Santa Fe NF - 05/19/16 - Santa Fe, NM

Thursday – May 19, 2016
Santa Fe National Forest
Black Canyon Campground
Santa Fe, New Mexico

We spent a delightful four days in Socorro and San Antonio, New Mexico, sampling the world’s best green chile cheeseburgers. It is time to move on to our next adventure.

This segment of our trip takes us to Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Capitol of New Mexico, to explore the historic culture this wonderful city has to offer. Santa Fe had a population of 69,204 in 2012. It’s renowned for its Pueblo-style architecture, the historic district’s crooked streets, it’s traditional Plaza, and as a creative arts hotbed.

Santa Fe (meaning "holy faith" in Spanish) is the capital of the state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state. This area was occupied for at least several hundred years by indigenous peoples who built villages. The city of Santa Fe, founded by Spanish colonists in 1610, is known as the oldest state capital city in the United States and the oldest city in New Mexico. The city's full name when founded was La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís (The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi).

The area of Santa Fe was originally occupied by indigenous people. They built a number of Pueblo villages about 1050 to 1150. One of the earliest known settlements in what today is downtown Santa Fe came sometime after 900. A Native American group built a cluster of homes that centered around the site of today's Plaza and spread for half a mile to the south and west; the village was called Ogapoge. The people settled along the Santa Fe River for its water and transportation.

While visiting Santa Fe our home base will be the Black Canyon Campground in the Santa Fe National Forest, located about eight miles north of Santa Fe.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

Travel Details:
Departed: Socorro, New Mexico
Departure Time: 11:15 A.M.
Arrived: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Arrival Time: 2:00 P.M.

Campground: Black Canyon
Type: National Forest
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: N 35.72791
Longitude: W 105.83967
Elevation: 8,450 Feet
Camping Fee: $10.00 ($5.00 with Golden Age Passport)
Campsite: 31
Campsite Hookups: None
Campground Amenities: Water Spigots, Vault Toilets
Total Campsites: 36

Cellular Service: Verizon – No Service
Internet Service: Verizon Jetpack – No Service
Dish TV Satellite Service: No Service (dense tree coverage blocking satellites)

Total miles traveled today: 144
Route Traveled:
North on Interstate 25 to Exit 282 B-A
Bishops Lodge Road
Artist Road (NM-475 to Campground)