NM/AZ 2009 Vacation: Albuquerque to Taos

Our vacation pattern is to go to a very specific area of the country and get to know it thoroughly, which is what we’re doing with our multiple trips to New Mexico. To this end, we left Albuquerque by way of Route 550, looping to the north to Route 4, which took us through the town of Jemez Springs. There we stopped for lunch at the Laughing Lizard Cafe and toured the Jemez State Monument. This was the first trip in which we began immersing ourselves in the pueblo cultures, and the Monument was a good place to visit in that regard.

And yes, there was snow on the ground. Next, we saw the Valles Caldera National Preserve, where we saw elk:

 

  

Shortly after that, we arrived at Bandelier National Monument, which was basically a hit-and-run visit.  We will be returning when we can spend all day.

From there, we headed to Taos, where we stayed at the Little Tree B&B, with our hosts Gordon and Maggie, their 4 dogs, and their 2 cats. We were in the Spruce Room, which has its own hot tub. That was great! And Gordon and Maggie sent us to a wonderful restaurant that first night, El Meze. This is a new favorite — we absolutely loved it. We shared hummus, the buffalo tamale, chicharrones, and the cardamon doughnuts. It was all glorious.

The next day, we headed out to the Wild Rivers Recreation Area, where we walked around a bit and took photos of the scenery. We followed that by a drive through the Enchanted Circle, deemed one of the most beautiful routes in the country:

  

Finally, we had dinner at Joseph’s Table in Taos. It was an amazing place, in one of the most comfortable and beautiful spaces I’ve ever been in, with absolutely great food. Saying we liked El Meze better is like grading Joseph’s 98 percent and El Meze 98.1 percent. Both restaurants were extraordinary, and we were fortunate to have the opportunity to visit them.

In the next vacation post: Taos Pueblo, the Sugar Nymphs, a new museum, and Santa Fe.