Santa Fe, New Mexico’s pueblo-style adobe architecture and beautiful landscapes made it one of the prettiest places I’ve ever visited.
![Pueblo style adobe building in Santa Fe](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-82.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
My wife and I traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico for our first time to attend her cousin’s wedding. When we arrived there I was blown away by how unique and pretty it was. I’ve heard a lot about the city and see some photos of it, but none of it did justice like seeing it in person. The history there was amazing well, its history goes back over 400 years! That is a really long time for a city in the United States. It also has the Palace of the Governors, which is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the U.S.
When visiting a place for the first time, I frequently find it hard to take good photographs of it. It’s like I need time to observe and absorb it. It takes time to get familiar enough with a place to find those cool little details and moments to shoot. Sometimes though, looking at a place with brand new eyes makes you see things that you would have normally ignored. I was there for only three days and spent a lot of my time with the wedding attendees. So I didn’t have much time to dedicate to exploring and photographing the city. I did have a little bit of time on one of the days which is when I got these photos.
Downtown Santa Fe
The weather was amazing and the sky was a perfect blue contrasting with the tan pueblo-style adobe buildings.
![Pueblo Revival architecture](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-22.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![A turquoise window frame in an adobe style building](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-38.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![Flowers in the window of a Pueblo Revival style home](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-68.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
I love this mural so much, it was on a random wall in the yard of a house on the outskirts of the downtown area. After some research, I found out that the elephant is from a digital art piece by an artist named @truthbynature on Instagram. I don’t know who painted that mural though.
![A mural of an elephant on a swing in Santa Fe](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-45.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![A blanket with a skeleton in a top hat on it](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Santa-Fe-New-Mexico-iPhone-23.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![A lowrider in Santa Fe, New Mexico](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-5.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
Santa Fe’s Landscapes
We then made our way up into the mountains and spent a couple hours up there taking photos of the beautiful views.
![Sant Fe seen from the mountains](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-88.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![The beautiful mountains, tree, and skies in New Mexico](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Santa-Fe-New-Mexico-iPhone-92.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![tall Aspen trees](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-127.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![F-150 in the New Mexico mountains](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-138.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico in Santa Fe, New Mexico](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-166.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-192.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![A winding road in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/New-Mexico-247.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
Russell’s Travel Center Car and Collectible Museum
This isn’t in Santa Fe, it’s about three hours East of it. I included it here because we visited it after we left and were headed back home to Dallas. So, if you ever find yourself driving on Interstate 40 near the New Mexico and Texas border, you must stop and visit Russell’s Travel Center. From the outside, it looks like a nice large gas station for truck drivers and travelers. But once inside, if you go to the black, there is a massive classic car museum with memorabilia from the 30s to the 60s. It was one of the best roadside attractions I’ve ever been to.
![Russell's Truck & Travel Center auto museum](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Santa-Fe-New-Mexico-iPhone-170.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)
![Russell's Travel Center Car and Collectible Museum](https://emprubyub2a.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Santa-Fe-New-Mexico-iPhone-173.jpg?lossy=1&quality=85&webp=85&avif=80&sharp=1&ssl=1)