Into the real desert: Panhandle to Phoenix via Santa Fe and Rodeo
After leaving Amarillo we had a fairly short drive to Santa Fe via the interstates but, since we had time, we decided to take a scenic route. We left I-10 at Logan and headed north towards Mosquero and Roy NM where we headed west on NM 120 towards I-25 at Wagon Mound, which was on one leg of the Santa Fe Trail. You head up to the mesa plateau and then down through the Canyon of the Canadian River between Roy and Wagon Mound. At those altitudes the cholla were blooming w/ purple flowers. Some areas of the desert were full of purple flowers.
These photos are from NM 120 over the Canadian River Canyon. We crossed the Canadian several times in OK & TX before this.
We found a great place to stay in Santa Fe, the Guadalupe Inn. It's a 10 minute walk from the downtown plaza. Not expensive, clean, comfortable w/ a good continental breakfast. Definitely worth looking into if you're going there. We got in early enough to go through the O'Keefe Museum before it closed. Since it was 5 PM we decided to wander the downtown area and get an early dinner. Found the Ortega jewelry store with one of the best turquoise collections we've seen in years. We didn't touch anything since it was all so tempting we'd buy something, and we don't have the money to do that.
We found the Osteria d'Assisi a couple blocks north of the plaza for dinner. Since it was relatively cooler in the shade with a strong breeze we decided to eat al fresco. Like the chef and the owners our waiter was from Italy. He ended up in Santa Fe since his wife is American and manages the Eddie Bauer. We had a nice conversation w/ Diego, covering Italian, Sicilian and Amerikan cultural differences. The food is excellent, although paying restaurant prices for Villa Pozzi Nero d'Avola was depressing. But that comes from buying it at wine shops for 1/3 the price. Bozo gives the Osteria 4.5 clowns. Authentic Northern Italian cuisine.
The next morning we headed out for Rodeo, NM. It bills itself as the most western town in New Mexico. You can't dispute the fact that it's the most western community but w/ claiming only 100 people it's hard to say it's a town. It has a couple churches, one a Catholic mission, a post office, a general "store" and cafe, and a tavern that's open Wednesday through Saturday. The General "Store" and cafe has great breakfasts but if you want dinner you have to drive to Portal, AZ about 15 miles away to the restaurant there. It's 20 miles to Animus, NM for gas and 50 miles to Douglas, AZ for groceries. We're here, not quite the end of the earth, to visit our niece and her husband at their vineyard in the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains. It's 4 miles as the crow flies but about 7 by the "road". One of the reasons we bought the Rav 4 was so we could drive to the vineyard. Eric's added the address and road to Google, supposedly, but Google still doesn't find it and once you get about 2 miles away the Garmin shows no roads and only shows you going West and South.
Before we left for Sun City we headed out to the vineyard. We had dinner w/ Gina and Eric in Portal, AZ at the entrance to the Chiricahua National Monument. It's dead center in the above photos. Once you get off the highway the pavement ends, which is most often the case around those parts. They moved permanently into their vineyard this past spring. Vines will have been in the ground 4 years so fruit is starting to be produced. Eric figures to get some wine out this year but it's not going to be much. It'll take a few more before he considers a tasting room, somewhere in civilization because there's no way a car will get out where the vineyard is located. Luckily the rain storms that came through recently did not hit the washes too hard so the "roads" were passable. You are driving across dry washes on the way out.
We are now in old folks land. Sun City, AZ at brother Tom's house for 3 days. We'll be seeing Cathy's cousins who've moved down here in the next couple days and hitting a couple favorite restaurants. There's Nino's near Tom's in the mall at 107th and Grand and the New York bakery at Grand and 101st. Nino's is a small family run Mexican w/ really good food and great $4 margaritas. New York Bakery is a true pasticeria. Cannolli, ricotta cheesecake and Italian style cookies. Both are great finds, check them out.
In Glendale, just north of the downtown, there's Michelle and Gerald's Southern Cuisine. Excellent home-smoked barbecue, po'boys, chicken & waffles, & mufuletta, Begniets, catfish, and rib tips to top it all off. Bozo gives them 4.5 clowns. It'd be 5 if they had a liquor license.
Ciao for now. Depending on what we do in the next couple days will determine how soon I tap out another.