Unique adventures: On the original Route 66 near Santa Fe NM
By Eileen Ogintz
Tribune Content Agency
Taking the Kids
What an adventure! Or maybe not so much. A century ago, it would have taken two days to drive the 62 miles from Albuquerque to Santa Fe in New Mexico.
That included spending a night in a tent. And at one point, everyone would have to get out of the car (likely a Ford) and hike two miles up a steep hill while a local drove the car up backward. That’s because cars did not yet have fuel pumps and relied on gravity to move the gasoline from the tank to the engine.
It was also dusty, bumpy and hot. Welcome to Route 66 as it was a century ago.
This year, the “Mother Road” celebrates its centennial with great fanfare. (November 4, in case you are wondering, is the exact anniversary of when the road officially opened). While visiting northern New Mexico recently, we had the opportunity to drive on the last unpaved stretch in Santa Fe in a 1973 open-sided Swiss Military Vehicle.
This was courtesy of a bespoke tour offered by Santa Fe’s Inn of The Five Graces on the Barrio de Analco in the heart of Santa Fe, the oldest continuously inhabited block in the United States, and Santa Fe Mountain Adventures, an outdoor adventure company.
The 2,448-mile highway ran from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, crossing eight states. Most of the route was replaced by interstate highways in the late 20th century, but many sections of old Route 66 remain.
This was the way Dust Bowl families migrated west, and later tourists traveled, spurring quirky motels and attractions. Think of the popular “Cars” movies, Disneyland Cars Land Radiator Springs Racers, and a Cars-themed section at Disney World’s Art of Animation Resort. A Cars expansion is in the works at the Magic Kingdom.
In Santa Fe, Route 66 merged with local historic streets (like Water Street and Cerrillos Road) near the historic Plaza. New Mexico, in fact, boasted 487 miles of Route 66, the longest of any state. Albuquerque has the longest urban stretch with neon signs, unique restaurants and shops.
Certainly, today’s travelers, especially well-heeled ones, are seeking unique, memorable experiences and that likely was the case for those early road trippers on Route 66, I would imagine. Just outside Santa Fe, The Four Seasons Rancho Encantado Santa Fe, has recently introduced The Mother Road Journey: Route 66-Themed City Tour designed to show guests how Santa Fe became a crossroads of travel dating back centuries.
Sometimes, these experiences are complimentary, perhaps a cooking demonstration, mixology or dance class or suggested stops on Route 66. RVshare highlights Route 66 stops that are turning the historic highway into a multi-state road trip as many travelers prioritize cost, flexibility and experience.
They can also be expensive – The Four Seasons Mother Road tour is more than $500. The longer tour we took, which included lunch and a visit to the living history museum El Rancho de las Golondrinas, cost considerably more.
The Four Seasons Encantado, unlike other resorts, has an entire staff to curate unique experiences for guests. They can offer anything from a special tour to Bandelier National Monument, with the chance to peek into the pueblos that Native Americans lived in thousands of years ago; shopping in Santa Fe for Native American jewelry and art and horseback riding on a ranch where some of the horses, and a buffalo named Clyde, have been featured in movies and TV shows made here.
But remember one person’s adventure is another’s nightmare. I remember a disheveled woman who stalked off a catamaran in the British West Indies, furious she couldn’t find a hotel room to rent with air conditioning. Her husband just looked at her sheepishly.
There was the dentist from Denver, deathly afraid of heights, whose wife had booked a hiking trip with fabulous views along the Amalfi Coast, but he couldn’t force himself to look down.
What must it have been like for the soldiers and traders who traveled the 1,600-mile route from Mexico City to Santa Fe as early as 1598, a trip that could take six difficult months? Not fun, I’m thinking, at least for many.
That historic road and this original stretch of Route 66 overlapped and followed the same path south of Santa Fe until Route 66 was realigned in 1937.
Early Route 66 also overlapped with the Santa Fe Trail that connected Missouri and Santa Fe, serving as the country’s first international commercial highway, after Mexico’s independence.
Route 66 was moved in 1937, bypassing Santa Fe – the order of outgoing governor Arthur T. Hannett in an effort to weaken the Santa Fe political machine. That’s why this stretch was abandoned and remains as it first was.
We finished our Route 66 tour tired and hot but a lot less worse for wear than those early road trippers. The experience certainly made me appreciate modern comforts as we retreated to our air-conditioned suite at the Inn at The Five Graces, spread over nine small buildings dating back to the 1600s but furnished with mosaics, wall hangings and rugs from Asia where owners Ira and Sylvia Seret lived and worked and now import for Seret & Sons, a huge emporium in Santa Fe that sells fine rugs, textiles and furniture to customers around the world.
Earlier in the week, we’d enjoyed an art and food-focused tour with Four Seasons Guide Deena Joseph, who raised four daughters in Santa Fe. She took us not only to famous Canyon Road, chock a block with galleries, but to the New Mexico capital, home to the New Mexico Capitol Art Collection with more than 600 works, including the amazing huge multimedia buffalo-head, the Farmer’s Market and Kakawa Chocolate House that produces chocolate elixirs from ancient recipes, chocolate truffles (many infused with chili!) and artisanal ice cream.
“We curate based on your interest,” and of course, the kids’ ages, explained Joseph. “Of course, you can go by yourself, but you miss so much without a guide who can tell you all the stories and history.”
Pass the truffles, please.
(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)
©2026 Eileen Ogintz. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.