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new mexicoday one albuquerque is an excellent starting point for a new mexico adventure since it has a modern, convenient airport and is in the middle of the state, at the cross roads of the interstate system. old town albuquerque has some nice shops to pick up a gift, piece of art or dry roasted chilis for when you head home and a chance to admire the san felipe de neri church which is on the square. the newly opened ??? museum is an excellent introduction to the pueblo people of new mexico which also has a very nice restaurant. if you are just feeling like some eats, head just north of town to enjoy the adobe architecture and southwest flavors at ???. ordering the chili sauce christmas style will get you a taste of both red & green chili. 
heading north towards santa fe, the turquoise trail runs the distance and is a great introduction to the area in that many of the stops along the way were abandoned ghost towns which attracted artists who revived these "dead" towns. expect to spend several hours for this ??? mile drive as there are many shops as well as old buildings to explore in towns such as madrid & ???. once in santa fe, there many lodging options but a favorite is the el paradero inn or pueblo bonita ???. both are adobe structures decorated in southwest themes including rooms with kiva fireplaces and serve southwest style breakfasts which will add to your experience. a favorite eatery is maria's new mexican kitchen which is a great option for your first dinner when in town. they have an incredible selection of tequilas as well as the best tamalaes in town. day two santa fe is a great town to walk since the prevalent adobe architecture is truly a marvel. the town square features the ??? which has been in place since ??? and there are many fine shopping options all around. just off the square is the ??? cathedral which is impressive in size while the ???, just up the street is just as impressive for a spiral staircase and set of stained glass windows. since you are already in downtown and are hungry from your walk about, you should enjoy the flavors of ??? where you can get a bowl of green chili soup like no other. as you continue your stroll in the downtown area, an excellent stop is the georgia o'keefe museum to see how this eminent southwest artist interpretted & captured the beauty of the area. a favorite eatery is cafe pasqual's which is a great option for dinner but reservations are recommended. day three today is about taking in some of the surrounding wonders of santa fe. first stop is tesuque to explore shidoni ??? to see the fields of sculpture as well as a tour of the forge if that is of interest. there are many other arts to see in the area such as glass blowing as well as ???. now it is time to roll onto the scenic toas high road to explore such towns as cordova (known for their carvers) as well as take in new mexico's rugged northern high desert. many of these towns and pueblos have beautiful adobe churches that are works of art in their own right and some shining examples are nambe, picuris pueblo (san lorenzo de picuris) and las trampas (san jose de gracia). 
make your way to just north of chimayo for lunch at ??? and make sure you save room from you entre to enjoy the sopapaillas with honey for desert. after lunch, head up to santurio de chimayo where you can heal your body with the famed dirt of the church as well your soul with some chili sauce from ??? which is just next door to the church. on the way out, do not miss ortega's weaving shop which is a must see for both the history and colors of this fine art form. any spare time can be allocated to catching any of the pueblos that you missed on the way up or seeing the building in a different light 
back in santa fe, dinner ???. day four this morning seems like a good day to check out the santa fe southern railroad depot in santa fe to see what trains are parked in the yard. the depot is vintage 1920's and is in great shape. next stop is the local puebloes such as san ildefonso, santa clara and tesuque. the pueblo shop keepers usually have a collection of their own art as well as items they have traded for from other artists which makes for an interesting mix of pieces. they are usually very friendly and are willing to tell you all about how they created their incredible pottery or jewelry that is their specialty.
day five In Espanola, we checked out the mission church, which is a fine adobe structure and the Chimayo Trading post which features an eclectic collection of southwest art and is a national historic structure. 
Walked around some of the shops on the square until we were tired and decided to have a quick siesta at our bed & breakfast. For our last dinner in Santa Fe, we decided to finish strong by going to Geronimo. It is a highly respected restaurant in the area and has earned many awards. The atmosphere and food lived up to the expectations. The menu included so many fine options but I could not resist the melt-in-your-mouth peppered elk with smoked bacon while Valerie had a wonderful salmon dish with pancetta and fingerling potatoes. We had to skip dessert since we had been eating way too much all weekend long… 17-Feb-09 This morning we are headed back to Albuquerque. We decided to take a different scenic drive to return from our starting point. Our first stop was to see if the Puye Cliff Dwelling National Monument was open. It has been closed since the fires in 2000, which were started by a “controlled” burn in Bandelier National Monument. Unfortunately the monument is not open yet but will be in April of this year. Driving towards Los Alamos, we took the highway up to Bandelier National Monument. At the monument are many ruins and cliff dwellings that show life in the area about 1000 years ago. 
Further on, we drove by Valles Caldera National Preserve, which is a huge eruption site that has left a bowl that is 100 square miles of open space. The top of the volcano blew off leaving a depression that is amazing, especially with a blanket of snow. We went to the Jemez State Monument, which features ruins of a Spanish mission and Towa pueblo with a wonderful canyon backdrop. We continued on through the Jemez and Zia pueblos on our return to Albuquerque where Valerie caught her flight home.
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not far from the pueblos is the town of espanola which has a wonderful mission church made of adobe which has been refurbished as well as the chimayo trading post which features an eclectic collection of southwest art and is a ntaional historical building.
from here it is an easy drive up to bandelier national monument for a walk about the ancient ruins of ??? pueblo and to see the remains of kivas and homes carved into the canyon walls.
back in santa fe you will not want to miss why the town is known as a artists haven by strolling a bit of ??? drive to see the endless shops of fine art ranging from oil paintings and jewelry to sculpture and pottery.
after your walk about in the early evening, it is time for an elegent dinner at geronimo dinner.
