After the usual breakfast at McDonalds, we headed up to Taos. There are two ways to get to Taos – the usual road and the “High Road”. On the way up, we took the usual route which is the most direct and faster. The road is about 75 miles and it was an easy drive. Yes, Taos is a very old town and they have preserved a lot of the old buildings. However, the traffic is absolutely, totally horrendous. All the tourist have come to the town as they wanted them to but they still have the narrow, 2-lane roads with stop lights. There was total gridlock more than once. It took forever to get through town to the Plaza and then onto the other places. Coming back wasn’t any better even though we tried another route. Oh well…. We were not impressed with Taos!
Taos Pueblo: The pueblo (village) appears much as it did over 500 years ago when Spanish Explorers first reached the Taos region. The main part of the present buildings were most likely constructed between 1000 and 1450 AD. The village is not a re-enactment but is a living community of about 150 descendents dedicated to preserving the pueblo. It is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited communities in North America. Electricity and running water does not exist in the pueblo although there are some propane stoves for heating. Most baking is done in adobe outdoor ovens. Some of the original buildings contain gift shops selling jewelry, bread, etc that is made by the residents. Taos Pueblo was declared a National Historic landmark in 1965. In 1992, it was admitted to the World Heritage Society as one of the most significant historical cultural landmarks in the world (other sites include the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramids and the Grand Canyon). San Geronimo, the current church at Taos Pueblo, was built in 1850 to replace the original church built in 1619 and then destroyed in the war with Mexico in 1847. Ruins of the original church are still visible along with the cemetary. The fee to vist the Pueblo is $10.oo for each vistor and $5.00 for each camera brought into the pueblo which is the first time in my life that I have seen a camera charge at a tourist location.
San Francisco De Asis Church: The church was completed in 1816 and is still a functioning church today with regular mass, etc. It is considered one of the most photographed adobe churches made famous by the artwork of Ansel Adams and Georga O’Keeffe.
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge: West of Taos flows the Rio Grande River on it’s way from Colorado to Mexico. Hwy 64 crosses the river via a three span, continuous-truss bridge that is 650 feet above the river. Sidewalks and observations platforms are on the bridge and worth the short walk across the bridge. I knew about the Rio Grande river in El Paso but never heard anything about it’s journey to get there.
High Road back to Santa Fe: We saw some really beautiful scenery along the winding, hilly, 2-lay road. Actually, there were places when there was no center lane – just a narrow road out in the middle of nowhere. You would come around a hill top and spread out below is a valley, farms and a little town. Then through the valley, up another winding hill and down into another valley with another very small town.
Long day!
Taos Pueblo: The pueblo (village) appears much as it did over 500 years ago when Spanish Explorers first reached the Taos region. The main part of the present buildings were most likely constructed between 1000 and 1450 AD. The village is not a re-enactment but is a living community of about 150 descendents dedicated to preserving the pueblo. It is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited communities in North America. Electricity and running water does not exist in the pueblo although there are some propane stoves for heating. Most baking is done in adobe outdoor ovens. Some of the original buildings contain gift shops selling jewelry, bread, etc that is made by the residents. Taos Pueblo was declared a National Historic landmark in 1965. In 1992, it was admitted to the World Heritage Society as one of the most significant historical cultural landmarks in the world (other sites include the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramids and the Grand Canyon). San Geronimo, the current church at Taos Pueblo, was built in 1850 to replace the original church built in 1619 and then destroyed in the war with Mexico in 1847. Ruins of the original church are still visible along with the cemetary. The fee to vist the Pueblo is $10.oo for each vistor and $5.00 for each camera brought into the pueblo which is the first time in my life that I have seen a camera charge at a tourist location.
San Francisco De Asis Church: The church was completed in 1816 and is still a functioning church today with regular mass, etc. It is considered one of the most photographed adobe churches made famous by the artwork of Ansel Adams and Georga O’Keeffe.
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge: West of Taos flows the Rio Grande River on it’s way from Colorado to Mexico. Hwy 64 crosses the river via a three span, continuous-truss bridge that is 650 feet above the river. Sidewalks and observations platforms are on the bridge and worth the short walk across the bridge. I knew about the Rio Grande river in El Paso but never heard anything about it’s journey to get there.
High Road back to Santa Fe: We saw some really beautiful scenery along the winding, hilly, 2-lay road. Actually, there were places when there was no center lane – just a narrow road out in the middle of nowhere. You would come around a hill top and spread out below is a valley, farms and a little town. Then through the valley, up another winding hill and down into another valley with another very small town.
Long day!
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