Taos Pueblo

Possibly the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States, although there must be some interesting debates about the history of the other pueblo villages in the southwest. But regardless, a village long before Europeans ever arrived in North America. A village that was standing much as it does today when the great cathedrals of Europe were built. A village that had been around more than half a millennium before the United States were even imagined.

As in other aboriginal cultures, but particularly in the southwest tribes, the Pueblo reflects a complex and fascinating blend of native and Christian spiritual traditions (Gran Quivara: 2014). And here, where water and electricity have not been added, a messy mix of ancient and modern lifestyles. It sounds like many of the pueblo's residents may live offsite, reserving their pueblo space for ceremonial and cultural uses.

I find it difficult to balance my fascination with these cultures with my consciousness of being a gawker or of sneaking glimpses into someone else's life. Maybe this is an inevitable, and perhaps not inappropriate, consequence of cultural tourism anywhere, but it still seems a little strange (as it probably should).

Taos

We spent Labor Day weekend in Taos - the southern vertex of our road trip triangle. Our adobe AirBnB was a perfect complement to the southwest geography and was beautifully situated just a little way outside town, on a slope along the western edge of the valley. This location, combined with its orientation on the property, provided a wonderful view east across to the Sangre de Cristos. It made for great sunrises - and if you walked around back, great sunsets, too.

A slow tire leak - and paranoia about older tires and a long isolated drive a few days in the future - might have potentially marred the weekend, but Saturday morning we dropped in at Silva's, where they found a staple and patched the tire for $10 cash. Right across from a laundromat. And not far from the Taos Diner. It all worked out so well. We drove up to the Pueblo (next post), then back into town. It was nice not to have to go anywhere.

We ate well in Taos, of course, aided by Trip Advisor and our perennial inability to turn down new places to graze. I was surprised how many of our choices ended up on the road north out of town as opposed in the village itself. The Love Apple, in an old church. The Taos Diner, twice. Gutiz. Orlando's. And more than one stop at the Coffee Spot. Besides food, we also bought a cool Navajo'ish piece for the wall.

Sunday we drove drove the Enchanted Circle, but the bright, hazy sky was less than perfect and we didn't stop anywhere for long. Which gave us more time to hang out in town and at the Caseta. After an early dinner, we also drove up the canyon to the ski area so I could check it out and get a closer glimpse of Wheeler Peak (a state highpoint that will have to wait for a future trip).

The bike remains a theme on the trip. Saturday morning I had an extremely pleasant ride down through the valley near town and then back on the mesa. And Monday morning, I drove a little way up 518, then rode my bike the rest of the way up US Hill (from 7500' to 8500'). Not fast, but great exercise! And very pretty (and chilly - glad I'd picked up full-fingered bike gloves at MEC a few weeks ago).

Cumbres & Toltec

We could have done the bus-train combination in either direction, but for some reason (likely the direction of travel and light and time of day), I had booked us to begin with the bus from Antonito CO to Chama NM and then returning to Antonito on the train. The bus leg was a beautiful drive (and only a few of us on the bus, so all in front rows chatting with the driver and enjoying the scenery).

The 60+ mile train trip back from Chama was wonderful and took much longer - the whole trip takes all day. Lunch is served cafeteria-style in Osier, where the eastbound and westbound trains meet - and resembled a more civilized version of powerful childhood images I had from old train books showing people piling off trains into crowded lunch rooms. We had opted for the intermediate level of service - the tourist car - which seemed to have been a good choice. Comfortable seating, free soft drinks and snacks, and easy access to the open gondola car.

The Cumbres & Toltec was built in 1880 as an extension to the Denver and Rio Grande. The narrow gauge line runs up and over Cumbres Pass from Chama and then follows the Los Pinos River and Toltec Canyon as it winds its way back down to Antonito, zigzagging back and forth across the CO-NM line.

It's remarkable that a small organization can successfully maintain such complex equipment and so much right of way. I guess they are regulated just as any other railroad, so are subject to much of the same oversight that major carriers are.

Madrid

This is the last post from my photo journal of our one week surprise trip to the southwest and it also represents what was really a nice surprise for both of us.  We were just taking the back road from Santa Fe to Albuquerque to catch the airplane back to Seattle and I hadn't really scouted it out, other than knowing it would be more interesting than the interstate in the valley and that it wound through some old mining towns.

Madrid began that way, but is now a colorful strip of houses turned into art galleries.  It was certainly touristy, but that didn't keep it from being fun. We didn't have plans to actually buy anything, but we ended up leaving with a pair of small metal sculptures that will add a nice southwest motif to our living room wall. It's sort of cool for us to find something we both like, in a place we didn't expect to find.

Santa Fe

I don't know if M and I are very good at staying in one place for very long, but I suspect we could have handled several more days in Santa Fe.  We only checked off a few of the restaurants on my ridiculously long list - although the checked included both El Meson and The Shed - and it would be fun to come back and visit the rest.

I would love an excuse (do I really need one?) to read up on southwest native culture and crafts, although that might just tempt to me to collect stuff I can't really afford and that we have no room for!

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

The next time we're down here, I'd love to drive up to Abiqui and Ghost Ranch, where O'Keeffe lived and painted, but for this trip we settled for a visit to the Museum here in Santa Fe. Apparently, much of her well known flower paintings are in private and public collections elsewhere, so the the emphasis here is on her landscapes and on her collaborations (right now, there's a neat exhibit showcasing paintings by her and photos by Ansel Adams of Hawaii).

I came not particularly familiar with her work other than a general awareness of her floral paintings. I left captivated by her paintings of the Ghost Ranch landscape. All the more reason to visit there someday.

Palace of the Governors

Built in 1610, this place is billed as the oldest continuously occupied public building in the U.S. It was the seat of government when the Spanish were in charge and remained the seat for American territorial governors after that. At some point - perhaps from the start - native craftsfolk from the surrounding pueblos have sold their goods on the sidewalk out front.

Bandelier

We took a few hours on Tuesday to drive over to Bandelier National Mounument, just below Los Alamos. The canyon dodged the 2011 fires, but received the subsequent flash floods. The cliff dwellings were built well above the valley bottom and above the flood waters, but the visitor's center was not so thoughtfully located and just missed being turned into an archaeological site.

Bandelier is a neat combination of valley floor pueblo and cliff dwellings.  The caves - many natural, but artificially enlarged - were probably used more for storage, whereas the residential development was in multi-tier stone apartments built along the base of the cliffs.