Day 3: Santa Fe NM, and Amarillo TX

Santa Fe, the capital city on New Mexico  is  60 miles North of Albuquerque and we drove straight to a the visitors centre near the Capital State building and San Miguel Mission. We stopped en-route at a Trader Joe’s to stock up the drinks and other snacks.   We had a long drive waiting in the afternoon to Amarillo, Texas so picked up some beer so that I could enjoy them while Sheena drives. The guide at the visitor information center suggested that we should visit the State Capital building known as The Roundhouse to see millions worth art exhibits and a beautiful six acre garden with sculptures and fruit trees. The entry to the Roundhouse is free and the floors were active with state business but rather quiet for a working day.  Santa Fe is a hub for artists and probably this place gives an impressive preamble to the art scene in Santa Fe.  We spent a couple of hours looking at the paintings and sculptures and then proceeded to the San Miguel Mission church.

San Miguel Mission is one of the Spanish mission church built in early 17^th century and claimed to be the oldest church in the United States. We have been visiting all the 18^th century Spanish mission churches in California so this one in Santa Fe surely was an attraction because it is older and also the first one outside California.   The church was part opened as the maintenance work was in progress but we still got a good feel of the building and grounds.  There are many small eateries around the Mission church but when we looked up online, Casa Chimayo at Water Street stood out for their authentic descriptions and reviews. We had only one meal remaining to experience the flaunted Mexican cuisine offered in this city so decided to go with Chimayo.

Chile Ristras –a garland of chile pepper pods – are seen everywhere in Santa Fe and their sight alone strikes a spice chord and what follows is an instant heat and growling stomach.  Casa Chimayo had plenty of them hanging all over the entrance and the doorway.  Beers from Santa Fe brewing company was a good start and then we requested a red chile Pork Tamales with Calabacitas (a New Mexican style squash, pepper and corn mix) and a Pollo En Mole Rojo (chicken with  chocolate sauce). The Tamale was a palate pleaser with flavorful pork wrapped in a soft and moist corn flour shell with a mild flavorful Chile sauce on the top.  Mole Rojo calls for a complicated preparation and it was recommended by the server.   A slow cooked chocolate sauce blending in many spices and served over a grilled chicken breast was a novelty and quickly expelled any lingering doubts, about a chicken-chocolate mishmash, and we almost licked the plate clean. When finished with Chimayo we just wished we could go back home and crash to sleep until its evening.  Wishes aside, we walked to The Our Lady of Guadeloupe shrine, a church where its history goes back to 18th century. (It is odd that we are after historic churches in the U.S where the church history goes back only to 16^th Century. Whereas in Kerala, India we had churches from 1^st century and I had visited only a few. One reason I could think of is that I grew older here in the US and started paying attention to history only recently)

The Plaza at Santa Fe downtown is surrounded by shops and filled with tourists and locals alike. We parked in La Fonda Hotel garage for a fee and the hotel was nothing short of grand with a finely crafted lobby and an elite gift shop. Museum of Fine Arts looked appealing from outside but we skipped it for a downtown walk. Locals were selling handcrafted jewelry and paintings along the footpath and there was an array of boutique shops selling cloths, leather, jewelry, porcelain, etc.    The architecture of St. Francis Cathedral stood out from the Pueblo-Adobe buildings around it .  Outside the church stood a seven and a half feet tall, welcoming bronze statue of St. Kateri Tekkwitha, the first and recent saint from the Mohawk Indians. Round arches, Corinthian columns and extensive glass and wall paintings seem to attract a lot of visitors. Local youths, probably a church group, was rehearsing a Spanish play that took my memory back our church where we used to perform Christian themed plays almost every year.  Santa Fe downtown is also the present day terminus of El Camino Real de Tierra- A 1,600 miles long trade route between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico. Palace of Governors, an adobe structure where   government seated for centuries is now a state museum and chronicles the history of Santa Fe and the region.

Art, cuisine and spirituality dominated our thoughts while driving away from Santa Fe. A conscious effort among the locals to recognize each other’s history reflects in artifacts, building codes, food and conservation in general.  Sheena was behind the wheels as I just used a can of beer to douse my belly fire and Tara was ready for a nap after filling her little tummy with a large chocolate bar. Past the Old Spanish Trail, soon we were on US 285, driving on long stretches to reach Interstate 40 .To kill time, we invented a new game ;  guessing the miles between two hills.

 Amarillo by evening was the plan we started with. Other than the country song (Amarillo by Morning) and sporadic appearances in media, Amarillo is not a tourist destination. However, a colleague at Union Bank mentions this name often , we all now believe that Amarillo is a great place for steak dinners, quality schools , friendly people  and low cost of living. Our colleague Judy's daughter had relocated to Amarillo because of her husband’s good paying job in an oil rig. A lot of Judy's vacations these days are  spent in Amarillo with her three wonderful grand kids. We all knew when it was raining or snowing in Amarillo and some days the sun gets harsh and dehydrates the kids. It was okay for a passenger to sip margarita or beer in a moving car in Amarillo. We paid attention and that’s how Sheena ended up booking our stay in Amarillo. There were two things we planned to do; A steak dinner and visiting Cadillac Ranch. It was dark by the time we arrived at Amarillo so we straight away went to Salt Grass restaurant for a Texas steak dinner.

Salt Grass is a limited chain that serves various cuts of char grilled beef steaks. Warm Shiner Bock beer bread and honey butter starters vanished very quickly while waiting for the Rib eye.  Many styles of Shiner beers, a Texas brewery, were available on tap so it was a revisit of Des Moines beer days.  Sheena kept asking some questions or other to the serving lady only to listen to her sweet Southern accent, which she previously heard only in movies.   We also picked a half rack of ribs from the menu for Tara and she insisted a soda to go with it.   There is nothing outstanding about the food in general but it was an enjoyable meal in a pleasant restaurant.  While driving to the hotel that is sixteen miles west, we have realized, the hard way, that highway exits are designed differently and wasted some time in correcting the route.  Sheena’s uncle in Dallas called to know how far we have reached and he was making plans to meet up at Dallas, the following day.