DAY 2 - Gallup to Santa Fe

We were up and out of Gallup, NM at 7am, but before we skipped town we stopped at the “USA Road Trip Book” recommended Eagle Café for breakfast. Nothing fancy, green chili omelet, oatmeal and coffee. We saved some eggs for the pups – they love their eggs and ham!

The dogs were not thrilled with the 7am departure; a bit early for their liking

The drive from Gallup to Santa Fe is three hours, but the heavy snow increased travel time. There was a lot of amazing scenery throughout the drive – massive mesas that looked like oil tankers docked side by side.

Zuma took over driving duties so mom and I could rest a bit

We pulled into Santa Fe around noon and the city was covered in snow and still decked with holiday décor. Temperatures are ranging between 23 and 35. We checked into Eldorado Hotel & Spa – www.eldoradohotel.com. We knew it was a great hotel when they gave us dog treats at check in.


After getting settled we headed out for our first BBQ meal. We walked a few blocks to Cowgirl BBQ and feasted (see THE REVIEW and pics below).

After walking around town a bit and dropping in and out of the numerous Southwestern antique shops we headed back to the hotel to take the dogs for a walk and get ready for dinner. Dinner was at a local Santa Fe staple called Santa Café – www.santacafe.com. Delicious to say the least. Since it was not BBQ we didn’t do a full review, but I will say if you make it to Santa Fe this is a must. Try the seared scallops and mushroom risotto. The coffee bean ice cream with caramel polished it off perfectly (My Mom didn’t let me take pics).

I’m headed off to the hotel bar where they got live music. I’m debating bringing Zena since our initial walk through the lobby caused a stir and every girl in the place walked up to us.

Tomorrow we spend the whole day in Santa Fe exploring the famous cathedral, Georgia O’Keefe museum, city plaza and of course more BBQ.