Lamy
the smallest of the towns we visited along the Turquoise Trail, but probably the one with the biggest heart.
It reminded me of a small dog with a big dog attitude. This town had one
road in and out from the main highway, U.S. Route 285, but had a hustle and bustle that was unexpected.
Lamy, first called Galisteo
Junction, is located 18 miles south of the city of Santa Fe and is named for
Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy. The former Atchison, Topeka, and
Santa Fe Railroad (ATSF), now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), passes
through Lamy. This railroad, usually called just the "Santa Fe," was
originally planned to run from Atchison, Kansas, on the Missouri River, to
Santa Fe, the capital city of New Mexico, and then points west. However, as the
tracks progressed west into New Mexico, the civil engineers in charge realized
that the hills surrounding Santa Fe made this impractical. Hence, they built
the railway line though Lamy, instead. Later on, a spur line was built from Lamy
to Santa Fe, bringing the railroad to Santa Fe at last. In 1896 the Fred Harvey
Company built the luxurious El Ortiz Hotel here. Thus Lamy became an important
railroad junction. The spur line has since been taken over by the Santa Fe
Southern Railway, which operates a popular excursion train, using vintage
passenger railcars and modern freight cars, up to Santa Fe.
It
was lunch that really made Lamy one of my favorite spots of the day. We
sauntered into the Pink Garter, renamed the Legal Tender, and remodeled to
depict an era of Western mining. The old bar is straight out of a western
movie…wait a minute, it’s not a movie, it’s reality! This is an old bar
in an old building in an old town in the middle of nowhere…and I’m in
it!! This old relic of a bar was brought from Mexico City in the early
80's to Santa Fe by mule train. The bar has a picture gallery hung to the
ceiling with original paintings, chromolithographs and two large paintings of
the Grand Canyon done by Moran. Green chile cheeseburger and a tall
glass of beer…not sure if that’s what John Wayne would have ordered, but it
felt all right to me! The only thing missing was me wearing a six-shooter
and set of spurs!
The
charm, and enchantment of New Mexico is ever present along the Turquoise Trail.
You can see more at my website gallery at: http://www.costamesaphotography.com/Arizona-New-Mexico/Turquoise-Trail
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