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New Mexico

Santa Fe Landscapes: Art, Culture and History

Program No. 11009RJ
Get an insider’s perspective on Santa Fe alongside local artists, exploring several world-class museums, enjoying traditional music and learning about Indigenous cultures.

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At a Glance

Santa Fe, New Mexico sits amidst the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Explore the elegant Spanish colonial plazas that served as meeting places for four centuries. Santa Fe is home to beautiful museums which display the work of native artists and pilgrims who gathered here to find inspiration in the land. Experience the enchantment of Northern New Mexico through its unique history, cuisine and music. Learn about the past and 400 years of cultural fusion that makes Santa Fe “The City Different”.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to four miles daily over varied terrain. Standing for up to two hours at a time. Getting on/off motorcoach multiple times a day. Elevations up to 7,500 feet.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Learn about artist Georgia O'Keeffe and visit the New Mexico Museum of Art.
  • Be moved by the ancient Indigenous traditions and cultures preserved in a local pueblo and gain insight into the enduring nature of the Pueblo people.
  • Enjoy a cooking demonstration by a local James Beard Award-winning author and chef and visit the historic village of Chimayó.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Profile Image
Jerry Rightman
Who would have ever thought that a retired veterinarian would become a dedicated art lecturer? Jerry Rightman is just that person and is an active member in the art community of Santa Fe, applying his talents as a docent at the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. He has received rave reviews for the many years that he has been teaching for Road Scholar.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Jerry Rightman
Jerry Rightman View biography
Who would have ever thought that a retired veterinarian would become a dedicated art lecturer? Jerry Rightman is just that person and is an active member in the art community of Santa Fe, applying his talents as a docent at the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. He has received rave reviews for the many years that he has been teaching for Road Scholar.
Profile Image of Lois Frank
Lois Ellen Frank View biography
Lois Ellen Frank, PhD, is a Santa Fe-based chef focused on Native American foods. She is also a Native American food historian, culinary anthropologist, photographer and James Beard Award-winning author. She is a featured instructor of the Southwest Indian Nations at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, and is chef and owner — along with Native Chef Walter Whitewater of the Diné Nation — of Red Mesa Cuisine.
Profile Image of Omar Villanueva
Omar Villanueva View biography
Omar Villanueva holds a master's degree in classical guitar performance from the University of New Mexico. He is a multifaceted guitarist who performs classical, Spanish and popular music. His repertoire includes renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and Latin music arrangements for solo guitar. He is also an accomplished and awarded singer of music from Latin America and New Mexico. He has been performing in New Mexico and surrounding states since 2004.
Profile Image of Terri Ross
Terri Ross View biography
Terri Ross is a longtime transplant to New Mexico. First arriving in 1994, she began exploring the rich history and varied landscape of the state. She has led more than 80 group programs around the corner and around the world. She is also a local speaker in her adopted hometown of Albuquerque, making presentations on a variety of topics including travel journaling and scrapbooking, New Mexico history, traveling the Navajo lands, and driving on New Mexico Highway 4.
Profile Image of Jolene Catron
Jolene Catron View biography
Jolene Catron, who leads groups in the Mountain West and National Parks, weaves a rich tapestry of indigenous heritage into the fabric of the area's history. She strives to foster understanding and appreciation for the profound cultural and environmental significance of the places she leads in. During the offseason you can find her driving her taxi, listening to music, and crocheting. She is a military veteran and a citizen of the Navajo Nation with family ties to the Pueblos of Zuni and Laguna.
Profile Image of Katherine Burleigh
Katherine Burleigh View biography
Kate Burleigh and her family moved to Socorro, New Mexico in 2001 and immediately became enthralled with the Land of Enchantment. She earned her master’s degree in art integrated curriculum from Lesley College in Cambridge, MA. Kate loves mountain biking and trail running with her family and volunteers with local trail building crews. Traveling has given Kate compassion for people living far from home, which has led her to support foreign students at New Mexico Technical Institute and sponsor refugee families with Socorro Sponsor Circle.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.





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