Santa Fe Sightseeing By Mark Scarbrough
Though it is short on nightlife, Santa Fe has plenty of attractions to keep you enthralled - both in and outside town. MUSEUMS: For a day's tour, Santa Fe has a wonderful collection of museums clustered downtown around the square or in a complex on Camino Lejo, about three miles south of town. On the square, The Palace of Governors is the oldest public building in the United States, dating to the 1640s, far outstripping Constitution Hall and its ilk. Inside, two museums offer concentrated looks at the region. The History Museum (105 W. Palace Avenue, Tel: 505-827-6474) uses photographs and artifacts to tell the story of the area's Native American settlement, evacuation, and resettlement by Spanish and American squatters. The Museum of Fine Arts (107 W. Palace Avenue, Tel: 505-827-4455) provides a nice collection of Southwestern work, culminating with important pieces by Georgia O Keefe, arguably the area's most influential contemporary artist. Several mind-popping works by Diego Rivera are also worth a long look. Across from the Palace of Governors stands the Cathedral of Saint Francis, memorialized by Willa Cather in her Death Comes for the Archbishop. Built by Jean Baptiste Lamy, Santa Fe's first archbishop and the hero of Cather's historical romance, the Romanesque church is one of the oldest ecclesiastical buildings in the New World. 131 Cathedral Place. Tel: 505-982-5619. More amenable perhaps are the smaller inns that surround the city's center. One of the nicest is the gay-owned Water Street Inn, on a side street away from the main action and, therefore, blessedly quieter and calmer. The eight guest rooms feature king or queen beds, kiva fireplaces, sumptuous baths, and elegant sitting areas with leather and hide-sewn furniture. The inn shares a parking lot with a noisy restaurant and bar, so the best rooms (perhaps #2 and #3) are interior, facing away from the nightly hullabaloo. An expanded, continental breakfast is served each morning in the guest's room. Doubles from $60 off season to $159 at peak. 427 W. Water Street, Santa Fe, NM, 87501. Tel: 505-984-1193. Another gay-owned bed-and-breakfast is The Four Kachinas. The two innkeepers, swept here from their California lifestyle, offer cool, tiled rooms in the standard, Southwestern decor, without the accompanying silliness of pastel sunsets and striped blankets. Instead, the tasteful rooms seem tranquil retreats, with fine baths and pillow-topped beds. A few minutes walk from the center of town, The Four Kachinas accommodates its guests with an outgoing hospitality, complemented by an afternoon tea. Breakfast, a collage of pastries with coffee or tea, is brought to the guest's room each morning. Doubles from $90. 512 Webber Street, Santa Fe, NM, 87501. Tel: 800-397-2564. Also in town, the Inn of the Turquoise Bear was once the home of Witter Bynner, a local poet and man-about-town. Bynner's home became a chic stop for many gay and lesbian travelers in earlier days, including Igor Stravinsky, Stephen Spender, Christopher Isherwood, Errol Flynn, Willa Cather, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. While parts of the house were built in the 1830s, the updated rooms have comfortable beds and local craftwork. Breakfast, a continental affair, offers guests a chance to meet and socialize. Doubles, $125-$225. 714 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM, 87501. Tel: 800-396-4104. E-mail: bluebear@roadrunner.com. A ten-mile drive out of town leads to the lesbian-owned Triangle Inn. This secluded spot has six adobe casitas, one with two bedrooms. The convivial atmosphere is aided by the owners: one hosts a local, gay radio show, the other is an expert on the area. For evenings spent in, the outdoor hot tub near the sundeck is a wonderful place to soak after being too long in the sun, too long on the trail, or simply too long anywhere. Rates, $70-$140. Rte. 11, Box 5T, Cuyamungue, P.O. Box 3235, Santa Fe, NM 87501. Tel: 504-455-3375. WHERE TO EAT: The best place to eat in Santa Fe is the Santacafe, one of the nation's premier restaurants, renowned for its innovative mix of Asian and Southwestern cooking. Crispy duck in a hoison sauce and the enormous filet mignon with chili mashed potatoes have both become signature dishes, although some of the first courses far outdo them, especially the soba noodles and fresh vegetables in mole, or the crispy seared pork tacos with lemongrass accents. Reservations are at times impossible to get, but the wait is worth every minute. Be careful, too, when booking a table to specify whether you want to be indoors or out. Dinner for two, with wine, $120. 