an unattached segment of the park 13 miles north on NM 4, 2-mile Tsankawi Trail threads along a path so ancient that it’s literally worn into the mesa bedrock. Bandelier is 42 miles from Santa Fe via Hwy 285 north to Hwy 502 west towards Los Alamos, where you’ll merge onto NM 4 and continue 12 miles south to the park entrance.
See also TRIPS 42, 43, 49 & 52
ESPAÑOLA
Founded by Don Juan de Oñate as the first state capitol in 1598, Española today is the anti–Santa Fe. It serves up the reality of life for many rural New Mexicans without any blinders. Yet despite the hardships facing its residents, Española is also home to many proud and optimistic people – like town celebrity Monica Lovato, a champion super-flyweight boxer highly ranked by the World Boxing Council, who brings hope and a great example to kids coming up behind her. Grab a meal at the Rancho de San Juan, just north of town. This little gem features a spectacular setting for dining on New Mexican classics at two nightly sittings. Considered the number-one restaurant in New Mexico by many, Rancho de San Juan is so good, locals drive from Santa Fe just to dine here. Duck arrives at the table cooked with Chinese spices, drizzled with a blood-orange glaze and served with pineapple and rice pilaf. The town is also the headquarters for the Northern and Northwestern loops of New Mexico’s new green byway, the Fiber Arts Trail. Pop into the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center for the scoop on the grass-roots art trail. You can even do a bit of shopping for hand-loomed shawls and blankets while you’re here. Espanola is 25 miles north of Santa Fe on Hwy 285.
See also TRIPS 37, 39, 44, 48, 50 & 51
LOS ALAMOS
Built on long, thin mesas separated by steep canyons, Los Alamos sits in a stunning location surrounded by forest and offers a fascinating dynamic where the smartest scientists in the world coexist alongside back-to-nature hippies and society drop-outs. Los Alamos gained instant fame on July 16, 1945, when a flash in the New Mexico desert forever changed the world. In that single moment, later said to be the most important event of the 20th century, scientists released energy equal to all the bombs dropped on London by Nazi Germany. Soon afterwards, on August 6 and August 9, 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the first atomic bombs used in warfare. You can’t actually visit the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the first atomic bomb was conceived, but you can visit the well-designed Bradbury Science Museum for the scoop on atomic history. It’s one of several museums devoted to nuclear science sprinkled around the small mountain town. Your best bet for a beer and a great green-chile cheeseburger is at the Canyon Bar & Grill. You won’t find any glitz or Southwestern affectations here, but the local hang-out has a long bar, a pool table, live music and dancing