February 19, 2026--Minden, Iowa to Dodge City, Kansas

6 am--We actually left Minden 15 minutes earlier than our original plan!  Speaking of plans, much to the amusement of David's co-workers, I have almost every detail of this roadtrip planned.  When we travel, any aggravation stems from decisions, so I'm trying to reduce some of that stress. 

Minden was in a winter storm warning that Thursday, and David wanted to get through Omaha before the morning commute traffic got too bad.  Our first stop was in Hebron, Nebraska.  Hebron is home to the "world's largest porch swing."

We made an unscheduled stop at the Cheyenne Bottoms Visitor Center, where we learned about the large wetlands area we were traveling through.  We were the first visitors of the day, even though it was mid-afternoon.  The man at the desk usually leads birding tours and explained a lot about the area.  They also had a classroom area that housed several snakes, spiders, and turtles.  We bought a postcard and a magnet and got back on the road after a nice visit.

After leaving Perryton, we headed toward Amarillo.  We passed a cotton field, which I had never seen before, and the landscape was quite varied as we headed south.  Although we had around 10+ inches of snow some places in Iowa, we were traveling under a cloudless sky with temps near 60.  About 30 miles north of Amarillo, we crossed the Sanford Dam, on the Canadian River, which forms Lake Meredith.  The lake looked particularly beautiful under the blue skies and was a contrast to the dry, brush terrain we had been passing through.  We mainly circumvented Amarillo, but we did stop to see the Cadillac Ranch, which wasn't quite what I was expecting.  It was too windy to do our own spray painting on the cars, but we did snap a few pictures.  

February 21, 2026--Tucumcari, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico

Happy Saturday!  We began our morning in Tucumcari with breakfast at Del's Restaurant.  Route 66 is celebrating its 100th year, and Del's is celebrating its 70th year.  Across the street from Del's was the cutest old Texaco station.  After breakfast, we looked around in TeePee Curios, then went back to our room at the Roadrunner to pack up.

I had allowed time to visit the Route 66 Museum in Tucumcari, but it is temporarily closed.  We used our extra time to take an interesting route to Pecos National Historic Park.  For over 100 miles, we were about the only vehicle on the road, passing many ranches and towns that had seen better days.  At Pecos, we learned how archaeologists use discarded items to learn about people of the past.  The museum part also told some of the history of Spanish priests trying to convert all the natives, and how the Pecos people eventually grew tired of it and ran them off.  They returned later, but they also introduced diseases alongside new agricultural practices, and the population greatly dwindled.  We had a beautiful sunny 1.5-mile walk through the grounds to see what was left of some of the Pecos communities and the church that the Spanish priests had the natives build.  

After leaving Pecos, we headed to Santa Fe, where we checked into our room at Las Palomas, a bed and breakfast-type property.  Our itinerary mentioned supper at The Shed, but it was booked with a 90 minute wait.  We used the Open Table app to secure a spot at another restaurant, The Ranch House, and had an excellent meal.  David had smoked prime rib and baked potato, and I enjoyed brisket with potato salad and baked beans.  We both had more than we could eat, so we saved the leftovers for Sunday evening.

February 22, 2026--Explore the Santa Fe Area

On Sunday morning, we attended Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.  It was an interesting service, with Native American drums playing as the priest and altar servers entered.  The scripture readings alternated between English and Spanish.  They had a full choir with instruments, and used a LOT of incense. Taking pictures during Mass would have been inappropriate, so I don't have any inside the church to share.

After Mass, we went to Loretto Chapel to see the miracle staircase.  It's an incredible story, so please click the link to learn more.  It is still a mystery who actually built the staircase, and where the wood came from.  

We then tried to find a place for brunch/lunch.  Pantry Rio, according to my planned itinerary, had a 90-minute wait, and the next place we tried had one as well.  We ended up at San Francisco Street Bar & Grill.  We were able to get right in, and it was quiet, bright, and clean.  I tried the Huevos Rancheros and asked for Christmas when given the choice of salsas.  That meant both red and green, and I was really glad I had cream in my iced coffee to tame the heat a bit.  After lunch, we walked around Santa Fe Plaza, where local artisans were selling their wares.  I bought a pair of earrings from a sweet Native American lady, then we headed to Chimayo.

Santuario de Chimayo is a holy shrine managed by the National Park Service and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.  The full story of the shrine can be found at the link, but it has a chapel with a hole containing holy dirt.  The hole was the site of the crucifix that is now in the chapel.  Priests had attempted to move the crucifix from this location to their chapel, but it kept returning to the original spot where it was found. They understood that God wanted them to build a church at the current site rather than move the crucifix.  Several miracles have been attributed to dirt from the hole, and visitors can take some home.  Crutches line the walls of this small chapel, where people have been healed.  People are not allowed to take pictures in the chapels, but if you check out the link at the beginning of this section, you can see some on their website.

On our way back from Chimayo, we stopped to visit Camel Rock, before heading back to Las Palomas to eat our leftovers and relax.

Our next adventure was at Petroglyph National Monument. Several trails were available.  We chose the Boca Negra Canyon trails.  The Mesa Point Trail is the most challenging hike I have been on for several years.  Although it was barely .2 miles, the elevation gain was 119 feet.  Archaeologists have dated some of the carvings in the section we were in as far back as 3000 years ago, but most were created between 1300 and 1700.