231 Washington Avenue. Tel: 505-984-1788. The Coyote Cafe is ground zero for the Southwestern cooking fad that started here a few years ago. A bit precious, this restaurant still packs in crowds (some come in busses) for the now-standard steak quesadillas or salmon enchiladas. The drawbacks: the prices never let you forget you are at the epicenter of something important and the restaurant has opened other locations, like the one in Austin, Texas, so that it can at times feel like a franchised theme park. But these negatives are perhaps outmatched by the excellent food and the gracious but efficient service. Dinner for two, with wine, $90. 132 W. Water Street. Tel: 505-983-1615. The Pink Adobe, despite its name, is not a gay bar. Rather, it's a half-century-old restaurant that serves up some of the most authentic Southwestern cuisine in Santa Fe. Old-time residents eat here - and so should anyone else interested in good, solid fare. Nothing pretentious dare raise its head: mesquite-grilled steaks and seafood, with beautiful chili sauces, are the law of the land. Dinner for two, with wine, $55. 406 Old Santa Fe Trail. Tel: 505-983-7712. If the Santacafe is the Neoclassical ideal, The Blue Corn Cafe is a Top 40s version of Southwestern food. The dominant motif is as follows: young, cute waiters and loud, hungry patrons. Everything else fits into that key. Best bets are the burritos, stuffed to bursting with cheese and meat, and the nachos, guaranteed to leave you both sated and burning. Dinner for two, with beer, $30. 133 Water Street. Tel: 505-984-1800. WHERE TO PLAY: Santa Fe nightlife - aside from its stellar opera season - seems a little tame. After all, the town suffers from a dearth of bars of any sort, much less gay bars. Speculation is rampant about why there are no gay bars. Some say the clientele of the town itself is younger, not a gym-boys or bar-rats scene. Others say that Santa Fe citizens are fiercely independent, and are gay without using it as a badge. The current bar in town is the Drama Club at 126 N. Guadalupe Street. It is a nightclub and bar with pool tables. It also has live music, drag shows, and is the only real dance club in town. But the point of Santa Fe is not the bars. It's the art, the culture, the open-air markets. At night, perhaps it's the dust of stars across the sky, many of which you might have forgotten existed. Any gay or lesbian visitor should soak up what the Native Americans, and the later New Agers, have always known about this place: it exists in the small gestures, which loom large when finally noticed.
Santa Fe Sightseeing By Mark Scarbrough
Though it is short on nightlife, Santa Fe has plenty of attractions to keep you enthralled - both in and outside town. MUSEUMS: For a day's tour, Santa Fe has a wonderful collection of museums clustered downtown around the square or in a complex on Camino Lejo, about three miles south of town. On the square, The Palace of Governors is the oldest public building in the United States, dating to the 1640s, far outstripping Constitution Hall and its ilk. Inside, two museums offer concentrated looks at the region. The History Museum (105 W. Palace Avenue, Tel: 505-827-6474) uses photographs and artifacts to tell the story of the area's Native American settlement, evacuation, and resettlement by Spanish and American squatters. The Museum of Fine Arts (107 W. Palace Avenue, Tel: 505-827-4455) provides a nice collection of Southwestern work, culminating with important pieces by Georgia O Keefe, arguably the area's most influential contemporary artist. Several mind-popping works by Diego Rivera are also worth a long look. Across from the Palace of Governors stands the Cathedral of Saint Francis, memorialized by Willa Cather in her Death Comes for the Archbishop. Built by Jean Baptiste Lamy, Santa Fe's first archbishop and the hero of Cather's historical romance, the Romanesque church is one of the oldest ecclesiastical buildings in the New World. 131 Cathedral Place. Tel: 505-982-5619. Out of town, on Camino Lejo, the Museum of International Folk Art must be seen to be believed: hundreds of crafts, toys, dolls, blankets, and kitsch from around the world. It's dizzying just to walk inside the building and see the cases topping each other to the ceiling. The toys and crafts are arranged in scenes: a Burmese funeral procession or a Peruvian Easter dance, for example. 706 Camino Lejo. Tel: 505-827-6350. Next door, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture provides a historical summary of the area's arts and crafts, including some of the most beautiful pottery by local craftswomen and men. The emphasis here is on the continuity of Native American art, so pieces of antiquity are shown with those from more modern times. 