6000 Mile EV Road Trip - Stay 1
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Written by John Martinson
On Saturday, June 15, 2024, we departed Scottsdale at 7:30 AM for Santa Fe, New Mexico for a 3-night stay. We made 4 Supercharger stops at Payson and Holbrook, Arizona, and Gallup and Albuquerque, New Mexico, arriving at 5:30 PM local time.
We left Tesla Caches at Payson and Gallup. For those who are not familiar, see Tesla Caching at (https://sites.google.com/view/teslacaching/home).
Last year, we left approximately 40 Tesla Caches of Suzanne’s Tesla Model X, “Summer Snow,” across our route. This year we plan to leave even more.
I will post each location we leave a car on my Facebook Group, TeslaRoadTrip.blog, as well as daily comments, photos, and Teslafi data. I will also post on DriveElectricAZ.org (found on the Blog page) and ValleyoftheSunEVA.org (found on the Member Stories page).
Santa Fe is a treasured place for us. My first trip here was with my parents, circa 1983, as part of a Heard Museum trip to visit various pueblos, most notably Acoma and Taos, Georgia O’Keeffe’s residence and museum, and other sites. The trip leader was Stewart Udall, former 3-term Arizona Congressman and Interior Secretary for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. It was my first introduction to the Land of Enchantment that is New Mexico and the prehistory of the Southwest. I would return many times. Suzanne and I have been here at least five times together before our current trip.
Our hotel, “The Inn of the Five Graces,” is an extraordinarily beautiful Relais & Chateau hotel in Santa Fe’s historical city center. The rooms, especially the bathrooms, are heavily festooned with very colorful mosaics depicting beautiful flowers, butterflies, birds, pots, suns, and other interesting designs. The rooms also feature rugs, furniture, and other architectural elements from India, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and other Central Asian and South-Asian cultures. Our suite, the Cottonwood, contains two entrances, a large living space, king bedroom, an extraordinary bathroom with large tub and shower covered in mosaics, stone-covered fireplace, and a powder room off the living room. Both doors open to charming seating areas with potted plants, shade trees, and lounges. Our nearby parking spot has a very convenient Tesla Destination charger. The grounds are beautiful and well-kept with patios for the two restaurants and speakeasy, surrounded by enormous Cottonwood trees. This is very romantic hotel was designed and is owned by Ira and Sylvia Seret, owners of Seret & Sons, described as “one of the world’s most unique collections of Central Asian Silk Road and South Asian imports.”
On one of our earlier trips to Santa Fe, some 20-plus years ago, we purchased a furniture piece from Ira Seret. Seret & Sons builds extraordinarily well-made furniture, which is then upholstered with one of the unique rugs from their vast store creating one-of-a-kind furniture. Upon entering the store on Sunday, Ira walked right up to me and welcomed me back. One of his employees told me that Ira has an extraordinary memory. We purchased several items for our home, and I spent some quality time chatting with Ira.
Santa Fe dining did not disappoint. We dined at the Inn’s Dragon Room upon our arrival, The Pink Adobe for Suzanne’s Birthday dinner the following night, The Shed for Monday’s lunch and Café Pasqual's for Monday dinner. Café Pasqual’s is a favorite we keep returning to, usually for breakfast, and the restaurant has a large community table, great for meeting locals and travelers. As a bonus, the Inn’s tasty gourmet breakfast is complimentary every morning.
Last year, I did my road trip blogging on my Apple Macbook, but this year, I am using an Apple Vision Pro, which allows me to have an unlimited number of screens, hopefully making writing and research easier.
------------------------------
Teslafi Data
Total Miles Used: 488.61 miles
Efficiency: 87.71%
Time Driven: 8 hrs, 14 mins
kWh Used: 151.56 kWh
Wh/Mile: 310 Wh
Average Temp: 89.93ºF
Charging kWh Added: 123.44 kWh
