The Rio Grande


On advice from one of Sue’s colleagues, we decided to make the 80 mile (one way) drive north to the community of Taos.  Somehow, we missed…at least I did…just what sort of drive that this might be.  Leaving Las Vegas, we began to climb.   For 25 miles we gradually gained elevation before dropping into a valley.  This was a beautiful, lush, green area made up of a series of small farms.  This is something we have not seen in New Mexico.  As we left the valley we began to climb again and to our surprise started to catch glimpses of white snow-capped mountains.  We came upon a ski hill as we passed 10,000 feet of elevation.  Each day New Mexico continues to surprise us.

The road then plummeted down depositing us in Taos.  Stopping at the visitor centre turned out to be a bonus.  The lady suggested that we drive north out of town to ‘the bridge’.  So, like good little tourists that is what we did.  To our surprise the bridge was not what we were out there to see.  The bridge spanned the deep gorge cut by the Rio Grande.  Wow!  We were able to walk to the middle of the bridge for better views of the gorge.  Sue was a ‘little’ nervous…let me rephrase that…Sue was a ‘whole lot’ nervous especially when big trucks would go by and the bridge would shake.  This may not bode well for our future visit to the Grande Canyon.

We returned to the strange town of Taos and wandered around the Historic District.  This area dates back to the late 1600’s.  By the late 1800’s Taos had become a haven for artists.  This is still true today.  One of the tourist brochures probably best describes the people who have settled here over the years.  “While just a remote mountain village, Taos has been infused with an astonishing number of artistic, literary, and intellectual thinkers.  Taos has also attracted and nurtured an inordinate number of eccentric individuals”.  This became quite apparent as we walked around the many artists shops.

Distance Traveled = 320 km.  Wildlife Sightings = American Robin, Rabbit, Black-billed Magpie, Turkey Vulture, Barn Swallow, Eurasian-collared Dove.


Sunset from the campsite


Snow capped mountains


Bridge over the Rio Grande


Rio Grande Gorge


Rio Grande Gorge


Taos Streetscape


Lush green valley in the mountains


La Cueva Mill (not in operation since 1949)


Old adobe wall at La Cueva Mill

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