Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
288
The
Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology
has interpretative exhibits of
a Spanish ranch house and Native American anthropology, and the
Ruth Hall Paleon-
tology Museum
(both museums
&
505/685-4333;
www.ghostranch.org) displays fos-
sils of the early dinosaur named coelophysis found on the ranch. A lightly built creature,
it was very fast when chasing prey. It roamed the area 250 million years ago, making it
the oldest dinosaur found in New Mexico.
Many dinosaur skeletons have been found in rocks along the base of cliffs near
Abiquiu Reservoir
(
&
505/685-4371
), a popular boating and fishing spot formed by
the Abiquiu Dam.
A good place to stay and dine in the area is the
Abiquiu Inn
, a small country inn,
restaurant, art gallery, and gift shop, a half-mile north of the village of Abiquiu (
&
505/
685-4378
). The casitas are especially nice. Rates are $139 to $199.
Heading south from Abiquiu, watch for
Dar al Islam
(
&
505/685-4515
), a spiritual
center with a circular Middle Eastern-style mosque made of adobe; the small community
of
Mendanales,
is the home of renowned weaver Cordelia Coronado; and
Hernandez,
the village immortalized in Ansel Adams's famous 1941 photograph
Moonrise, Hernan-
dez, New Mexico.
Rancho de San Juan
(p. 199) is a wonderful nearby place to stay and
dine.
7
LAS VEGAS & ENVIRONS
21 miles E of Santa Fe; 59 miles SE of Taos; 141 miles NE of Albuquerque
Once known as the “gateway to New Mexico,” Las Vegas, a pleasant town in the foothills
of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, was founded with a land grant from the Mexican
government in 1835. A group of 29 Spanish colonists planted crops in the area and built
a central plaza, which started out as a meeting place and a defense against Indian attack
but soon became a main trading center on the Santa Fe Trail. Las Vegas boomed with the
advent of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway in 1879; almost overnight the
town became the most important trading center and gathering place in the state and one
of the largest towns in the Rocky Mountain West, rivaling Denver, Tucson, and El Paso
in size.
Town settlers who arrived by train in the late 19th century shunned the indigenous
adobe architecture, favoring instead building styles more typical of the Midwest or New
England. They put up scores of fancy Queen Anne- and Victorian-style houses and
hotels, and the town is noted to this day for its dazzling diversity of architectural styles.
Some 900 buildings in Las Vegas are on the National Register of Historic Places.
10
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
From Santa Fe, take I-25 northeast 60 miles (1
1
/
4
hr.); from Raton,
take I-25 south 105 miles (1
3
/
4
hr.); from Taos, follow NM 518 southeast 78 miles
through Mora (2 hr.); from Tucumcari, follow NM 104 west 112 miles (2 hr.). Las Vegas
Municipal Airport handles private flights and charters but has no regularly scheduled
commercial service.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
Las Vegas & San Miguel County Chamber of Com-
merce
is at 503 Sixth St. (P.O. Box 128), Las Vegas, NM 87701 (
&
800/832-5947
or
505/425-8631; www.lvsmchamber.org). It's open weekdays from 9am to 5pm.
