Road Trip of the Ancients – Part Two
(Read part one – Castles in Chaco Canyon)
I thought I’d sandwich a post dedicated to our stay in Farmington, New Mexico, between two posts about our visits to ancient sites in the American Southwest.
There are several ways to reach Farmington, New Mexico, from Loveland, Colorado. We drove via Highway 285, through Antonito to Chama and on to Farmington. It follows part of the Los Cominos Antiguos Scenic Byway. We traveled another part of it during our Northern New Mexico Road Trip.
Antonito, about 30 minutes south of Alamosa, is famous for being the home to the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad, Cano’s Castle, and Indiana Jones’ childhood home. Of course, we must stop at Indiana’s childhood home every time we go through town.
Why We Visited Antonito, Colorado: An Indiana Jones Story
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the famous railway in Antonito. The Cumbres & Toltec runs 64 miles between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico. Crossing the border 11 times as it travels, it’s the most scenic train I’ve been on in Colorado (and I’ve been on them all except the Royal Gorge).
A Scenic Railroad Like No Other: Cumbres & Toltec (2015)
Chama is an adorable little town where we stopped briefly for coffee. We’d like to go back and stay as there is a bit more of everything since I stayed in Chama a decade ago. That includes this place.
On these anniversary road trips, we don’t rush. We mosey along, rarely taking the most direct route to our destination. This leads to less freeway boringness and the occasional wrong turn, which happened on our I’m Your Huckleberry Road Trip to Dodge City, Kansas.
By the time we reached Farmington, it was 6 p.m. Our Airbnb, the Turquoise Hidaway, is a charming addition to a home in a quiet neighborhood where bird chirping is the only sound we heard during our three-night stay. I used my Merlin bird app to record the various birds we could hear in the backyard each morning.
The most interesting captures from the yard were a Cedar Waxwing, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Mountain Bluebird, and MacGillivray’s Warbler. I realize these aren’t rare birds, but I am a confessed amateur bird nerd, and it was exciting for me.
We ended up booking this place for an additional night, which is probably the best review I could give it. Planning to move to the nearby town of Aztec for the third night, we were already cozy and comfortable. Plus, the Turquoise Hideaway is within walking distance of downtown Farmington, so we stayed.
The comfy bed, walking distance to town, and price were deciding factors. We paid an average of $125 per night, including taxes and fees — an excellent value in my opinion.
When compared to most places I travel in Colorado, everything in Farmington felt like it was on sale, from a pint of beer to a restaurant entree. Everything except for gasoline. Despite this being an oil and gas country (we saw fracking sites galore), gasoline prices were identical to what we pay in Colorado.
The walk from our Airbnb to downtown involves a stroll downhill, by a fantastic coffee shop (more on that later), and on to one of the best blocks in New Mexico. Located on this block are Three Rivers Eatery & Brewhouse, The Pizzeria, The Brewstillery Lounge, and Tap Room. All are part of the Three Rivers brand, and we visited each of these businesses while in Farmington.
On the first night, we had a beer at the Tap Room and pizza at The Pizzeria (I liked the cheesy green chile bread better than the pizza). On the second night, we ate The Chile Pod, which is just one block away, and had some of the best red chile I’ve ever eaten.
There is meat in the Chile Pod’s red chile, which was new to me, but many times, red chile is made with meat in this part of New Mexico. I try to eat my weight in red chile when I’m in New Mexico, because while I love Colorado green chile, red is rarely available in the Rocky Mountain State.
On the third night, I had delicious green chile lasagna at Three Rivers Eatery & Brewhouse. We followed our dinner up with excellent $10 craft cocktails at The Lounge, where they make their spirits.
And speaking of spirits, we stopped for a beer at Bow & Arrow, and one at Lauter Haus Brewing Co. Neither brewery is located downtown, but we make an effort to try new breweries when we’re in a new-to-us town. These two spots couldn’t be more different.
Bow & Arrow is a satellite taproom with the brewery in Albuquerque. It has an airy and modern feel. Located in a nondescript strip mall in what seems like the new-ish part of town with chain restaurants, chain stores, and car lots, Bow & Arrow makes solid beer. My Southwesty West Coast IPA was my favorite beer on this road trip.
