Note: I'm posting travel logs from a trip that ended last week - more info below.

5/13/2011
Took a day to enjoy the surroundings. After driving 1500 miles in two days, we managed to keep it down to about 20.  Would have preferred not to drive at all, but we had to do a few errands.
After a leisurely breakfast, we did a little exploring. There is a state park right next to our campground, so we walked over there to check it out, and took a short hike up the hillside. We were still getting acclimated to altitude, and Sue has trouble with it, so we took it easy.
Last time I was in Santa Fe, I noticed a restaurant near where I'd parked, on the edge of downtown. It looked good, but it wasn't open for breakfast. Since the Plaza was still not open, and looked like it never would, we gave this place a try.
It was called Tomasito's, and it was excellent. They served typical New Mexican food, both the red and green chile were great, service was too - we may stop there on the way back through.
We also found their local Annual Manual - a restaurant guide just like the Isthmus's here. That will be a useful resource.
Took care of some work, bought ice, and headed back up the mountain. I took a nice hike up another mountainside - this faced the other way, and reached the boundary of the Santa Fe watershed, which is a valley preserve where the rainwater that feeds the city is collected. I climbed about 1000 feet, which was plenty.

The watershed, with a heart-shaped meadow

Had a light dinner at the campsite - didn't need much after that lunch, and plotted our next moves.

(Later: I've mentioned the Plaza Cafe before, it's one of my favorite places, for the decor, service and especially the food. They'd been closed for remodeling, and I'd heard from people I'd sent there that they still hadn't opened after 6 months.
Since they still weren't open, I feared they were gone.
However, there's a rumor a movie is being filmed there (fairly common in NM) and their web page is still up: http://www.thefamousplazacafe.com/
I'm hoping it will be open soon. If you're in Santa Fe, please check it out, and if you get any news, please let me know!)
5/14/11
Drove slowly south, taking NM14 - a blue highway from Santa Fe - walked through a cute town called Madrid, lots of artists and funky resale - this is what happens to hippies when they get old…
One of the things I love about New Mexico is the variety of landscape. In the midwest, you have to drive 500 miles to see a minor difference. In NM, 50 or even 20 miles can give you a completely different perspective. Combined with a striking color palette, it's a beautiful place, and one I feel a strong affinity for.

Drove up a gravel forest road in the Manzano mountains for lunch - nice streamside in the middle of nowhere.

Part of it had been burned off, which made it kinda eerie. It was a major hawk nesting area.

We worked our way down into the high plains again. It was nice driving the two lanes on a Saturday afternoon, almost no traffic and no one was in a hurry. We stopped here and there to take pictures and wander around.

Once we got in the flats, we jumped on I-25 to get further south. Stopped a couple times looking for food and a place to stay, but there weren't any attractive options for a while.  I remembered Truth or Consequences having some interesting places, but either they've gone out of business or i couldn't find them.
We tried a state park that had a campground, but when we saw the giant tollbooth style entrance with big electronic signs, we figured we weren't in our comfort zone.
We ended up at Caballo State Park, which was desert funky - got a site right on the Rio Grande.  It had showers, which was a big thrill at that point.

Rio Grande in evening light

We asked at the gate if there was anywhere nearby to eat or buy food, and the answer was no.
Hatch was 20 miles away, and I'd been planning to go there if possible - it's the chile capitol of the world - but I hadn't planned on a 40 mile round trip for dinner. Oh, well, when you go to the middle of nowhere, you can't expect things to be nearby! The ranger seemed like the kind of guy who'd know, so I got some Hatch restaurant recommendations from him.
We went to a place called Sparky's - a semi famous burger joint. It had nice old bar decor, and excellent food. We went green chile wild. with green chile burger, green chile cheese fries, and a smoked pork and green chile burrito. I'd definitely go back there.
We'd been sleeping in the back of the truck so far, which was quite comfortable in the cold and windy areas.
It was hot and there were some bugs, so we tented for the first time. It worked out nicely, a little more hassle getting packed up again, but pleasant to be completely outdoors.