1. Go deep into the Santa Fe wilderness, New Mexico
Downtown Santa Fe has enough antique shops and charming cafes to keep a gaggle of slow-moving couples busy. But after climbing the steep streets to the Cross of the Martyrs to watch the sun crawl its way over the adobe houses, my wife and I found the natural landscape to be the real draw.
We decided the shoppers can have downtown and spent the rest of the trip exploring: a visit to the unconquered Native American town of Acoma Pueblo, just nearly getting lost on lifeless lava flow trails at El Malpais National Conservation Area and finding wildflowers blooming on the Chamisa Trailhead. Appetite well deserved, we dived deep into New Mexican cuisine, finding the best at La Choza Restaurant, where the chile sauces (red vs green is an age-old debate) are a reminder of the uniqueness of this stark-beautiful place.