I love the restaurant at the St. James Hotel in Cimarron.
I love that I can get in my car in Santa Fe with my husband and be in Red River in less than three hours. And I love that this past Friday, on the way to spend half-price weekend in Red River(half price on lodging, ski lift tickets, rentals, etc.-it’s a tradition in Red River, and a mighty fine one at that!), Toby suggested that we stop at the St. James in Cimarron and have my belated birthday dinner.
For those of you that haven’t been to Cimarron, there’s a whole ‘nother blog post about how much I love Cimarron. In the eastern foothills of the Sangre de Cristos, one of those New Mexico villages that has a history of outlaws and land grants (the largest in the world at one time), on the Santa Fe Trail, and now filled with colorful shops but not in the least pretentious, Cimarron is one of my favorite places in the state. It’s just that until recently it’s always been on the way to somewhere for me – we pass through it going to Taos or Angel Fire or Red River or Questa, and it’s usually where we stop for gas at Russell’s or ice cream or a calzone (all of which deserve their own post. Just give me time).
But one weekend this fall when we got a wild hair and went to Red River for a Saturday night, I turned off the main road in Cimarron on our way home and drove down to the St. James Hotel. I thought Toby would appreciate the outlaw and ghost stories, and it’s such a gorgeous building that it deserved another look from me. The Hotel sits in a great spot, just over a little bridge in the middle of Cimarron’s old town. It was built in 1872 by a guy who cooked for Ulysses S.Grant and Abe Lincoln and then came west looking for fortune and adventure. I think he found both in abundance.
We spent that warm fall Sunday afternoon exploring, taking pictures of the graves of Maxell’s mother-in-law, taking the walking tour, peeking into the old jail, seeing where the Santa Fe Trail came right into town,and reading about the characters that stayed in the St. James, all the outlaws that either killed or were killed (at least 26 in all-more later on that–that’s also a whole ‘nother blog post as well). We took a turn through the dining room and bar, where there are bullet holes in the ceiling, and we vowed to come back and stay sometime soon. (more info at www.cimarronnm.com)