Albuquerque

Dating from around 1300 AD these petroglyphs are some of the over 23,000 carved along a volcanic slope just outside Albuquerque, NM.
Petroglyphs National Monument is just one of the many things Albuquerque has to offer including a vibrant art scene, Native American and Hispanic history and cultural influences, wild open natural spaces that include both desert and mountain terrains, the world’s largest balloon festival, a beautiful turquoise museum, and fantastic Southwestern style food.

The trail to Sante Fe

Scenes from Sandia Crest, a mile above and 20 degrees cooler than Albuquerque. Next up is the Tourquoise Trail to Santa Fe!

Bandelier National Monument

Bandelier National Monument is just 30 minutes from Santa Fe by car but 11,000 years in history! It preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans. Evidence of their presence includes Petroglyphs, cave dwellings, and standing masonry walls.
You can visit via a gentle gravel path, or if comfortable with heights, up a series of ladders and rough paths used centuries ago.

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness

Real -but seemingly out of this world! - is
the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. Time and natural elements have etched a fantasy world of strange rock formations, stripes of color, and balancing rocks, all made of layers of sandstone, shale, mudstone, coal, and silt. Getting there requires miles of dirt roads to wilderness areas with no services, marked trails, or other infrastructure. Therefore a guide is HIGHLY recommended.

Chaco Canyon

Between 850 and 1250 A.D., thousands of people lived in Chaco Canyon. Its epic public architecture features precise alignment of buildings along cardinal directions combined with exact positioning with the sun and moon - Yes, just like the scene in Indian Jones - but this is real!

Sante Fe

Santa Fe New, Mexico. Founded in 1610 this beautiful city boasts numerous “oldest in the US” landmarks including the oldest representation of the Virgin Mary and the oldest home. Combine her history, architecture, and art - from Georgia O’Keeffe to the artists along Canyon Rd - and you have a fantastic getaway spot!