New Mexico is a haven for the unexpected. It’s an attitude. A way of life. It’s adventure in its truest form – from culture to art to cuisine and everything in between – just waiting to be seized.
Trace the steps of Georgia O’Keeffe as we traverse trails through her beloved Ghost Ranch. Witness the vast Rio Grande Gorge and marvel at the famous Ancestral Pueblo rock dwellings at Bandelier. Gaze upon yawning canyons and towering rock formations that reveal millennia. Along the way, feed our spirit and our curiosity of ancient marvel at the capital city, Santa Fe with its cuisine, museums and renowned art galleries.
New Mexico has it on charm, beauty and history and on this quick tour, we will be experiencing a little of each.
Thursday, May 18: Depart for Albuquerque and continue onto Mescalero
Depart today so you arrive at Albuquerque Airport no later than 2pm. You may also consider a Jet Blue flight that leaves late in the evening of May 17, overnight at an airport hotel and then spend the morning of May 18 exploring Albuquerque on your own. We meet our driver and escort at about 3pm for a three-hour drive to Mescalero and our overnight accommodations at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort.
Friday, May 19- In Mescalero – Touring the Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell After breakfast, our tour today begins with a drive on the Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway following this byway through the rugged beauty of the million-acre Lincoln National Forest. It takes us through Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs to visit the Hubbard Museum of the West. Continue from the mountains following the Ruidoso Rio down Lone Pine Canyon to the grassland plains surrounding Roswell, NM. Here we will visit the UFO Museum learning about the event in 1947 that prompted a major uproar about whether or not a UFO actually crashed outside of Roswell. We can decide for ourselves about the flying saucer that allegedly crashed here in 1947. Whatever we decide, we are likely to be intrigued by the many exhibits and programs about the crash itself and the phenomenon of UFO research. Next we travel south along the Pecos River and the Brantley Lake State Park to Carlsbad and White City, home to Carlsbad Caverns. Here we will have a Park Ranger guide us at the Carlsbad Caverns National Park that showcases one of the most spectacular collections of caves anywhere in the world. Protecting over 100 caves with intricate stalactite and stalagmite formations Carlsbad Caverns was once the site of a complex ocean reef. Long after the waters receded, the area experienced a geologic uplift when the Guadalupe Mountains were formed, which disrupted the buried limestone reef and allowed for water to percolate through the sedimentary layers. Eons of undisturbed water erosion have created the caves, amphitheaters, tubes, and stalactite/stalagmite formations (some pushing 60 feet in size) including Lechuguilla Cave, which is the deepest limestone cave in the United States at 1,567 feet. Our visit to the Carlsbad Caverns is guaranteed to amaze and impress. Late afternoon we will drive back to the Inn of the Mountain Gods for our overnight.
Saturday, May 20 – In Mescalero – Touring the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation & White Sands National Park & Monument This morning we will depart from the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalero down from 7,000 feet, in the mountains through the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation to the desert landscape surrounding Alamogordo, NM and the White Sands National Monument at 4,000 feet. Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the glistening white sands of New Mexico. At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world’s largest gypsum dune field. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dune field, along with the plants and animals that live here. Here we will learn about the history, vegetation, flora and fauna of the area as we descend. After a talk at the White Sands Visitors Center and time to enjoy the Park exhibits, we will have a Park Ranger join our van to provide a narrative of the Park as we do a Park Loop road. You will have time during the tour to ask questions and interact with the Ranger. Continue to Alamogordo for lunch followed by a tour back up into the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation. The Mescalero people were nomadic hunters and gatherers and roamed the Southwest. They were experts in guerrilla warfare and highly skilled horsemen. The women were known for their ability to find and prepare food from many different plant sources. The people were given the name “Mescalero” because they gathered and ate the mescal plant. It was the staple of their diets and could sustain them in good times and bad. After a brief tour here, we continue through the beautiful mountains before returning to our hotel in the afternoon. Free time for golf, fishing or hiking. Overnight accommodations at the Inn of the Mountain Gods.
Sunday, May 21 – To Acoma Pueblo and Santa Fe We have an early departure for our 4-hour drive to the Acoma Pueblo. A mid-morning stop at Los Lunas before we head onto the historic Route 66 and to the Laguna Pueblo A brief stop will be made at the overlook of the Laguna Pueblo for photos of the beautiful, whitewashed St. Joseph Church, constructed in 1699, continuing on Route 66 as we travel west arriving at the Acoma Pueblo, were we will learn about the people and visit the Sky City Cultural Center and Haak’u Museum. Here our Acoma guide will drive us to the top of the Mesa where we learn about the Acoma people, walk completely around the Mesa and learn about the history of the people, see where they still live in houses constructed in the 1600s and 1700s. After the tour, we continue to Santa Fe. via “Three Pueblos” as we learn about these historic Pueblos and their quest. Afternoon arrival in Santa Fe the capital of New Mexico, and a quintessential southwestern town for art, culture and history. Dominated by adobe buildings and pueblo style architecture, Santa Fe is home to hundreds of galleries, artisans and museums, all of which are heavily influenced by the beauty and immensity of the landscapes. Overnight in Santa Fe at the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi.
