For one reason or another, we had failed to visit Taos on our previous trips to New Mexico (NM), although we longed to see it. To make sure we got there during our most recent trip, we made Taos our first stop. Taos is an interesting small town on a high plateau, approximately 7,000 feet above sea level, nestled at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains.
During our time in Taos, we visited the Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the home of one of the longest continuously inhabited communities in North America. We drove around the spectacular 83-mile loop known as the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, stopped to marvel at the Cimarron Palisades and the views from the Eagle Nest Lake State Park, and made a detour to get a glimpse of the Rio Grande Gorge and Bridge. We were there in May, a shoulder season, so the town was quiet, and we almost had the NM roads to ourselves. Everything came together for a relaxing holiday full of memorable discoveries.
The Taos Valley has a long history of Indigenous presence, going back over a thousand years. The present-day Taos Reservation lands stretch over one hundred thousand acres to the northeast and southwest of the town of Taos. The Taos Pueblo is a small village, part of the reservation and the only UNESCO Living World Heritage Site in the U.S. The dwellings in the pueblo date from the 13th century.
The pueblo has no electricity (although some residents use propane) and the Red Willow Creek flowing through the pueblo is the sole source of drinking water. There are approximately one hundred and fifty people still living there permanently. Many other members of the pueblo community return daily to work in well-stocked craft and gift shops located in former family homes.
We learned from our tour guide that the arrival of the Spanish settlers and missionaries around 1615 was not welcomed by the inhabitants of the pueblo. Tensions led to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and the destruction of the first St. Jerome Church, now lying in ruins in what is today a cemetery. The present-day St. Jerome Church, rebuilt in 1850, stands prominently in one corner of the pueblo’s plaza.
Access to a large section of the pueblo is out of bounds for visitors, but the guided tour gave us a sense of the communal spaces, including the central plaza, the ovens (hornos) for baking bread and the drying racks which are used seasonally to dry corn and other crops. The maintenance of the outside mud walls of the houses is an ongoing effort in which the whole community participates.
The 83-mile scenic byway, called the Enchanted Circle (see map), is considered the best day trip in the state. The loop is formed by three roads (US 64, Highways 38 and 522). It winds up and down rocky and forested mountains through breathtaking passes. It zigzags through the Carson National Forest, providing incredible views of valleys and peaks. The state park at Eagle Nest Lake offers an expansive view of the mountains overlooking the lake. There are several small mining and resort towns on the route offering a range of recreational activities, including skiing in winter.
We made a detour to see the amazing cliffs of the Cimarron Palisades, which are the result of a molten rock intrusion in the crust of the earth as the Sangre de Cristo Mountains were uplifted forty million years ago.
Our second detour was to the Rio Grande Gorge and Bridge. The Rio Grande is the fourth longest river in North America, originating in Colorado and flowing through eight different states in the U.S. and Mexico. The river cuts a steep walled gorge in the volcanic rock of the Rio Grande Rift.
The rift was created by the movement of tectonic plates, some twenty-five million years ago, that broke and flattened the earth’s crust over a distance of six hundred miles. Driving west on US 64, you cannot see the gorge until you get to it. The Bridge, which is 650 feet above the river, is the second longest truss bridge in the U.S. with a length of 1,272 feet.
Our day ended with a stroll around the historic district of Taos at the centre of which is the Plaza. This was previously the site of a fortified Spanish settlement. Taos has an abundance of galleries, museums, historic homes, artist’s workshops, souvenir shops and restaurants. The Taos Society of Artists (1915-27) had a profound influence on the development of the town as an art colony, although painters and writers had started gravitating towards the area before then.
Taos cherishes its enduring bohemian reputation. It is not difficult to be enchanted by its easy-going pace, its rustic gardens, the purity of the light at various times of the day, and the awe-inspiring beauty of the mountain backdrop.
We find that reading guidebooks prior to a trip never really conveys the atmosphere of a place nor does it prepare us for the genuine experience. It may be that a full appreciation for a place can only come after the visit is completed, when information and experiences are distilled in a coherent manner and reflected upon.
During one of our visits to a park in NM, we purchased a fascinating book titled The Geology of Northern New Mexico’s Parks, Monuments, and Public Lands, produced by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. The book is too big and too detailed to be used as a guidebook on the road, however, it made for interesting reading once we got back home.
We looked at photos we had taken in NM and, with the aid of this book, got a better understanding of the landscapes we had seen. This form of slow lane musing definitely amplifies the joy we get from travelling.
It looks like you had another amazing musing. Thank you so much for sharing!