We took the scenic Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe, the state capital and, apparently, one of the USA’s prime vacation destinations. We stopped en route at Tinkertown, a delightful piece of wacky roadside Americana. It was dreamt up by a guy called Ross Ward and is a ramshackle old building (created mainly from wheels and bottles) that is home to a vast array of miniature wooden figures fixed in incredibly intricate and often animated settings – all created by Ross “We Did All This While You Were Watching TV” Ward. Apparently the Dalai Lama found it delightful, and so did we!
The trail continued through more cowboy and Indian film footage and we finally ended up in Santa Fe. Stopped at the Burro Café for lunch and gave lots of travelling advice to our waitress who was about to spend a semester studying at Stirling University. (Could she have found a greater contrast to Santa Fe? Probably not). We walked around the shady plaza, viewed the oldest public building in America (The Governor’s Palace est. 1610) and strolled into the Santa Fe Basilica – possibly the best kept cathedral in the world thanks to its many sponsors, even the Stations of the Cross had their patrons listed next to each painting!
Altitude sickness got the best of us once more – we were another 3000ft above sea level – and we took the freeway back to Kirtland for our last night under canvas in New Mexico. Despite having had a fabulous time here, the 5 o’clock dust storm convinced us it is time to move on.
Today’s Tune: Santa Fe by Jonathon Larson
Wildlife Watch: Wild horses alongside the Turquoise Trail (possibly American quarter horses as favoured by the Native Americans)
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