Amarillo, Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico

AMARILLO

After a needed rest from driving through the storm, A. Paul & I set out to see what Mother Nature left in its wake. On the interstate traffic had been at a halt for nearly and 1-1/2 hours due to a big rig accident. Once on the road, it was a bit harrowing as our surburban felt like a miniature toy driving down the road in comparison to our road company. The saving grace was that the sun was full force and the landscape was stunning with a new cover of snow.  Even the herds of cattle seemed to be enjoying their walk in the fields, albeit a cold one in the single digits.  

As we edged closer to the Texas-New Mexico border, flat and endless plains began to turn to rolling hills and plateaus.  The change was shockingly beautiful.  Our travels on I-40 frequently crossed paths with the old historic Route 66, which we took advantage of for a lunch stop at the Silver Moon, est. 1957.

Given our late start due to the accident in the morning, we opted to bypass Albuquerque and drive the Old Turquoise Trail just east of Albuquerque which runs through  old mining- turned- art towns of Golden, Madrid, and Cerrillos.  As we climbed from the plains through the mountain passes, each turn of the road unveiled a new breathtaking vista.

                                                   When we rolled into the funky little art town of Madrid, we met up with artist Corey Horne at Redbones and artist Jane Cassidy at the Indigo Gallery. Both artists live and work in Madrid, which is home to no fewer than 16 galleries and art related businesses.

Jane Cassidy (L) and Kerry (R) at Indigo

You can see both artists works, along with that of several other artists, at http://www.indigoartgallery.com/  Unfortunately, most of the establishments were closed at the time of our visit due to the snow storm and time of year, but this detour in our plans was absolutely worth the trip.  Our thanks to one of our artists, Catherine Skowron, who suggested that we might enjoy the route.  We will definitely drive it again in the future. You can check out the Turquoise Trail at http://www.turqouisetrail.org/

We took in our last sights of the East Sandia Mountains as we descended into the town of Santa Fe.  Over the next two days, we will visit the O'Keeffe Museum, the Museum of Fine Art and the Canyon Road Art District. Until tomorrow, I leave you with a slideshow of our drive from Amarillo, through the Turquoise Trail and into Santa Fe.