Finding enchantment in Santa Fe

The long, hot drive across Texas and New Mexico for childhood summer vacations in Colorado was utter chaos with nine of us packed into an old Chevrolet Bel Air station wagon.

We fought over who got the very back seat, the one where you could see where you had been instead of where you were going. We'd dangle our feet out the rear window. Did I mention there was no air conditioning?

I thought the scenery was pretty boring — until you got past Albuquerque. Somewhere along the highway to Santa Fe, the desert took on a magical glow. Silvery sage brush dotted the pink landscape. Purple mountains rose in the background. Abandoned adobe structures looked like props from a movie set.

Dad never wanted to stop along the way. It was a pretty expensive proposition to let seven kids loose in a Running Indian roadside store, which was the equivalent of Buc-ee's in the '70s. He hated driving through Santa Fe; the highway routed you right through town. We would watch the shops and restaurants pass by, beckoning. The town looked like something from the past. It begged to be explored.

I vowed that when I grew up, I'd stop at every one of those spots, and I've been working on it. With 200 galleries and 250 restaurants, it's hard to distill the perfect itinerary. But if I were showing you around the Santa Fe area, here's where we would go:

Blue Rain: Leroy Garcia has put together a vibrant collection of contemporary American Indian artists at Blue Rain. Wife Tammy Garcia's huge clay pots are amazing for their size and beauty. The gallery also includes works of Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary, who has done collaborative works with Choctaw bead and glass artist Marcus Amerman.

Nedra Matteucci Galleries: The rooms of this beautiful space are filled with historical Southwest works from artists such as E. Irving Crouse, Henry Balink and Gustave Baumann. The sculpture garden, with pieces by Glenda Goodacre and Dan Ostermiller, includes a koi pond and waterfall.

Gerald Peters Gallery: The expansive Spanish pueblo houses a museum-quality collection of American masters and emerging masters, only these works are for sale.

Andrea Fisher Gallery: With works by Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo and Nancy Youngblood, who carries on the Tafoya tradition, this gallery shows the best of Southwest pottery.

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: I always try to visit my favorite flower painting, “Black Hollyhock Blue Larkspur” (1930) at the graceful Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, devoted to the artist whose studio is in Abiquiu, north of Santa Fe.

New Mexico Museum of Art: Gustave Baumann's woodcut prints, on display through December, aren't to be missed. His landscapes include yellow aspens, lilac trees and mountain scenes in vivid colors.

The Poeh Museum at Pojoaque Pueblo north of Santa Fe is devoted to the works of the Pueblo people, including artist Roxanne Swentzell. Her expressive, whimsical sculptures illustrate the Pueblo way of life. Swentzell's work is for sale next door at the Tower Gallery, the tallest adobe building in New Mexico.