My wife and I just finished a trip through New Mexico where we stayed exclusively in houses. This rental was a little different from most—an old, restored Victorian house full of antiques and a lot of character. The hosts, Iva and Brian, were super-friendly and we had great fun chatting with them. They supplied us with “breakfast”, which is unusual for a rental of this type. What it meant was that Iva and Brian showed up with a ton of food for us. We would have had to stay much longer to have eaten it all. We particularly enjoyed the bag of frozen roasted New Mexican peppers. Those went into quite a few meals during the rest of our trip.

Things you should know: the dogs really are super-friendly. We arrived when our hosts weren’t around and the dogs treated us as their best friends. The Victorian house is where Iva and Brian live when guests aren’t there; otherwise, they stay in the metal building that serves as their art studio. Don’t worry—the house is cleaned and set up for guests. There is no wifi at all, and the only internet connection is in the studio. Iva and Brian gave us access to their computer when we needed it. I know wifi access in the house is a priority for them and gave them some tips on how to get it set up, so it may already be there when you read this.

We visited the Bernardo Waterfowl Management Area (minutes away) and Bosque Del Apache NWR (about an hour away). Anyway, we had a great time, enjoyed the house, the hosts, the dogs and the birding.