Travelrific® Travel Journal
A blog for travel enthusiasts. Listen to our podcasts at Travelrific® Radio, and visit our Wanderful Places® Travel Shop!Archive for new mexico
The Land of Enchantment
By Linda Tancs
New Mexico is a state in the southwestern U.S., a terrain of mountains, high plains and desert so captivating it earns its nickname as the land of enchantment. You’ll be sure to expand your horizons (literally speaking) with visits to places as diverse as the ancient Carlsbad Caverns, the white sand dunes at White Sands National Monument and the highest point at Wheeler Peak northeast of Taos. Learn more at Travelrific® Radio.
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Oldest Zoo in Southwest
By Linda Tancs
Established in 1898, the Alameda Park Zoo in Alamogordo, New Mexico is the oldest zoo in the U.S. Southwest. Open daily except for Christmas and New Year’s Day, the zoo has more than 12 acres and over 250 exotic and indigenous animals. Perhaps the most famous animal in the area is the one memorialized in nearby Lincoln National Forest, home of Smokey the Bear, known the world over for forest fire prevention. The wilds of the West are waiting for you.
400 Years of Culture in Santa Fe
By Linda Tancs
New Mexico’s capital city of Santa Fe is celebrating its 400th anniversary all year long. So what’s in it for you? Plenty. Be inspired by the landscape often depicted by American painter Georgia O’Keeffe, whose works are exhibited in the city’s Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Nicknamed “The City Different,” Santa Fe is the product of centuries of co-existence among Native Americans, Spanish, Mexican, European and African Americans. For instance, Canyon Road was a route by which Native Americans brought their goods to trade with the Spanish settlers in the Plaza de Santa Fe, where the Spanish began to build their adobe homes in the 1750s. A fine example of adobe is the Palace of the Governors, which served as Spain’s seat of government for the entire Southwest region. In this city also stands North America’s oldest church, San Miguel Chapel, whose adobe walls were constructed around 1610. Another curiosity is the Loretto Chapel, drawing visitors the world over for its remarkable spiral staircase to the choir loft built without any visible means of support with nails or beams, considered a miracle by the convent’s Sisters of Loretto. Other attractions include world-renowned art galleries, marketplaces, and performance venues, accessible on foot or by city bus.
Feeling the Heat in New Mexico
By Linda Tancs
With summertime heat gripping the northeastern U.S. these days, there’s no need to daydream about warm days and cool nights. But, hey, it’s only early spring so the day will come when the weather will match the calendar again. Then you might want to consider a dip in the 100-degree waters of Ojo Caliente, little more than an hour away from Santa Fe. The little town in New Mexico (population: 1000, give or take) lays claim to the country’s first natural spa, discovered in the 1500s by the Spaniards, who gave the place the name Ojo, or hot eye. Accommodations at the site range from garden variety hotel rooms to cliffside suites that won’t leave your wallet in tatters. So you can steep in the springs, not in the prices.
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The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.
