Great Escapes

Santa Fe is an easy 90-minute drive north on I-25. Visiting the museums alone merits a couple of days, especially the new Georgia O'Keeffe Museum (217 Johnson), which opened in July (wear cushy shoes, however, because one annoying feature of the place is that it has no benches or other seating), and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (710 Camino Lejo). Buy a museum pass for $10, good for four days of unlimited visits to five different area museums.

The shopping in Santa Fe is intoxicating. When you need a break from it, find Tribes Coffee Shop (139 W. San Francisco), populated with handsome women in Teva sandals and pretty men with braided hair.

And when the urban scene gets boring, there's the countryside. You can't go wrong in a place that gives you pink and lavender sunsets every evening. -- Cynthia Scott