ROUTE 66, Santa Fé, New Mexico

Oh beautiful Santa Fé. I had read about this old town in Gwen Bristow’s book “Jubilee Trail.” Its one of my all-time favorites telling the story of the conquest of California through the eyes of two young women. It depicts the times of the wagon trains in the 19th century when Americans went west, going out from St. Louis to either Oregon or California.

The Santa Fé trail connected Independence, Missouri with Santa Fé, New Mexico. Here, the traders from California met with those from the East, and life in Santa Fé was busy and prosperous. The traders met to exchange their goods, make their deals, order goods for the next season, and mostly returned to their respective homes.

Santa Fė’s population thrived serving the wagon trains. You can still happily eat, drink and stay at La Fonda, the oldest hotel, first mentioned as an Inn in 1821. La Fonda is still thriving and a beautiful example of the typical Adobe architecture of this area.

The town also was the last stop before the trains had to cross the Mojave Desert on their way across the mountains to California’s Los Angeles, a grueling task for humans and animals.

New Mexico classic dishes.

New Mexico cuisine is a blend of Native American, Spanish and Anglo tastes. We yet had to find a singular typical dish but found a strong influence of old Spanish dishes. More to this at a later time ... stay tuned.