The City Different

By Jim.

Santa Fe is the oldest city in New Mexico and the oldest city in the United States serving as a state capital.  It was founded by Spanish colonists in 1610.  It has been fought over by Spain (in 1598, it was established as a province of New Spain), Mexico (after the Mexican War of Independence from Spain in 1810), St. Louis-based fur traders (after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase), Texas (after the Republic of Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836), the Confederate States of America (briefly flying the Stars and Bars over the city in 1862) and the United States (there’s a national cemetery in town, honoring the Union soldiers who routed the Confederates).  New Mexico became the 47th state in 1912, with Santa Fe as its capital.

When Santa Fe was bypassed by the major railroads in the late 1800’s, its commercial influence waned.  However, artists, writers and retirees (ahem…) were attracted to the cultural richness of the area, the beauty of the landscapes, and its mild, dry climate.  In 1912, civic leaders enacted a sophisticated city plan that incorporated planning and historic preservation.  A 1957 ordinance requires new and rebuilt buildings to exhibit a Spanish or Pueblo style of architecture (which hasn’t totally stopped modern chain-store blight, although buildings such as the McDonald’s on Cerrillos Road feature “faux-dobe” stucco in their construction).

The city is a haven for the arts – art galleries, music (including a world-famous opera house) and a major foodie scene.  There are miles of bike/hiking trails and a ski mountain only 20 minutes away (straight up the nearby Sangre de Cristo mountains, the southern foothills of the Rockies).

The climate is astonishing.  The hottest month is July, with an average high temperature of 86 degrees and an average low of 54; in the coldest month, December, those averages are 44 and 31.  There are 320 days of sunshine per year.  After our four days of 100-plus temperatures in Arizona, Santa Fe’s 80ish days and 50ish nights were a delight.  We watched a movie on the outdoor TV of the Iz one night, and needed fleece blankets to stay warm!

A 1928 Santa Fe Fiesta Program pronounced, “This year we are making a studied conscious effort not to be studied or conscious. Santa Fe is now one of the most interesting art centers in the world and you, O Dude of the East, are privileged to behold the most sophisticated group in the country gamboling freely.” That spirit remains in the town’s latter-day motto, “The City Different.”

We arrived here last Friday, and immediately explored the downtown area and Plaza.

The narrow streets are reminiscent of New Orleans…

…and, ohhhhh, the food!

Saturday, we went to a farmers and artists market in the nearby Railroad District (there’s regular train service between Santa Fe and Albuquerque).

After soaking up Santa Fe for a couple of days, we went to Taos on Monday.  The “High Road” there was a drive through some ultra-rural areas…and “galleries.”

As usual, the scenery and mountains were beautiful, and at one point we were over 8,000 feet in altitude as we drove through the Carson National Forest.

Taos is a mini-Santa Fe, but with a busy state highway running through the middle of it.  We got a geography lesson while we were there – the Rio Grande runs a few miles north of town, through a deep gorge.

A little farther north is the Earthship Biotecture Community, a zero-infrastructure housing concept that looks like a cross between the house Luke Skywalker’s parents lived in and a post-apocalypse commune.

On our way back to Santa Fe from Taos (via the Low Road, which hugged a river instead of mountains), we heeded our advice in a previous post to stop and investigate off-beat roadside scenes.  We found a museum devoted to old gasoline pumps and other car memorabilia.  Just one of the coolest places ever!

Thursday, we head north to Colorado on our way to Moab, Utah on Friday to begin our exploration of the southern Utah national parks.