On our way out of Taos, destination Santa Fe, The Peacemaker insisted we grab a green chile cheeseburger at 5 Star Burger. Highly rated on Yelp, of course.

Just outside Taos is a completely terrifying bridge sitting 600’ over the Rio Grande Gorge and Rio Grande River and for some ungodly reason I felt the need to stop and check it out. Not sure if I mentioned previously, but I have a debilitating fear of heights… nausea, weak knees, sweaty palms, shaking and glued in place, can’t move, kind of fear.

We arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the early afternoon of a gorgeous, sunny & 70+ degree Halloween, day 9 of 16.

I used some of our numerous credit card points and splurged on two rooms for two nights at The Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi Hotel in downtown. What a beautiful boutique hotel with a stellar location.

We took a lovely late afternoon walk to the historic Santa Fe Plaza where a mini marching band was performing Thriller while costumed spectators danced along. I think it was actually a small pro Biden rally because there were some signs and banners and one woman kept shouting F*^k Trump, but mostly everyone was just having an impromptu Halloween Party, with masks of course.

New Mexico had the strictest covid rules of any of the states we were in. We mostly ordered take out or delivery and ate in our hotel room, but this night, we opted for a Oaxacan restaurant and since there was no one else there, we chose patio dining. Honestly, Santa Fe was like a ghost town compared to the last time we visited. We were sad not to be able to purchase some handcrafted souvenirs from the artisans that normally line the plaza, but we understand the rules are for everyone’s safety.

All the dishes we ordered were amazing, mole sauces are their specialty, but I really wanted to try their Chile en Nogada because it is such a pretty dish, and so flavorful. A roasted poblano pepper dipped in batter lightly fried and filled with pork & beef, plantain, tomatoes, garlic, onion, apple, pear, peach, raisins and covered with a creamy almond & walnut sauce & pomegranate seeds.

Since I was still recuperating from our monster hike outside Taos two days prior, we decided to do a self-guided historic walking tour of Santa Fe on Sunday.

We totally did not want to leave the Anasazi or Santa Fe. Monday morning we stuck around just long enough to purchase a ristra (string of red chile peppers) 🌶🌶🌶 for each house, a bunch of hatch green chiles, and my favorite sandwich, Cafe Pasqual’s TOASTED BLT WITH GREEN CHILE AND CHILE BACON ~ Chile Rubbed Bacon, Roasted Green Chile Strips, Jack Cheese, Heirloom Tomato, Mayo, Toasted Chile~Cornbread.