Farmington is the largest city in New Mexico's northwest corner, sitting at the confluence of three rivers — the San Juan, the La Plata, and the Animas. It started as an agricultural town supplying mining communities in the San Juan Mountains and has grown steadily with oil and gas development and an influx of retirees drawn to the high desert climate.
The downtown has a distinctly midwestern feel, unusual for New Mexico — Farmington was never part of the Spanish colonial past. But the large Navajo population and the red-rock landscape beyond the city limits leave no doubt about where you are. The historic downtown has trading posts selling Navajo rugs and jewellery, and the Museum of Navajo Art and Culture is worth an hour of your time.
The real draw is using Farmington as a base for the surrounding country. The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness to the south is one of the most otherworldly landscapes in America — an unmarked badlands of eroded hoodoos that looks like a disused film set. Shiprock to the west is a sacred Navajo volcanic spire rising 1,800 feet above the desert floor. Aztec Ruins National Monument — 12 miles northeast — has the largest reconstructed great kiva in North America. And Chaco Culture National Historical Park, 90 miles south on rough dirt roads, is the crown jewel of the Four Corners region. The Farmington Museum on the river and Navajo Lake State Park for world-class trout fishing and camping round out the options. A car is essential — there is no public transport to speak of in this part of New Mexico.