Zora ONeill - Moon Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque

ZORA ONEILL

When I tell people I grew up in Albuquerque, I often get a blank stare, and sometimes a Bugs Bunny joke. Thats New Mexico, right? some say cautiously. Ive never met anyone from there. Yes, its New Mexico, its part of the United States, and for some reason, we dont get out much.

Maybe were lazy from a lack of oxygenAlbuquerque is 5,352 feet above sea level, and Wheeler Peak, which overshadows Taos, hits 13,161 feet. More likely, its because New Mexico, and particularly the stretch between Albuquerque and Taos, is so astonishingly beautiful: red sandstone canyons, pine-studded mountain ranges, dramatic gorges. Why go anywhere else, when you can smell lilacs in spring, ozone after summer thunderstorms, spicy roasting green chile, and fragrant pion crackling in fireplaces? Why stray, when coyotes yelp in the night, western tanagers warble in the trees, and the drums boom at pueblo ceremonies? Why move an inch, when you live under this singular sky: by day, a cloudless, turquoise dome; by night, a velvet backdrop clotted with stars.

I strayed, but I feel fortunate to have this place to return to. It may not be another country, but it is another world. Nicknamed the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico may as well be Wonderland. Sixteenth-century Spanish is spoken in tiny mountain towns north of Santa Fe, while in Albuquerque, people fight to preserve Route 66 motor courts built in the 1950s. Santa Fe is a faux-adobe utopia where the economy magically thrives on art and politics, and the hippie homesteaders of Taos aim to get off the gridthe same way the neighboring pueblo has been, for hundreds of years.

Clockwise from top left: fresh green chile; luminarias in Santa Fe; truck near Elizabethtown

Visitors might need time to adjustto the altitude, certainly, and maybe also to the laid-back attitude. But theres a point of entry for everyone. Outdoor adventurers can hike for an hour or a week, along mountainsides thick with yellow-leafed aspens, and skiers can plunge through armpit-deep powder at Taos Ski Valley, one of the countrys most thrilling downhill runs. Culture mavens thrive in Santa Fe, with its world-class contemporary art scene and an eclectic calendar of international film and music. History buffs can climb to ancient cave dwellings, wander among crumbling Franciscan mission churches, or ogle vintage neon signs in Albuquerque.

At the end of the day, you can always pull yourself back into the present with a cold margarita and cuisine with a hot-chile kickbut thats no guarantee youll shake off northern New Mexicos spell.

Where to Go

Santa Fe

A network of little streets and thick-walled adobe homes, New Mexicos picturesque capital has a human scale and a golden glow. Museums are a major drawfor state history, folk art, and moreas are the scores of galleries lining Canyon Road. Great hiking trails are just a few minutes driveor head farther, to the cliff dwellings at Bandelier National Monument; to Abiquiu, where the scenery inspired painter Georgia OKeeffe; or to Los Alamos, birthplace of the A-bomb.

Dramatic cliffs edge the highway north of Abiquiu.

Taos

A small town of about 6,000, Taos is home to artists, trust-fund hippies, spiritual seekers, and ski bumsin addition to the Spanish and American Indian families whove called the place home for centuries. Theres some sightseeing, at the ancient Taos Pueblo, an iconic church, a handful of small museums, and Taos Ski Valley, a pilgrimage site for many. But its atmosphere, cultivated in mellow coffee shops and hidden hot springs, is the real attraction. Make a day drive around the Enchanted Circle, a loop of two-lane roads through high valleys.

Albuquerque

A modern Western city, and the states biggest, Albuquerque sprawls at the base of the Sandia Mountains. Its proud of its Route 66 vintage style, but its also preserving farmland along the Rio Grande and redesigning itself as a green burg. To the west, Acoma Pueblo sits atop a monolithic mesa, while the wetlands of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge to the south attract thousands of birds. Head north to Santa Fe through the ghost towns of the Turquoise Trail or to the red rocks of the Jemez Mountains.

hot-air ballooning over Albuquerque

Three days: Pick one city to explore.

Five days: Visit Santa Fe, with a night in Taos; or do Albuquerque, with a night in Santa Fe.

One week: