We traveled first to Albuquerque, where we spent a day at the Biopark (Zoo, Aquarium, Beach, & Botanic Garden). There's a train that connects all the parks and another train that runs within the Zoo so, naturally, our first order of business was to ride all those trains. Pumpkin was so proud of his wristband, which enables the wearer to unlimited train rides within the Biopark, that he wouldn't even let it get wet whenever he washed his hands, hehe. There's also a G-scale railroad at the Botanic Garden, but unfortunately, we dallied too long with the zebras and camels and didn't get to see the garden railroad that day. Instead, we spent the last hour on our tickets exploring the Children's Fantasy Garden, and we made plans to return another day just to see the garden railroad. Because we'd promised Pumpkin after all...
The next day, we braved the icy roads to get back to Santa Fe because we had tickets to ride the Santa Fe Southern Excursion Train. We arrived at the depot with barely 2 minutes to spare, but as it turned out, all our rushing about was for naught. The outing was canceled due to the snowstorm that had blanketed the area the previous night. Sure, we were bummed that our excursion was canceled, but we were still happier than if we'd delayed our trip like we'd been considering and gotten stuck in Denver instead. As we hung out at the historic depot pondering our next move, what should arrive with a loud blast of air but the New Mexico Rail Runner Express! Turns out, one doesn't even need advance reservations to ride the NMRRE. You simply board and pay during the ride. Sweet!
In a nutshell, we drove to Santa Fe, left our truck at the depot, took the train to Albuquerque, strolled around downtown Albuquerque on foot, took the train back to Santa Fe, picked up our truck, and drove back to Albuquerque, where we had a nice reunion at our hotel with our dog Sunshine. What a crazy day! Believe it or not, we actually had a lot of fun. Pumpkin was beside himself with joy at riding the Rail Runner so that made it all the better for QT and I.
On our last day in Albuquerque, we packed up, checked out of the hotel, and returned to the Biopark. It was such a pretty day (compared to the previous one) that I opted to stay in the truck with Giggles, Sunshine, and a good book while QT and Pumpkin checked out the garden railroad. Dog and baby both napped the entire time so, believe me, fun and relaxation was had by all! After the guys returned, we headed back downtown for a late lunch then walked Sunshine to the park across the street before hitting the road back to Santa Fe, where we planned to spend the night so that we'd be that much closer to Denver when it came time to return home.
The next day, in Santa Fe, we took a quick driving tour of the sights, had some lunch, then hit the park at the Railyard to let Pumpkin and Sunshine work off some energy before heading back to Denver. You can see some pictures from that outing clustered with pictures from our last day in Albuquerque (above).
As usual, we stayed a bit too long at the park and, as a result, didn't roll into our driveway until well past midnight. I don't recommend that! Yuck. We were all exhausted, but it was a great trip regardless.
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What struck me most about both Santa Fe and Albuquerque was the resemblance of their historic districts to that of my hometown of Laredo TX. Laredo, which was once also under Spanish rule, has its own charming plaza complete with a raised bandstand, sidewalk vendors, a really cool historic hotel, and a very old church (now a cathedral). If you walk around the area, you'll even find plenty of those distinct, low-ceilinged shops lining the streets. So, visiting these 2 cities felt more like a homecoming to me than a new discovery, which was still very nice. I definitely plan to return and soak it all in again.
Originally built in 1767; present structure, third on site, dates from 1872. Was elevated to the rank of Cathedral on Aug. 9, 2001. Part of the Webb County Heritage Tour. On San AgustÃn Plaza in heart of old Spanish section.
When Pete and I visited Santa Fe for our 25th wedding anniversary, we absolutely loved it. We stayed in a beautiful villa-like hotel close to the old town. We rode bikes and visited sites like the Chapel of Loretto (the one with the miracle staircase). We had such fun that weekend. I loved all the Spanish architecture and general feel of the place, reminded me of California.
ReplyDeleteI think it's time we went again.