710 Camino Lejo. Tel: 505-827-6344. OTHER SIGHTS: Ten Thousand Waves is a Japanese spa a few miles outside town. With Zen-like serenity, the salt-water baths are so thick with mineral salts that bathers float on the surface of the water. From this suspension, the offered massage is nothing less than hedonistic. After an hour of almost weightless massage, tensed muscles become so relaxed that walking is almost impossible. Day rates from $100. Hyde Park Road. Tel: 505-982-9304. More effort is required for the popular gallery crawl, found along Canyon Road. Arcing east of town, this long road is lined with art dealerships, coffeehouses, and establishments that exhibit the work of local craftspeople. Some of the 125 galleries are quite innovative and interesting, exhibiting material often associated with more trendy towns. Others, however, traffic in the John Wayne shtick. Caveat emptor! Surrounding Santa Fe, Native American pueblos provide interesting trips worth the drive and are assuredly not tourist traps. Instead, Native Americans here practice a rural life much as did their grandparents. Most pueblos have strict rules: no traffic before noon or after sunset, no tourist cars in the village, no tourists whatsoever in the town's square. A few now charge admission fees. Rules are posted at the entrances, and they should be adhered to assiduously. Inside the pueblos, craftspeople offer their wares, pottery and the like, in their own homes. There are no deals to be had - a small pot will set you back as much as $500, but you are paying the money directly to the artist rather than to a Santa Fe dealer. Perhaps the best pueblos are Namba, the San Ysidro, and the Zia. The Acoma pottery, from that pueblo, is mostly mass-produced in a large factory. The San Ildefonso Pueblo is the home of the late Maria Martinez, credited with having resurrected the lost art of pottery in this century. Her exquisite, black-on-black pots now go for thousands at Sotheby's. Farther out from the pueblos, Bandelier National Monument preserves villages and cliff dwellings from the Anasazi, those mysterious Native Americans who inhabited this region about a thousand years ago and then disappeared, for no known reasons. Some think they became the current residents of the pueblos; others contend they were driven to Mexico. Mormons claimed God wiped them out; one group says they were picked up by a UFO. Trails require sturdy shoes and there are some wooden ladders to climb as well. Located on New Mexico 4. Tel: 505-672-3861. On summer evenings, the Santa Fe Opera mounts a repertoire of five operas, with one always a world premier. This company has become one of the most outstanding in the world, attracting musicians and singers here for a summer in the mountains.
City Scene in Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico By Suzanne Rush
Santa Fe is called the City Different, a nickname that alludes to the unique character of a town that has developed through four centuries of blending three distinct cultures - Anglo, Spanish, and Native American. But many believe that what really makes the city different is Santa Fe's 70,000 residents, an estimated 10,000 of whom are gay or lesbian. Unlike other cities with a prominent gay populace, Santa Fe has no gay neighborhoods and few obviously gay hangouts. And though you can spot a rainbow bumper sticker on many, many cars, you would be hard-pressed to find gay life without a few more clues. Pick up the local weekly Reporter, and the gay Rainbow, for more information on gay activities in Santa Fe. You can find the papers at some of the gay-owned, or gay-friendly businesses in town. Vanessie restaurant, for instance, isn't strictly gay, but you'll hardly know the difference when you check out the crowd on a Friday night in the piano bar. Galisteo News, in the center of downtown, is a comfortable, gay-owned coffeehouse, newsstand, and card shop. And if you're cruising the galleries on Canyon Road, don't forget to stop at Geronimo, a long-time gay-owned restaurant on that famous art drag. America's fourth-ranked tourist destination, Santa Fe has ample lodging. Of particular interest is the gay-owned bed and breakfast, the Triangle Inn, an easy 20-minute car ride outside the city limits. Also worth noting is the Ruby Slipper B&B, an hour north in Taos. The City Different has a thriving gay life that takes some effort to unearth, but it will welcome you when you learn where to look.
