The Rocky Mountain cordillera extends southward through the state of New Mexico with the San Juan mountain range and the Sangre de Christo range in the north and several other ranges stretching southward. The Rio Grande river begins in the northern mountains and wends its way southward across the state until it reaches the Mexican and Texan borders at El Paso Texas. This river valley provides a riparian highway of green across the otherwise arid upland plateaus.

New Mexico has some beautiful landscape with a wide variety of strange and wonderful geological features. It has high elevation deserts and plateaus surrounded by barren mountains, peculiarly eroded rock pinnacles and volcanic cinder cones. It has high prairies that extend from horizon to horizon with extensive plains of sparse grass intermittently punctuated by low shrubs, squat piñon pines and massive citadels of flat-topped mesas. It has ranges of lofty mountains with snow capped peaks, dense pine forests and cascading mountain streams.
Santa Fe

Route 25 bisects the state from north to south. It enters through the northern mountains at the Colorado border, then joins the Rio Grande valley and follows it south to El Paso, Texas. Route 40 bisects the state from east to west from Texas to Arizona. It roughly follows the original path of old Route 66 and remnants of the “mother road” still run parallel to the new highway. These two major thruways intersect in downtown Albuquerque, the largest city in the state.

The Rio Grande Valley has been a highway of life in this somewhat barren landscape for several millennia. Ancient Anasazi ruins and Petroglyph drawings are still visible in many parts of New Mexico. Petroglyph National Park, on rock bluffs overlooking the Rio Grande River at the outskirts of present day Albuquerque, displays thousands of ancient drawings. The ruins of ancient villages and cliff houses can be seen at Bandelier National Monument in the mountains near Los Alamos and at the Chaco Culture National Historic Park in the northwest part of the state.
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Allow time to adjust to Santa Fe’s high altitude and take it easy the first day or so. It is especially important to drink plenty of water, and to apply plenty of sunscreen even in winter.

With 65,000 residents, Santa Fe is New Mexico’s third largest city. It was originally settled by Spaniards before1607, and is now the oldest state capital city in the United States. Its original name “La Villa Real de Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis”, is Spanish for “the Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi”.

Several shops and small indoor malls, including the Plaza Galeria and Santa Fe Arcade, surround the Plaza or are within easy walking distance. Lincoln Avenue, one block north of the Plaza, offers a collection of shops called Lincoln Place. More shops are located on West San Francisco Street. For delightful shopping in a renovated warehouse, visit Sanbusco Market Center, 500 Montezuma Avenue, in the Guadalupe District adjacent to the historic Railyard. Some two dozen shops and restaurants are located at Sanbusco – short for Santa Fe Builders’ Supply Company — in what was once the Railyard Center, a pleasant walk southwest of the Plaza.

At 7,000 feet above sea level, the city spans nearly 35 square miles in a valley near the Rio Grande at the southern base of the Rocky Mountains. It is nestled between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east and the Jemez Mountains to the west.

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The climate at Albuquerque is surprisingly mild in all seasons. Although located in a near desert environment, it is spared from intense summer heat due to its higher elevation and spared from bitter winter cold due to its southern latitudes. It receives some rainfall in the summer and a spare amount of snow in the winter, but normally has clear blue skies on most days in any season.

At the intersection of these two highways near downtown Albuquerque, the ramps and bridges are all painted in pastel hues of pink, tan and turquoise. The bridge abutments and retaining walls are artistically decorated with Indian designs. The very roads and civil constructions of this city are imbued with the essence of southwestern culture.

Heading west from Albuquerque, you can see historic old route 66 running parallel to the main highway. You can even get off the Interstate and drive it for a few miles. About an hour and a half west is Acoma Pueblo, also known as “Sky Pueblo”. This beautiful Indian village is located high atop a mesa overlooking the vast prairie. It has been continuously inhabited for nearly a thousand years. It is open for guided visitation daily. There are several other pueblos that you can visit within an hour drive from Albuquerque.

The city sprawls across the wide shallow valley of the Rio Grande River nearly 5,000 feet (1,524 m.) above sea level. To the east, the Sandia Mountains form an imposing wall reaching high into the turquoise sky. On the horizon in every other direction, distant hills and mesas punctuate the vast upland plateau. On the western edge of the city, the Rio Grande River lies nearly hidden in its shallow channel at the foot of the low bluffs overlooking the city.

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