Toddler Revels in Santa Fe Arts

Most people, when they think of Santa Fe, think precious art, outdoor opera, and affluent Easterners lounging in vacation villas up in the Sangre de Christo Mountains. The galleries are snooty and the restaurants are ultra sophisticated. In other words, no place to take a toddler.

Photo by Julie Hatfield

But, we took Sam anyway, even though he's only 3 years old, because he lives near Santa Fe, and it was a good excuse to see him and the city in one visit. We'd been to Santa Fe previously, but that was before our grandson was born, and we wanted to see it through his eyes.

We set ourselves up at Las Palomas Bed & Breakfast because they offer individual casitas rather than hotel rooms with thin walls — Sam sometimes likes to make noise — and because it was an easy three-block walk to the center of town. But mostly, we chose it because the front desk has huge chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate, free, all day long, as well as a shelf full of games and children's books.

We never got to the games because Sam wanted to explore Santa Fe. He did this in a way we'd never done: While we strolled along the sidewalks, Sam jumped up on the adjacent stone walls and pretended to be a tightrope walker.

Canyon Road is the most famous street in town, filled with galleries and restaurants. We decided to let Sam lead us to whatever art captured his eyes. He opened our eyes to sculpture. Always heading into the galleries to see paintings, I had never realized how much sculpture there is on this road. Sam was delighted to stay outdoors and admire the giant, whimsical, freeform animals that line the way. "Horses!" he shouted as he spotted a full-sized metallic version of the animal gracing the front yard of a gallery. "That looks like Sherman," he noted when he saw an iron dog as big as his own Newfoundland pet. There were artist-rendered cats curled up at gallery entrances and, better still, all these creatures could be touched by a charmed little animal lover without anyone rushing over to protect the art.

Photo courtesy of Nedra Matteucci Galleries

At the bottom of Canyon Road are two galleries known for their sculpture. First we led Sam inside the Gerald Peters Gallery to see its rear garden filled with animal sculptures and a pond with swimming carp of all colors. This time, the fish, more than the art, intrigued Sam. He was mesmerized and would only leave them when we told him what was next door at the Nedra Matteucci Galleries. In its one-acre garden, among the metal chickens and rabbits, sits a life-sized elephant that spits water from his trunk into a pond. "Cool," said Sam, leaning in to catch the water spray.

Of the three museums we visited with Sam, one was a bad match, one frightened him, and one made him so happy that he cried when we pulled him away from it. We found the 10-year-old Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, the most visited museum in the state, is not the best for the littlest art aficionados. We love her dramatic paintings of New Mexico scenes, but Sam did not want to gaze at a flower or a sunset for more than a second. "Let's go look at more stuff," he suggested after five minutes in the O'Keeffe, and we know that's a 3-year-old's polite way of saying, "I'm bored."

When the man at the desk of the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture told Sam the story of an Indian ghost who roamed the area, Sam seemed to believe that she still haunted the dark halls of the place. Truly scared, he asked if we could leave because he didn't want to meet up with her around a corner.

Photo courtesy of Santa Fe Children�s Museum

We finished our museum hopping at the Santa Fe Children's Museum, one of the best of its kind we've ever seen. Everything is interactive and touchable, except for the pair of white doves which flew freely around the museum's greenhouse. Sam could have stayed and watched them for an hour if we hadn't wanted to show him the rest of the place. He laughed when we blew a giant soap bubble big enough to encase both of us without breaking.

Photo courtesy of Bishop's Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa

"More museum!" he sobbed, as we pulled him away for his first pony ride ever, at Bishop's Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa. They give free rides to toddlers every Sunday. Dinner in the lodge restaurant was chicken with roasted chile relleno for us, but Sam didn't want esoteric food. We ordered a cheese quesadilla for him and called it a pizza, which satisfied the little guy. He would have grown itchy and irritable waiting for us to finish our leisurely dinner had it not been for the guitarist, who fascinated Sam and let our grandson strum on the instrument after each song.