Santa Fe By Edward Van Luinen
It's the light. The high desert, free of humidity and haze, displays colors so vivid you'll instantly know why artists settled here centuries ago and appreciate why you have chosen to visit. Welcome to Santa Fe. To get started, fly into Albuquerque airport and rent a convertible. The extra expense will be justified by the views you'll be seeing. Santa Fe is a one hour drive north of Albuquerque. Historically the first and also the highest-elevated capital in the U.S., Santa Fe offers you a scenic and relaxing vacation. A wide variety of arts, crafts, dining, shopping, spas, museums, architecture, historical sites and scenic views await you. Pick from this menu what you want during your stay. The Santa Fe plaza is the historical and architectural center of town. If you want to see the lay of the land, Fiesta Tours on the plaza offers a 75 minute, open air driving tour guided by a charming, informed driver. The tour takes you to the Palace of the Governors, local government seat through the centuries of the Spanish, Mexicans, Confederates and Americans. From there you wend along Canyon Road, a walking mall of Santa Fe art galleries, craft shops and a few of the restaurants. The next stop is Christo Rey church, one of the largest adobe structures in the Southwest, where you see the interior. Continuing on, you explore a chic neighborhood at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Expansive, adobe homes blend into the scrub terrain under cobalt blue skies. Breeze by St. Johns University's extension campus as you return to the plaza to the end of the tour and continue exploring. Other venues worth seeing in Santa Fe include the Loretto Chapel, site of the mysterious freestanding staircase, and the Georgia O'Keeffe museum. While shopping, check out the design warehouse on Marcy Street. For a dramatic sunset over the Jemez mountains to the West, drive to Aspen Way in the late afternoon, just outside of Santa Fe. Your view from a scenic overlook at the top displays mesas, valleys and forests colored in different shades as the sun sets. The only sound you hear is the wind in the pines. Ten Thousand Waves is a Santa Fe spa not to be missed. An evening spent here will transport you to a higher plane of physical well-being. Book your massages and treatments well in advance. Situated atop a hill a few miles outside of town, you are greeted by a soothing host who explains the protocol while lilting Japanese music fills the spa. Kimono-clad guests sipping herbal tea float by in the surroundings of dark wood beams, relaxation nooks and posture-enhancing seats. After your massage, soak in the communal hot tub outside, au naturel if you want, while admiring the expanse of moon and stars rising above the pine forest. Santa Fe is the capital of Southwestern cuisine, and there are no shortage of restaurants offering it. Try Coyote Café, signature Santa Fe restaurant of chef owner Mark Miller. To begin, try the Brazilain Daquiri and the Sangria de Coyote. The prix fixe menu has specialties including the "Short Stack" of Griddled Corn Cakes, the "Open Fire" Grilled Double Cut Porkchop, and the Mexican Chocolate Sundae for dessert. Another must is the roasted red pepper and tomato salsa. Coyote Café is one of the few places where the service is as excellent as the food. Other restaurant choices include The Shed, offering delicious New Mexican food, and Café Pasqual, whose renowned cookbook you can buy on premesis. Accommodations in Santa Fe run the range from locally managed hotels to the national chains. Whatever you preference, prices vary considerably. For convenience, find lodging as close to the plaza as you can. Stay at the Hilton, where the pool and hot tub bring relief after long walks. The well-informed concierge can also map out your day-to-day activities. Another nice hotel near the plaza is the Hotel Plaza Real. The suites here are spacious and feature cozy fireplaces and individual patio areas where you can enjoy a sun-drenched breakfast. If its nightlife you must have, no problem. The Paramount is a downtown Santa Fe gay and lesbian bar. Your entertainment offerings include a D.J. on Saturday night; Sunday night features a Country Western band in one room and an open-mike evening