Lauter Haus includes an arcade area, a big stage, and a dance floor. With a bit of a warehouse feel and a permanent food truck out front, we liked the vibe and the beer.
We ate one packed lunch while spending the day in Chaco Canyon. On Sunday, we had to catch the Nuggets playoff game and headed to Crackers’ Sports Bar. We’d been told this was the spot to watch sports in Farmington, and they were right.
Also home to the Farmington bowling alley, Crackers’ Sports Bar is covered in televisions and sports paraphernalia. The fact that I only took one photo is proof that the game was terrible. As this was the day of our anniversary, and this is the second time the Nuggets have lost a playoff game on our anniversary, our moods were not good. Last year, we spent a sad evening watching at Central Station in Dodge City, Kansas.
Happily, the staff at Crackers’ is a super friendly group of guys, and the wings are fat and juicy. If you need a sports fix in Farmington, New Mexico, this is the place to go.
To clear our minds of the terrible basketball game, we took a long walk along the Animas River. There is a surprising number of rivers in Farmington. The confluence of the Animas, San Juan, and La Plata is here, and means that people have lived in this area for thousands of years. It also means lots of riverfront trails, and we took full advantage.
The Chaco Canyon area is colored in various shades of brown, with some greenish brown ground cover, little orange flowers, and the occasional scrawny tree. Farmington, however, is quite green, and in fact, the drive back from Chaco took us through the Town of Bloomington and some lush farmland. Of course, it was May, but I was still impressed with the unexpected vibrant green hues.
As far as breakfasts, we ate two at our Airbnb. The kitchen was well-appointed, and every morning we made coffee, and I put together various kinds of bagel sandwiches. One day, however, we went to a restaurant that happens to be a New Mexico tradition.
No, not Blake’s LOTABURGER (we didn’t make it there this time), but Weck’s. Open in 1991, every person we asked about breakfast in Farmington said to go to Weck’s. Today, there are 13 locations, all in New Mexico.
The staff wear t-shirts that ask, “Got Chile?” The back reads: “Red, Green, X-Mas.” Christmas style is when a meal like a breakfast burrito, an enchilada, or rellenos comes smothered in green chile on one side and red chile on the other.
“Christmas style” is 100 percent a “New Mexico” thing, and I happily indulge when I’m in the state. At Weck’s, I had New Mexico Benedict, which comes with one egg smothered in green and the other in red.
On our last day in town, we stopped in for coffee at Artifacts 302. Just down the hill from our Airbnb, this bake shop, art gallery, and event venue is an innovative and creative space in downtown Farmington. If I lived in town or could remote work for a month or two, I’d be here daily.
Greeted by paintings of celebrity cowboy greats, like John Wayne and Kurt Russell (Wyatt Earp), in the entry gallery, entering Artifacts 302 inspires creativity. And not just because they have caffeinated drinks.
The 107-year-old building, a former lumber and hardware business, is filled with interesting things. There are New Mexico-made gifts, artist spaces, a bake shop, serving coffee and pastries, plus a large, inviting space for meeting with friends or working on one’s laptop. All the walls are covered with art. Currently, the event/coffee shop walls are blooming with colorful flower paintings, bright, happy, and summer-like.
As we walked through the artists’ galleries, a long-haired calico cat sauntered around the corner, determined to make its presence known with a rather loud meow. This particular artist’s cubicle had a blanket-covered armchair, which probably belonged to said cat. After picking up the cat, now silenced with pets, Ryan proceeded to sit down.
As the cat person in the family, he’d still be there, sitting in that chair, petting that cat, if I hadn’t reminded him that we had to get to Chimney Rock National Monument and Pagosa Springs that day.
Farmington is a workaday city. It hasn’t been carefully curated for tourists, but rather it caters to the locals who call this place home. To get a peek at life in Farmington and the Four Corners area, a spot where life has been happening for thousands of years, spend a few days at the Turquoise Hideaway. You might learn a thing or two about this wondrous country we call the United States. I did.