Monday May 22 – In Santa Fe – Full day excursion to Taos Today we will tour the “High Road to Taos”. This historic, scenic road is filled with Spanish, Pueblo and Mexican history. We’ll see villages, Missions, houses, ranches and shops that date back to the 1600s and 1700s. A stop will be made at Chimayó, a traditional weaving village with galleries featuring work by award-winning weavers. Here we will find the 19th-century Santuario de Chimayó, known as the “Lourdes of the Southwest”, that attracts thousands of pilgrims each year, seeking the “miraculous dirt” on church property rumored to have healing powers. Continue through the towns of Cordova, Truchas and Ojo Sarco which all have great galleries selling woodcarvings, pottery, rugs and other local arts and crafts. In Las Trampas, San Jose de Gracia de las Trampas, an 18th-century mission church, is one of New Mexico’s best-preserved examples of Spanish Colonial architecture. At Peñasco we wind our way through the Carson National Forest to Ranchos de Taos. Here we’ll see the famous San Francisco de Asis Church, which has been photographed and painted by many artists. Then into Taos to explore its museums, galleries, shops and have lunch. Midafternoon departure to historic Taos Pueblo where we have a Tewa guided tour of the Pueblo, learning about this scenic, ancient structure nestled up against the highest mountains in New Mexico, Mount Wheeler. Late afternoon we tour back down the Rio Grande Valley the “low road” to Santa Fe arriving about dinner hour.
Thursday, May 23- In Santa Fe A free day in Santa Fe. For those looking to get the highlights of Santa Fe there are enough art galleries, museums, street vendors and interesting curio shops in Santa Fe to take up days. If there’s any doubt that Santa Fe is a prime destination for art lovers, Canyon Road quashes it. Situated just east of the Santa Fe Plaza, Canyon Road is home to a slew of art galleries selling renowned artwork from famed artists such as Fernando Botero and cultural treasures like hand-woven Navajo rugs and Southwestern wood carvings. The area is touted as an art lover’s Mecca because of the variety of mediums used to highlight art. Pop into the different galleries (there are more than 50) along the street and you’ll find everything from jewellery and pottery to sculptures and paintings. The street itself is also a feast for the eye. Many of the galleries found here are housed in historic adobe buildings laced with brilliantly colored flowers. Art installations are often showcased outside and the spicy odor of chili peppers wafts from the doorways of top-notch eateries like Geronimo Restaurant and Compound Restaurant. Overnight in Santa Fe.
Friday, May 24 – Tour ends in Albuquerque
Transfer on our own with the local Santa Fe shuttle to Albuquerque airport for our return flight. Or stay on independently.
Includes:
Transfer on arrival
3 nights accommodations at the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Superior Lake View rooms
3 nights accommodations at the Rosewood Inn in Premier King bedrooms
Hotel service charges and taxes
Sightseeing as per itinerary
Sightseeing entrance fees
Park Rangers for some touring
Special tour of the Laguna Church
Transportation by min-vans
Our Hotels
Mescalero- The Inn of the Mountain Gods
While not one of the properties that we usually stay in, the Inn of the Mountain Gods is the best property in the area, and with our rooms facing their private lake, we will have an opportunity to enjoy the local scenery and when we have some extra time to walk the nearby trails, do some fishing or even a short round of golf. The hotel is known for its casino, but also has a multitude of restaurants for us.
Santa Fe- The Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi An intimate world-class retreat, Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi celebrates the enduring creative spirit and traditions of the region’s early Native Americans, the city’s rich cultural heritage as an early Spanish establishment and its ongoing legacy as an artist colony. The name and interiors of this Santa Fe boutique hotel pay homage to the area’s native Anasazi tribe, while the handcrafted textiles, paintings, carvings and baskets that make up the hotel’s extensive art collection are a vivid blend of Native, Hispanic and Anglo influences. With the city’s historic plaza just steps from the hotel doors, this sterling example of Santa Fe luxury hotel is uniquely New Mexican.
THIS TOUR IS NOW SOLD OUT
PRICE PER PERSON
Per Person in Double Occupancy room:
$1,599 payments via check or money order, $1,689 payments via credit card
INITIAL DEPOSIT
$350 ($369 by credit card) Non-Refundable deposit due on or before February 1, 2017 to hold space. Please Read separate Terms and Conditions and Tour Travel Insurance sheets