for a hip crowd of local strummers and crooners in the other. Like the whole town, everyone is very friendly. Another Santa Fe bar to check out is the Drama Club, which offers live music and dancing. There are theme nights to choose from--disco and others--for the discriminating partygoer. Also, stop by Vanessie's, a friendly downtown bar with a relaxed atmosphere for a more lesbian crowd. Once you have sufficiently explored Santa Fe town, you'll want to go on a series of drives to discover the stark beauty and mystery of the surrounding high desert. Make your first trip to Los Alamos, site of the secret World War II atom bomb construction. Spectacular vistas unfold as you climb the road to Los Alamos. The Bradbury Science Museum is the historical, scientific, and quasi-philosophical museum in town where the bomb is explained through an educational, hands-on exhibit. A second scenic drive is to the Santa Clara pueblo, site of the Puye cliff dwellings and ancestral home of the Anasazi Indians. Unfortunately, the recent fires near Los Alamos closed this site to visitors. For consolation drive to El Paragua, a fine Mexican restaurant in the nearby town of Espanola. It features awesome guacamole, mesquite grilled fish and meat, and amazing sopapillas you drizzle with honey or apricot jam. On the way back to Santa Fe, stop at the roadside flea market. A few hundred feet up the road is the Santa Fe Opera. While performances run only in the summer season, go in to look at its unique construction that has created incredible acoustics. No sojourn to Santa Fe would be complete without a trip to Taos. To get there, take the high road from Santa Fe. This will wend through spectacularly bleak mesas, small towns, and pine-grove valleys dotted with brilliant yellow autumnal aspens. The first town on the high road is Chimayo. In the village center is El Santuario de Chimayo, a church where centuries ago the mud in its well brought claims of miraculous healing powers. The town is also a weaving center; feel free to see examples of local products in a couple of the shops. The next town worth a stop is Las Trampas, site of the eighteenth century San Jose Church. The tranquil beauty is worth a stop and few photographs. You have several reasons for visiting Taos. Stop number one is Taos Pueblo. Northernmost of the New Mexican pueblos, the pueblo charges a $10 entry fee and $10 to take photographs. Take the guided tour, which shows you the current adobe church, the ruins of the San Geronimo church, the unique multi-tiered architecture and the river. Wander into the artists studios to see some incredible pottery, paintings and silver jewelry. Homemade bread is also for sale. Also, visit the Millicent Rogers Museum, a sprawling site dedicated to the display of Millicent's significant art collection. For some scenic beauty situated just outside of town on highway 76 is the Rio Grande gorge. Spanning the gorge is a suspension bridge overlooking stunning views of jagged rock formations cascading down to the river thousands of feet below. There is a walking path across the bridge; acrophobes can drive across and still get a good look from the scenic outpost on the western side. Finally, for a good overview of New Mexican history, visit this trio of museums: Kit Carson Home and Museum, the Ernest L. Blumenschein Home and Museum, and La Hacienda de los Martinez. You can purchase a pass to all three museums at any location. For your lodging in Taos, stay at the Historic Taos Inn. The Inn offers beautifully appointed and spacious rooms, a pool, and a street-side patio for late afternoon cocktails and people watching. Try the New Mexican nachos. The restaurant at the Inn is Doc Martin's. Chef Scott Radek offers a tasty menu. For breakfast, try the eggs benedict. Your drive back south to Santa Fe is memorable. The road cascades down along the Rio Grande river. Boatloads of rafters wave while drifting down the river. Stop at any of the roadside scenic outlooks for incredible views and photo opportunities. To enjoy Santa Fe to the maximum, a health tip: the high elevation brings on shortness of breath, sunburn and potential dehydration. To compensate, limit physical exercise at first, use liberal amounts of sunblock and drink a lot of water.