SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

Our first night in Santa Fe was spent in the Santa Fe National Forest at Hyde Memorial State Park.  Hyde Memorial is New Mexico's first State Park and is set in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along the Little Tesuque Creek. We could not have picked a better place to stay.  The drive up the mountain was absolutely beautiful, the campsites were nestled in the huge pine trees with beautiful hiking trails and even a play area for kids.  It was cool at night which in the EP is a huge bonus since we do not have air conditioning once we turn the engine off.  We walked along two of the trails and took photos of the beautiful scenery.  The kids played at the play area one night while I talked to some of the locals who were also camping.


July 12, 2014

It was so nice and cool when we woke up in the forrest that morning.  We took a short hike to explore before heading into town.  On the drive back down the mountain to Santa Fe you start to see all of the adorable adobe homes dotting the scenery.  We made our way directly to the plaza which was packed with people.  The most thrilling for the boys were the Indian craft makers who were selling jewelry, leather crafts and clay crafts that they made.  This was one place that they definitely wanted to buy a souvenir so they made their way down all of the selections before choosing.  My oldest DS chose a decorated tile and key chain while my youngest DS a leather wallet.

The plaza is surrounded by adorable shops, restaurants and live music.  We had lunch at The Plaza Cafe and then discovered Dream Cakes Gourmet Cupcakes, the best cupcakes that we have EVER tasted.  The cupcakes were so good that we were back on the second day waiting for them to open so that we could have one more before hitting the road again. If you find yourself anywhere near Santa Fe you have to make a beeline for the cupcake shop, you won't regret it.

We purchased fun socks in one of the shops, took pictures with a grill that was made to look like a bull, danced to the live music and explored the plaza.  It was a great two days

Just down the street from the Plaza is the The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis.  We were able to go inside of the beautiful church and snap a few photos.  We went back up the mountain to Hyde Memorial for our second night and the people that we had shared our campsite with the first night were still there thankfully because the way that they parked their cars made it look like both sites were taken when they were really only using one.  They were really nice and scooted their cars over so we could join them as well as offering us food and the use of their fire.

Santa Fe is a beautiful city and a great place to visit.