Weekend in Taos

We spent Friday-Sunday in Taos, taking the scenic High Road on the way. It was beautiful around every turn, the landscape varying from clay canyons to the tall evergreen trees of the mountainous Carson National Forest.

We stopped for dinner in the tiny town of Ranchero de Taos and saw the famous mission style Church of Francisco de Asis from the 1700's.

The next morning, we joined some Becker friends at Taos Pueblo, which has been continually inhabited for over 1,000 years. The active pueblo had shops selling handmade wares. Ed found a drum he couldn't part with, so it'll be going back with us : ) The backdrop of the primitive pueblos against the mountains was so picturesque, and it was really interesting to see how simply they still live.

Afterwards, we headed to the Rio Grand Gorge Bridge, the 5th highest in the U.S. which provides a view of the 650 ft. drop below. Driving up, the land was flat, and the gorge appeared as if out of nowhere and seemed to span as far as the eye could see in either direction. While on top, Diego accidentally dropped the cap of his bottle and it rolled of the edge, taking at least 10 seconds to reach the bottom below!

Next, we stopped at the Earthships, a community of off-the-grid, sustainable houses made of recycled and found materials. Each had different architecture and the house tour revealed how inventive and thoughtful every detail was, even using water 4 times before it's cycle was complete. The walls were made of old tires packed tight with dirt and clay, while fresh vegetables grew in the sunroom. It was really cool.

Then, it was a drive to the top of Taos Ski Valley where Carol and Vance showed us one of their favorite stops during ski season - The Bavarian, a restaurant with authentic Bavarian cuisine and costumed staff. The drive up was quite eventful - we could feel the Highlander working hard and kept wondering when we would get to the top but we finally did and the view was great. Temperatures were at least 15 degrees cooler!

We spent the next few hours shopping around Arroyo Seco and Taos plaza. After ice cream and running around the plaza, it was time to part ways with our friends who were driving back to Austin the next day. We were so glad to be able to meet up!

The next day, Ed took the kids to a giant toy store/playground called Twist while I got a few hours of shopping in. Then, it was back to Santa Fe, taking the Low Road which was also quite pretty although not as dramatic as the High Road.