2 Best Sights in Bloomfield/Salmon Ruins, Northwestern New Mexico

Little Bloomfield sits at the crossroads of the Four Corners. It's a great place to stay if you're heading south to Chaco Canyon; it's equally good as a stepping-off point to Farmington, Aztec, Navajo Lake, and Mesa Verde. Pick up supplies here, refuel at one of the locally run cafés, and absolutely leave time to tour Salmon Ruins.

Salmon (pronounced sol-mon) Ruins, which dates from the 11th century, is a large Chacoan Anasazi living complex on the northern edge of the San Juan River. It's a distinctive example of pre-Columbian Pueblo architecture and stonework—the masonry is more finely finished than that at Aztec; the Chaco connection is immediately clear here. The site is named for a homesteader whose family protected the ruins for nearly a century. Heritage Park contains the restored George Salmon Homestead, a root cellar, bunkhouse, sweat lodge, hogan, and other types of native housing structures. Salmon also runs off-road and Journey into the Past tours, all amiably guided by field experts; check with them about routes through Chaco Canyon, Bisti Badlands, and the rarely seen Dinétah pueblitos, their specialty.

Set at the base of a stark sandstone bluff is a surprise oasis that charms the relatively few visitors who venture in. Sit on the well-shaded patio as peacocks and geese make the rounds, enjoy a glass of Girls Are Meaner (a Gewürztraminer) or Dry Blue Winged Olive (a Riesling), and appreciate grapes harvested from NM's own soil (though some of those pressed here are actually grown in the southern part of the state, in Deming).