Next Stop: Taos October 17 & 18

 When we left Tucson, we drove to Las Cruces, New Mexico and then on to Taos.  The drive was uneventful but we remarked on the long (l-o-n-g) trains we saw several times.  I understand why New Mexico and Arizona are decent locations for these trains.  They cross sparsely populated areas with no cities.  The trains usually have two or three engines pulling about 100 cars - many of the cars are carrying a double stack of shipping containers.  It was eye-opening to see this part of the "supply chain."

It was quite a long drive to Las Cruces, but the payoff was that we ate at a wonderful, authentic Mexican restaurant, Andele's.  This is the first place in which I've dined that had a salsa bar - yes, 6 homemade salsas in a range of heats.  When we left Las Cruces to drive to Taos, we traveled north on I-25.  Our "free gift" for the day happened when we stopped in Truth or Consequences NM for a cup of latte.  We stopped at the 7 Mile Marker Coffee shop and ordered two lattes.  We were delighted when the young woman who was giving us the order asked if we would like free cookies to celebrate their 2nd anniversary as a business!  Chocolate chip - we loved it!

We arrived in Taos and, after a frustrating search, found the VRBO that we rented for two nights.  The apartment had pluses and minuses.  It was right in the middle of the downtown plaza area and easily walkable for all the interesting historical sights and shops.  It was small and poorly lit but warm and cozy.  The kitchen was not particularly usable (the reason we chose to rent a VRBO is that I get tired of restaurant food and want to fix my own meals).  We made the best of it - I consider it a learning experience.

We had two major tourist experiences in Taos.  We visited the Millicent Rogers Museum - a lovely place filled with exhibits of art, sculpture, pottery and jewelry.  We had visited this museum before, but they had a new exhibit that I wanted to see.  The exhibit displayed works from New Mexican artists who were reflecting on the beauty, joy and sorrow of the southwest.  Two of my favorite displays were large cyanotypes (using light and chemical processing to produce an image) on fabric and the paintings that one artist did after her family's homestead was destroyed by the forest fires this year.  This museum is a joy to experience with its diversity of expression.

Our other tourist experience was a visit to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.  At 650 feet above the river, The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is the second highest bridge on the U.S. Highway System.  It is stunning to view and photograph.  There is a hiking path on one bank and we took pictures of the whole bridge, but the real thrill is walking across the bridge to take pictures of the river below.

The whole span of the bridge.

The Rio Grande below - not looking so grand from that distance!

 

The view from the other side of the bridge - shadow and all.

Looking up from the Gorge to see the mountains with snow on top.

We enjoyed our visit to Taos and a taste of the beauty of the New Mexico environment.  We left on the 19th knowing that we were leaving the sunny, warm country and heading to our home which was suffering early winter weather.  Now for the road back...