Have you ever gone on a trip alone? Back in May 2009 I traveled to Santa Fe, NM all by myself (what a big girl!) for a Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Conference. It was honestly a little nerve racking at first to be far away from anything familiar. It's not like I was going off to college to find a place for myself, I was there for about 5 days total. All in all, it was a great little adventure for me and a growing experience. Once I landed in Albuquerque (which was quite the ride with the wind blowing the plane all over the place!) I picked up my rental car and headed out for Santa Fe.
For me, there is nothing like the feeling of driving on the open road, by myself, to a place I've never been before. Fortunately, my work allows me to do this on a regular basis, but this was a whole new ballgame in a brand new state. The rolling terrain, plateaus and red earth are striking. I stayed at the Eldorado Hotel & Spa which was within walking distance to the Convention Center where the conference was being held.
There was so much to take in. Of course there are the usual tourist traps with tons of turquoise, belt buckles, arrowheads, etc but there is soooo much more...the art, history, religion, cuisine! One of the first solo outings I went on was to the famous Loretto Chapel which has an amazing spiral staircase! In addition to that mysterious staircase there was more beauty to be found (the stain glass and altar are just a few examples).
I walked as much as I possibly could through the entire town. Some other highlights of my trip included going to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, The San Miguel Mission (pictured below), and driving up to Taos for the day (in the rain, which made for a breathtaking setting!).
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