Day 12&13: Santa Fe 7/12 7/13

The next day we got up early (again… notice a trend?) and went to the Canyon Road, which is the arts district in Santa Fe.  

Apparently it has the second biggest art city in the country second to NYC.  Who knew?  

We walked up and down the street checking out all the cool artwork and tons of sculptures.  It was really cool to check out.  

We ran a few errands after that and then went to the Cross of the Martyrs which is a Historical Monument to remember those who lost their lives fighting for Santa Fe.  

It had a cool trail and a GIANT cross at the top over looking the city.  

Again, it was hot, so we were going to take the dogs back to the hotel but I suggested we take Callie to get a bath because she was all greasy and smelly from her adventures at the gas station the day before.  We took her to a DIY dog bath place and she came out squeaky clean.  She deserved a spa day after all that!  We also stopped to get donuts at Whoo's Donuts.

 

They're made out of blue corn which made them taste more cakey and dense than usual donuts.  So good though!

We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit and clean up after sweating all day and then went down to the Plaza where all the Indian shops are.  

We met a nice woman from Boston who ran a shop who was so excited to hear about our trip.  We walked around a TON and check out a bunch of shops.  

After walking around so much in the sun I was dying for a beer so we found this rooftop bar that also had pizza and hung out there for a few hours.  

It was so nice just relaxing and chatting about the trip and everything else coming up in the next 6 weeks. 

The next morning we had plans to camp in the Santa Fe Nation Forest which was no lie like 20 minutes from downtown Santa Fe.  We stopped at the Tea House by the art district and got some of the most delicious Green Tea I have ever tasted.  He got and apply-pear concoction and I had a cherry-pineapple.  Both were unbelievable.  

Then we stopped at the RailYard and walked along the trails there.  The city of Santa Fe is trying to turn that into a cool little neighborhood to walk around.  It was obviously quiet in the morning but it was still cool to check out what was there. 

Next stop was Black Canyon Campground.  The campground was small but run by a really nice camp host and his wife who chatted with us a couple of times.  We had a really nice campsite too, away from everyone so it was nice, quiet and relaxing.  

We set up camp and then took the dogs for a 2ish mile walk around Black Canyon.  That was enough to tire them out in the heat and we spent a few hours lounging reading our books. 

 I was in the hammock with my buddy of course! 

Around 4 we decided we wanted to do another hike because we wouldn’t have time to squeeze one in during the morning.  We hiked about 4.5 miles to and from _______ Creek.  It was one of my favorite hikes because it was just right difficulty wise. 

 It was tough, but had rolling hills which gave you a break and a nice creek for the dogs to drink from at the end.  There was also a gorgeous meadow there which I didn’t expect at the bottom of a canyon.   

There we also met a woman originally from Saugus who had just moved to Santa Fe a few weeks ago.  She was happy to talk to some people from “home”!  We were exhausted after that second hike and third long walk of the day.  It was so beautiful out that we decided to sleep with the tent’s top off again. 

 Beautiful stars, clear night… BIG MISTAKE.  Around midnight the sky just opened up and started POURING.  Everything in our tent got soaked and Jeremy had to run to the car and find the tarp that goes over it.  It was most certainly the most miserable night we’ve had this trip.  

The temperature DROPPED when the storm came and we froze in soaked sleeping bags all night.  Between the two of us we maybe got 4 hours sleep.  Needless to say, as soon as the littlest bit of light started showing in the morning, we were UP and ready to go!  Colorado Springs and Pike’s Peak!  Next Stop!