DAY ONE:  New Mexico offers a unique and vibrant travel experience, rich in culture, history, and Southwest natural beauty. This morning after our flights to Albuquerque, NM, we will enjoy lunch along Albuquerque’s historic Route 66 district. Then we will board the Railrunner Train for our hour and a half scenic trip north into Santa Fe, NM. One of the nation’s well-known artist communities, Santa Fe, offers a unique blend of Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo cultures, all set against a backdrop of stunning desert landscapes and adobe architecture. We will check into our comfortable Santa Fe accommodations for the next four nights. This evening we will enjoy a welcome dinner together.

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DAY TWO:  Enjoy breakfast each morning at the hotel. We will spend our day exploring Santa Fe by the Loretto Line open-air tram tour. Our local guide provides in-depth information about the city’s archaeology, architecture, local art/galleries, and the history of Santa Fe and the region. Our eight mile loop will take us to the most important historical areas in Santa Fe, including Canyon Road and its colorful art galleries, Santa Fe’s Museum Hill area, the historic Santa Fe Plaza and the Palace of the Governors, and other notable locations in the heart of the oldest capital city in the United States.  After lunch and browsing in the culturally rich and historic downtown area, we will visit Santa Fe’s architectural gem best known for its miraculous spiral staircase - The Loretto Chapel. Dinner will be at a local favorite prior to returning to hotel.
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DAY THREE: This morning after breakfast we travel north to Chama, NM where we will board the magnificent Chama Limited. This is a scenic train excursion on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Hands down, this excursion is one of Cornerstone’s Board Members’ favorite Autumn Southwest rail journeys. We will board the heritage narrow-gauge historic train cars for a round-trip journey covering 32-miles (just over 6 hours) traveling from Chama to Osier Station and back, providing breathtaking views of the Southern Rocky Mountains. This time of year (if nature provides) the Aspen trees, known for their striking white bark and heart-shaped leaves shimmer in brilliant yellow color. Hot lunch at scenic Osier Station included before our afternoon trip back to Chama. We will break for dinner enroute back to Santa Fe and our hotel.​​

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DAY FOUR: We depart our hotel to the Southwest’s largest art district - Canyon Road. More than a hundred galleries, boutiques and restaurants in one half mile - you will be able to see fine art and jewelry from artists throughout the United States and the world, all in one place. If you’re not a shopper - don’t worry, this street is beautiful to stroll - with historic adobe style architechture, colorful creations, and great people watching to boot! On Museum Hill we will visit the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture - telling the stories of the people of the Southwest from pre-history through contemporary times. The museum’s enormous collection includes over 80,000 archaeological, ethnographic, and fine arts objects,
and more than 10 million artifacts from almost 12,000 carefully excavated archaeological sites across New Mexico. This evening after dinner, we will enjoy a Native American storyteller presentation at our hotel.

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DAY FIVE: After breakfast and checking out of our hotel, we will have time to visit the famous Georgia O’Keeffe Museum dedicated to preserving and showcasing the life and work of the iconic American modernist painter, Georgia O’Keeffe. Inside there are over 3,000 works, including 140 oil paintings, nearly 700 drawings, and numerous other pieces spanning from 1901 to 1984. After a lunch break we will arrive back at the Albuquerque Airport for our flights back to St. Louis.

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