A Weekend Getaway

Every year our daughter and I take a road trip up to Santa Fe and Taos to enjoy some cold weather and snow. It's only about a 12-hour road trip, so is easy to do for a long weekend. We drove up to Santa Fe last Friday, January 30th, and arrived a little after 11 PM. The first thing I noticed (as always when we go in the winter) is the fresh, crisp, cold air ~ along with the beautiful dark sky full of millions of stars, which seems so much easier to see when you're up in the higher altitudes. The other thing I love is the scent of the pinon wood that people use for their fireplaces and wood-burning stoves. It's such a pleasant and unique aroma and to me it just says "Santa Fe".





Saturday we drove up to Taos for the afternoon, which is about an hour north. I took the highway route which isn't quite as scenic as another route, but you still get to drive past the Rio Grande through the gorge.



The color of the river was beautiful when we stopped to take pictures,















and as you can see, there was still some snow up the hill on the other side.













We visited a few of our favorite shops in Taos,





















did a little shopping,












and ate at our favorite restaurant. They have the most wonderful menu and it's so hard to choose just one thing. I'd love to be able to go there much more than our once a year. In case you're wondering what I ate, it was the Turkey Berry sandwich... lettuce,turkey, cream cheese and fresh-made cranberry sauce on a fresh-baked croissant. Sooooo good!!!














We drove around the area a bit after our shopping and lunch,



















stopped and visited with these pretty horses,












and then headed back to Santa Fe
for the night.



























Sunday we spent the day in Santa Fe, driving around the hills and up Canyon Road (full of art galleries and shops), and then doing some
shopping in our favorite places around the plaza.






We couldn't resist a visit along the walkway where many of the local Indians sell their handmade jewelry and other items. It's all so beautiful and very hard to resist! My daughter saw one pendant in particular that she really loved, so I bought it for her Valentine's Day gift. She has another week before she can have it :)







Monday we woke up, had breakfast, and then headed for home. It's always so sad to see the beautiful snow-covered mountains getting smaller and smaller as I glance in the rearview mirror, but I'm certainly glad it's a relatively short drive so we're able to visit each winter!