I spent last weekend in New Mexico. I had always wanted to visit the American southwest, so I thought it was about time for a three day weekend trip there. My internet research helped narrow down my selections for an itinerary. I was very pleased with my choices.

The connecting flight at O’Hare airport in Chicago seemed to have several cafes serving some vegan fare such as Goose Island and Fresh Market On The Go. Some of these cafes and kiosks offered vegan sandwiches such as portabello wraps. These limited vegan choices were far better than other airports which offer nothing but vegetarian sandwiches with cheese. My return connecting flight was from Denver. Although I did not more than a few minutes to glance around this airport, it appeared that there were a few restaurants there also which offered vegan sandwiches.

The first day of my holiday was spent in Albuquerque. The popular tourist destination here is the Old Town area. This is where you find the shops, restaurants, historic churches, and many museums. Of course, I just had to cram all of this activity into the one day and I did!

My first stop was the Turquoise Museum. The museum collection held different grade and quality turquoise pieces. The entrance looks like an underground mine. The walls have descriptive postings of the different types of turquoise, the jewelry-making process, and samples of the turquoise in each step of its formation. It was worth the visit, as the Turquoise Trail is an important part of this region’s history.

Next stop was the Albuquerque History and Art Museum. In front of the building were quite a few bronze statues of various southwestern figures and scenes. Great photo opp! The museum holds collections of southwestern landscape art, some indigenous art, and some contemporary art works. The history museum also contains information on the history of the New Mexico region, the Indian settlements and pueblos, and the Spanish who came to conquer.

After the museum tours, I visited the San Felipe de Neri Church and stayed for part of the mass. Its a 300 year old Catholic church, the oldest building in the city. I then decided to wander about Old Town. I gazed around the shops at the variety of indigenous pottery, statues, jewelry and other items. My purchases included Desert Sage perfume and a Route 66 travel bag. Other items I could not resist buying were a red chile pepper, dark chocolate bar and green chile pepper, peanut brittle. I took the bus to another part of the city to have dinner at the vegetarian yet vegan-friendly Annapurna restaurant, along historic route 66. I dined on tofu and vegetable burrito with jicama salad and beans. My beverage was a ginger lemon juice. The meal was delicious!

The next day, I hopped on the Railrunner train (which actually sounds a “Mbeep” like the roadrunner from the cartoon) and for $7 roundtrip I headed to Santa Fe. This was a one day trip in which I scurried around town like the energizer bunny! The San Miguel Mission is the oldest church in the country..build in 1610. Apparently it is haunted but the clerk has never seen anything! You can purchase many Indian and religious items in their gift shop. I bought some Catholic religious jewelry, holy water and some Indian “good luck” jewelry with significant symbols. I then walked down the Old Santa Fe Trail Road to the Loretto Chapel. In the late 1800’s, the bishop wanted a Catholic church for this new US territory, so work began. It is known for its miraculous staircase which is known for not having any support to hold it in tact. It is a popular tourist attraction. I purchased more holy water here.

My mission was to visit several more landmarks. I then proceeded to the St. Francis Of Assisi Church. It is a 400 year old chapel. I purchased some St. Francis souvenirs. My next goal was to finally eat lunch! I stopped at a very elegant looking restaurant which is part of a hotel called La Fonda. The restaurant is La Plazuela. The waitress was very knowledgeable about their vegan options and ingredients. I dined on typical southwestern fare, a stuffed poblano chile pepper with veggies, roasted corn, tofu and black beans. My beverage was an herbal iced tea. The meal was fabulous!

Then it was time for more museums and more shopping! The New Mexico History Museum and Art Museum are both treasure troves for telling the region’s story in word and image. They hold many historic artifacts. I highly recommend them for tourists. I did not want to be late for my train ride back to Albuquerque, so I quickly walked my way throughout the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. It maintains many pieces of her picturesque landscape scenes and flower paintings. There was still some time before the train arrived, so I stopped for more souvenirs at a few shops in the plaza. I had set aside just a half hour for dinner, before leaving for the train station. My dinner was eaten at Cafe Pasquals. They prepared a vegan enchilada with chocolate and pepper mole sauce, pinto beans, and cilantro rice. It was superb! My beverage was a pomegranate juice. The train got me back to my Albuquerque hotel in just over an hour.

For my final day in New Mexico, I decided to rent a car so I could drive one hour west of the city to visit Acoma Pueblo. This historic pueblo is approximately 1,000 years old. The drive along interstate 40 was extremely picturesque! There were the Colorado Rocky Mountains in the backdrop, miles and miles of green landscape with tumbleweed brush, and simply gorgeous mesas, bluffs, plateaus and canyons.!

When I arrived at Acoma Pueblo Sky City, my first destinations were the gift shop and the Haak’u Museum which reflected the pueblo’s history. Its one of the oldest pueblos in the state. I purchased a small Acoma clay pottery vase for $30. The tour bus and guide met the travelers for a 1.5 hour tour. We stopped at the San Esteban del Rey Mission church, the pueblo’s plaza where they hold meetings and native dances, and we strolled through the village of native adobe homes at this 7,000 feet above sea level community. It was my first visit to an Indian pueblo. I really wanted to see an original Native American pueblo village! The native artisans sell their pottery and jewelry all around the pueblo area. I had time to stop for lunch at the pueblo’s cafe. I dined on a vegan version of a typical Native American dish. It was a corn tamale filled with vegetables and corn with a side of pinto beans and clay oven baked bread. It was a wonderful lunchtime feast!

My visit to New Mexico was filled with scenic landscapes, historic museums, an enjoyable visit to a native American pueblo, and amazing vegan dining!