Having only ever been briefly through Santa Fe, it was time for a longer visit.
7am, New Mexico breakfast
The day began with a big, smothered New Mexico breakfast burrito at The Pantry (since 1948).
9am, Downtown
The city was obviously setting up for some festival celebration for the upcoming weekend, as the downtown area streets were blocked off and the historic Santa Fe Plaza filled with workmen and installations of tents and vendor stalls. I spent some time in the New Mexico Museum of Art, just a block away and featuring some of the best of modern southwestern art and architecture.
I intended to visit the nearby Georgia O’Keeffe Museum but admission reservations were already filled for days (tight COVID-19 restrictions). Instead, I settled for a couple of smoked chile beers on the patio of Chile Line Brewery down the street.
12n, Indian tacos
The altitude was beginning to affect me, so my range on foot never exceeded a couple of downtown blocks. I found lunch at Casa Chimayo, a delicious “Navajo taco” on an open-faced fry bread, and then headed back toward the Plaza for beer and cider at the strangely branded Desert Dogs.
3pm, Biggest local brewers
The largest brewery in the State of New Mexico is Santa Fe Brewing, with its beautiful new brewery and headquarters located off the highway just outside the city proper. Not even a year old, the multi-story beer hall and perfect mountain weather made for an ideal patio afternoon. Afterward was a quick stop at Hidden Mountain Brewing on the way back to the motel (didn’t try the barbecue).
7pm, Pizza and local hangout
Discovered just blocks away from my motel, Back Road Pizza and Second Street Brewery proved to be great walking-distance finds for food and a late-night hangout. A great neighborhood jazz-style bar, Second Street Brewery is one of those local places that would turn me into a regular if I lived nearby.
Originally planned for a multi-day stay, I had to cut my time in Santa Fe short as the altitude was beginning to make me ill. C48
City Forty-Eight 