Virtuoso Insights - February/March 2009 - (Page 46) Clockwise from left: a place in the sun: poolside at the spa; Southwestern style; and prickly pear cactus decorate the desert. legendary storyteller, Emmett “Shkeme” Garcia. A member of the Santa Ana tribe, Emmett is passionate about keeping tribal lore alive. Sitting by the campfire, listening to the animated Emmett, I feel like I’m a kid at summer camp again. And, yes, decades later, I still manage to (a) char my marshmallow and (b) get it stuck in my hair. I MAKE IT A POINT TO TRY SOME NEW-TO-ME ACTIVITY wherever I travel. Along with my first hot-air balloon ride, on this trip I’ve also vowed to go horseback riding. I’m a bit apprehensive, having not saddled up in close to four decades, but the Tamaya’s Donna Marie Mondragón, who helped me plan my visit, allays my fears. “Wait’ll you meet Connie,” she says. At 9:00 a.m. sharp, Connie pulls her big van up to the South Turquoise Trail and jumps out to greet me. I like her immediately. Dressed in a denim shirt, jeans, cowboy boots, and hat, she reminds me of one of those über-capable women straight out of a Western. Connie assures me that, while the resort’s stables attract serious cowboys and cowgirls, she and her ranch hands are just as happy to teach city slickers like me the ropes. If Connie is Barbara Stanwyck, Ernesto, her handsome righthand ranch hand, looks like he stepped right off the set of Bonanza. He presents me with my horse: calm, good-natured Stewball (yes, named after the Peter, Paul and Mary song) and we head out into the wide-open range — all part of the ancient, Native American lands of Santa Ana Pueblo. Riding through groves of cottonwood and along trails where the Tamayame have traveled for centuries, Connie and Ernesto are generous with their horseback-riding tips and encouraging with their praise, all the while entertaining me with humorous anecdotes (like the time Connie fell off her horse in the Rio Grande and Ernesto saved the day by rescuing her favorite — then down-river — cowboy hat). Along the trail I ask Ernesto if he will indulge me with one of those Lone Ranger rearing-horse poses. He does. And Hi Ho Silver, I have the photo to prove it! Before returning to the stables, I turn my gaze to the turquoise horizon and the stunning Sandia Mountains, and suddenly am overcome with a desire to simply ride off into the sunset. But alas, my next spa treatment, followed by sumptuous, fireroasted cuisine at the Corn Maiden restaurant, beckons me back to the resort. doing iT Located between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa resides on 500 acres of the 73,000acre Native American Pueblo of Santa Ana. The resort boasts a nationally ranked golf course, horseback riding, hot-air ballooning, four dining and entertainment venues, and a fullservice spa. Virtuoso guests enjoy a room upgrade, if available; full breakfast daily; complimentary luncheon for two once during stay; and early check-in and late checkout, if available. For up-to-the-minute pricing, contact your Virtuoso travel advisor. More Southwestern Sanctuaries on page 48 P 46 Virtuoso insights
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