Thursday April 18, 2019

Road video and map – Santa Fe to Albuquerque, NM

Although I have visited Santa Fe and Albuquerque a couple of times before there was an iconic attraction in each city that I had not seen and they were my goals for today.

Artist Georgia O’Keeffe is strongly associated with New Mexico and much of her later work was inspired by the landscape and nature of the area. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe tells her story, displays hundreds of her pieces and informs visitors about her inspirations, goals and techniques using preliminary sketches, photographs and the tools she used. The setting is bright and relaxed with photography allowed of most of the paintings.

In Albuquerque one of the most popular attractions is the Sandia Peak Tramway. This carries riders on an ear-popping 4,000 foot ascent from the edge of Albuquerque to the highest point on the western ridge of the Sandia Mountains in 15 minutes. At 2.7 miles, it is the longest aerial tramway in the US and, at its highest, travels 800 feet above the rocky mountainside. At the top there are spectacular views of the city as well as the surrounding mountains. The weather was good but I don’t know how many of the 11,000 square miles that the operators claim can be viewed were visible today.

I also tried to visit an artistic installation in Santa Fe called Meow Wolf. I had never heard of it until planning this trip and it sounded different but I had not realized how popular it was. It opens at 10 AM and I arrived at 10:15 to find an almost full car park and a long line to get in. The estimated wait time was an hour so I decided to move on which gave me time to stroll around downtown Santa Fe after visiting the museum.

This was one of my favorite paintings at the O’Keeffe Museum. Called Autumn Trees – The Maple, it was one of her earlier works before she visited New Mexico.
The Plaza in Santa Fe – a perfect place to relax and listen to one of the multiple street musicians playing in the area.

Almost everything in Santa Fe is built in the adobe style. This is a public parking garage.
However, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, completed in 1886, is built in the Romanesque revival style.
It was closed to visitors, due to preparations for Good Friday and Easter, but I was able to sneak a quick photo.
The New Mexico State Capitol is also an anomaly as it is a roundhouse design that does not conform to adobe style or typical statehouse designs.
This video clip will give you an idea of the scenery and fun of riding the Sandia Peak Tramway.