If you’ve ever driven north on Highway 550 from Albuquerque to Farmington and Durango you’ve had a chance to visit or drive through Bloomfield. Your first impression would undoubtedly be, “why would I want to spend any time here … there’s nothing to do!” Boy would you be wrong and Bloomfield Mayor, Scott Eckstein and City Manager, Keith Johnson, would beg to differ, too! We were in Bloomfield for three days and could easily have spent three more. Fishing, hiking, eating, ruins exploring and a whole lot more make Bloomfield one of those places you do want to stay for awhile.
So … what did we see? Let’s start with Larry Baker, the Superintendent of Salmon Ruins, which is nearly in downtown Bloomfield. These ruins were in pristine condition and unexplored until excavation began in the 1970’s. That’s right … the 1970’s and Larry was there when it all started. The Salmon family lived right next to the ruins and obviously cared enough to keep looters and vandals out. The visitor’s center is loaded with information about the ruins and all you’ll see. A great gift shop gives you many reasons to open your wallet (as I did!) and make spending several hours a real treat. Larry and his staff are there to answer questions and maybe even take you on a walking tour of not only the ruins but of the Salmon family home and other buildings on the premises. This is another of those “WOW!” experiences that you wouldn’t expect to find right in town.
Unless … you go next door to Aztec to see the Aztec Ruins, which also happen to be right down town (okay … close to it). The Aztec Ruins big draw is a completely reconstructed kiva that gives you a first hand view of what it would have been like to participate in meetings and ceremonies that may have been conducted here. The ruins themselves are spectacular and the kiva is really the frosting on the cake.
Like fishing? Well the San Juan Quality Waters offers some of the best fly fishing in the entire country. Our Travel Guide New Mexico fishing guide, Chuck Domenici from Charlie’s Sporting Goods in Albuquerque, gave us some great insight into how to the catch the big ones. If you’re into fishing be sure and watch Chuck’s piece on our TV show or right here on our website.
On Location with San Juan Quality Waters
My oldest son, Ian, came from Wyoming to fish the Quality Waters and was blown away. He said he had never had a fishing experience like this one and that says quite a lot from someone who regularly fishes the Snake River in Wyoming. He’s planning on coming back and spending a week in Bloomfield fishing and I’ll be right there with him. And there’s lots of boating, swimming and paddling just on the other side of the quality waters dam!
After a tiring day we took a walk with our four legged friend, Jack, along the brick river walk. Jack, star of “Jack’s Tracks” on our TV show, had a great time as did the rest of our crew just crusin’ down river walk at dusk. A great time!
Angel Peak is an easy drive south on 550. Chuck and I didn’t know what to expect at Angel Peak, which you can see while driving down the highway. Well let me tell you about a mile off the road (exit at mile marker 137) we had the surprise of a lifetime. The road into Angel Peak comes to a dramatic STOP … and down below, several hundred feet, is the “Badlands of New Mexico” with Angel Peak pointing the way! Now this was ab-so-lute-ly incredible! You can drive the rim and get a close up view of Angel Peak. Or, you can backtrack about 6.2 miles to mile marker 143 and head down San Juan County Road 7020 into the labyrinth of the badlands.
This road is well maintained because it is used today by oil and gas companies and it is a real trip to see the Bad Lands from up above and then down below. All kinds of interesting rock formations, peaks and dry river beds. Oh … be careful when you go because you do need to cross back and forth over the river beds and we all know what can happen quickly in New Mexico with a little rain!
Pack a picnic lunch and take plenty of water. There are no facilities of any kind in the Bad Lands and I promise you’ll want to drive the entire length and width. Lots of hiking opportunities both down below and up above. On top there are FREE camping spots, picnic tables and overnight camping is permitted on a first come first serve basis. This is one place you’ll want to spend a day or two. We did and wished we’d planned an overnight stay just to see Angel Peak at dawn and dusk as well as the starry night!
We stayed at the Best Western (one of two hotels in town) and were treated like royalty … and we weren’t alone. Everyone we talked with said it was one of the best hotels they’d stayed in. We’ll second that … and we’ll raise our hands high when asked whether we’ll return to Bloomfield and all the area has to offer.
One last thing … like wine? Then visit Wines of the San Juan … a great winery with lots of interesting wines. I picked up several bottles of “Girls Are Meaner” to give as gifts. After all, why not? Then I tasted the wine and decided to get a couple of additional bottles for our home consumption. Several of the wines are named after fishing lures (makes sense, right?) and they all were excellent. I do like wine and thought this was some of the best New Mexico wines I’ve sampled to date. Now I have a couple cases at home to keep my memories of Bloomfield ones that put a smile on my face!
On to Los Alamos, New Mexico, and after a long 14 hour day of filming the Jemez Trail Scenic Byway we decided that one last shot was in order. That shot happened to be the sign announcing “
