Our trip was completely wonderful, all went well! (whew!) Our highlights were varied for all of us, but I think that hands down we all loved our VW Eurovan camper! We rented it from a small company called Leaving Las Vegas, this wonderful couple has 7 campers ready for rental. If you want to take a special road-trip vacation anywhere around Las Vegas I would suggest calling these guys. We went as far as Santa Fe and then back to Las Vegas in our camper and it was perfection! Easy to pull into any campground and we even camped a couple of nights without a campground (out in the open desert of Monument Valley), it was all pretty effortless and a whole bunch of fun!
Santa Fe was one of our big destinations and we fell in love with the place! We arrived at night and as we came in from the mountains it was beautiful but all I could think about was that I wished it was daylight so I could see everything. BUT it was nighttime... we made a mistake and had NO idea how long it would take to drive through the mountains, but it was a fun and exciting drive through the Jemez Mountains.
We decided to stay in a hotel that first night so we could figure out where we were and funny enough we woke up the next morning right next to Whole Foods and in an Artists District (well, I have come to think that ALL of Santa Fe is an Artists District, but we were happy with where we landed). Everything became somehow effortless in Santa Fe, delightful people, so interested in our Eurovan (and we saw many more here!) and interesting to talk to. We once pulled up in front of a gallery and as we all hopped out of our camper and we started talking to each other, it was as if we had been friends for years... The people in this town were so welcoming!
We found an odd little campground right outside of the town called "Rancheros de Santa Fe" it was as if it was stuck in time but perfect for us, it even had a movie for the kids each night! Camping in Santa Fe in the summertime is easy and the weather is perfect, warm in the daytime and cool at night. We didn't make terribly eventful excursions and just checked out the town and it's surroundings. Probably the most wonderful part of Santa Fe and missing in towns in the US is the central town square. There was music being played of all kinds during the day and night. People were just hanging out and listening or even dancing. There is a large church just off the square, the St. Francis Basilica Cathedral which reminds me of the beautiful churches of Italy. The galleries were inspiring and then there was my favorite... The Teahouse! There were playgrounds for the kids that were fun but they liked to walk around in the square the best.
Needless to say we will be back for more... and who knows... maybe we will move there some day!! If you want to ask us questions or you are planning to visit - don't hesitate I would love to share more information!
(sorry, somehow that's my only photo of Santa Fe, of the square out the car window, I guess we were having so much fun we forgot to photograph!)
