Packing up our gear on Sunday morning and saying goodbye to the amazing people we met on the Western Slope was really sad.  It started to kick in that this was “it”.  “It” not being the last time in Palisade and definitely not the end of the friendships we made, but “it” being the end of one of the most incredible, amazing, fantastic (you get the point) chapters in our lives.

BUT on to the next one!

To break up the ride to Austin we decided to stop half way through, and oh look, Santa Fe happens to be right about half way.  Driving from UT to NM was especially awesome with the Lunar Eclipse unfolding in the mountains north of Santa Fe.

No we’re not staying at Motel 6!  We booked a sweet little Casita a few miles outside of Santa Fe, NM.

This place was awesome and Chica was able to expand her horizons.

As for Santa Fe, we are so glad we made the stop.  Great food, beautiful town and culture with the abundance of art.

The first night we took a quick walk around the Plaza area and saw some beautiful, old (1600’s) buildings while waiting for our 8:30 reservations at Cafe Pasquals, but never actually got there!

(Cathedral Basilica of St Francis)

We should have known that starting on cocktails at the Secreto Lounge (worth it!) hours before our reservation  would likely alter our dinner plans – and this isn’t hindsight being 20/20, just common sense.

Still thinking we were going to make it to Pasqual’s we stopped at the Coyote Cafe Rooftop Cantina for a drink and some chips & salsa to hold us over – and then came a waiter, Justin.  This guy was born for sales and quite frankly we were hungry.  He ensured we were served well, and out of nowhere appeared lightly fried cheese and bacon stuffed  Jalapeno shooters.  Umm, not hungry anymore!

On our second day the cell service was not great at the Casita, so we cut out of work early to explore Santa Fe.  What the hell, right?  We only live once.

We started our excursion by grabbing lunch at The Shed and we knew it would be a good day.  If it’s not obvious, this place is MONEY!

With full bellies we took a walk to Canyon Road to explore the art galleries Santa Fe has to offer.

We learned that Alexei Butirskiy is the freaking man and that we need to make WAY more money to afford ill art.

The combination of the early wake up call from the roosters and the heavy Spanish food made us sleepy and we rolled into Cafe Greco for some coffee, and to our delight, live music.

We still had time to kill and appetites to gain before our dinner reservation at 7 – we were not missing this one! – so why not stop for a beer at the Draft Station overlooking the Plaza?

Beers were excellent.

And for the finale – tapas at El Meson.

Go there!

Thanks for a great time Santa Fe!