Non Ski trip to Taos, Santa Fe area

[Cruiser]

Side trip to Chimayo from Taos might be fun depending on your schedule. I never made it up there but my in laws loved the restaurant called Rancho de Chimayo.

[cat in january]

2nd Ojo Caliente as a place to check out. Also echo what huck bucket said about the smell of walking around Santa Fe-think it is Mesquite wood.

One of the stronger Native American cultures present there and as nutmegchoi noted some excellent shopping. If this is her trip, take one for the team and visit every shop and go back again and buy her something.

Food is excellent, but I do not have specific recommendations.

[geo039]

2nd Ojo Caliente as a place to check out. Also echo what huck bucket said about the smell of walking around Santa Fe-think it is Mesquite wood.

One of the stronger Native American cultures present there and as nutmegchoi noted some excellent shopping. If this is her trip, take one for the team and visit every shop and go back again and buy her something.

Food is excellent, but I do not have specific recommendations.

This and spend the money on 10k waves floating massage. Buy some green chili pepper jerky too!

[Meadow Skipper]

The smell is piñon and juniper burning.

And I remembered something good: get the fajitas at El Molero food cart, a pink and green thing usually found on the southwest corner of the plaza. Great stuff.

The hot stone massage at 10k Waves is something special.

Still waiting on interests so I can fine-tune the reccos.

[cat in january]

That's the wood. It is my favorite smelling burned wood in the world.

[hawkgt]

I think we need to see naked pics of your better half's friends before appropriate recommendations can be made

ahh, was waiting for this one, mags always deliver working on this per Ullr request and have filed the appropriate paper work with her media director.

for the record, Im not going, girls trip only. tried to weasel in a trip to Taos but no go, all the feedback is making me want to plan a ski trip that has been on the list for years.

wife and friend are low key, chill, and are not big $$$ spenders. Mainly taking in sites, light hiking, museums, little shopping and eats/beers. Into research right now and all the ideas are great. I think the spa/hot springs thing would be high on the list along will the food recommendations. Checking out accomodations first so they have jump off point.

thanks to all for responses, this place delivers.

[TheArbez]

Just to second recommendations and throw out a couple more...

Jambo, La Choza, Second Street Brewery, Tune Up - all great places to eat, and are cheaper than downtown. Make sure to try beer from La Cumbre and Santa Fe Brewing Co.

Lena St Lofts area is great for a morning or afternoon. Iconik has the best coffee in town, and there's a super eclectic ice cream place across the street. Great ceramics gallery too.

I'd recommend ghost ranch or tent rocks for hiking this time of year, they'll be warm enough, and probably not too muddy. Of course you can spend plenty of time walking downtown and Canyon Road. Chimayo might be an interesting excursion, the santuario is cool and the Rancho has good food, just stay on the beaten path and avoid the heroin users.

[Meadow Skipper]

^Good stuff.

Okay, one more post:
Museums: New Mexico Museum of Art. Georgia O'Keeffe, NM History Museum are all by the plaza. Or go up to Museum Hill and hit one, some, or all of those.

Light hiking: Tent Rocks, the Audubon Center, Dale Ball trails (central or north), or Tsankawi (outlier of Bandelier, near Los Alamos, with great views of the Sangres). At spring break there will likely be snow at higher elevations.

If they do the Canyon Road thing, El Farol tavern is at the east end of the galleries and worth a stop for the ladies to refresh and have beers/margs. On Canyon Road, Morningstar and Zaplin-Lambert galleries are museum quality.

[stapes]

Breakfast at Tia Sophia's - local favorite, thank me later.

Listen to this man. Fkna, what I'd give to be sitting in one of those booths right now.

[Meadow Skipper]

...Okay, one more post: ...

Yeah, right. But I was just downtown and thought of some more places to look at for lodging:
Inn of the Governors
Inn at the Loretto
The Hilton
Garrett's Desert Inn
The Old Santa Fe Inn

Those last two aren't as charming, but they're well located. Of course, I've never actually stayed at any of the places but I know people that have.

[DARvidBlaineMAGICK]

Hacienda del sol is a sweet bnB in town. The waitresses at Tim's stray dog cantina in the ski valley are notoriously amazing ha!!! But really, stop by at stray dog and say hi, I'll perform the margarita aptitude test on you and company.

The blue meth up here is blue razzberry flavored, I don't advise. Thewestisthefuture will hook up your undoubtedly more mature tastes..

[ill-advised strategy]

First meal I'd have if I could beam myself to Taos right now is smothered hash browns at El Taoseno.
Dinner at Guadalajara Grill
Drive the high road from SF to Taos as a minimum.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Road_to_Taos
...if you're feeling adventurous, head east from Penasco to Mora and through Guadalupita and Angel Fire. Then you can either take the long way through Red River, or the short way into Taos. It's nice country...don't crash out there, portions are 3rd worldish.

[ill-advised strategy]

Fully recognizing how odd this is, one of my favorite non-ski things in all of NM is to just sit up on Sandia Peak and look down on the city. (edit: Sandia Peak is a ski area, but also a non-ski thing...you can take a tram from the city or drive up the backside). Smoking some doobs, watching jets land and shit.

[nutmegchoi]

Wish I could've stayed up there longer.
But me and my friend started showing altitude sickness symptoms.
Our lips turned purple and started having massive headache.
Sucks living in sea level.

[Telemarketeer]

Orlando's is a must, and the margys at the Taos inn are bomb

Orlando's and Taos Mesa brewery are my two suggestions. I would drive to Taos just to eat at Orlando's.