Welcome to Santa Fe my hometown since 1692! For the last 328 years Santa Fe has been home to my family. This is where I grew up, I raised my two children here and this is where my parents are buried. In addition to being a mother and daughter, I’m also the author of eight books on Santa Fe and New Mexico, a historian, tour guide and a former driver for Uber and Lyft.

In fact, the genesis of Santa Fe 101 came about in the form of market research during my work as a ride share driver. Visitors were always asking for suggestions on where to eat, what to see and where to shop. As a driver I also learned about the pitfalls and things to avoid while visiting.

With a population of around 84,000, Santa Fe has certainly grown since I was a child. Ironically, most of our visitors never venture beyond the one-mile radius of the Santa Fe plaza, so they don’t have the opportunity to really get to know the town. For instance, none of the other travel guides ever mention Airport Road in the south part of town, which has a large community of hard-working Mexican and Central American immigrants. It’s the one area of town where Spanish is the predominate language and where you’ll find a vibrant community with restaurants and shops reminiscent of our neighbors to the south. Another interesting area, which is close to the Santa Fe plaza, is the New Solana Shopping Center, home to an eclectic group of businesses for visitors and locals alike. Santa Fe has become a mini Los Angeles in the sense that everyone seems to be from someplace else. You’re not going to run into locals anymore unless they’re working in the plaza area.

Unlike other travel guides, Santa Fe 101 is free of advertising, all listings have equal representation. Best of all, the fifty-page guide features more than 900 internet links of things to do – from 185 restaurants to outdoor and cultural activities and even metaphysical and spiritual pursuits in and around Santa Fe and northern New Mexico. All of the organizations listed are broken down by category and location which will help you make better use of your time and save you the hassle of having to do all of the Google searches yourself. Whether this is your first trip, your twentieth, or you’re planning on moving here, let Santa Fe 101 be your guide.