Road Trip: Taos

They say that the journey is the best part of a destination. I happen to agree. I left Colorado Springs before sunrise today headed south for New Mexico. I realized that I was sharing the highway and the beautiful sunrise in Pueblo with the balloon crews headed for the big rally in Albuquerque.

My early departure was intentional so I could stop in La Veta, CO for breakfast with my favorite western author, Eugene Vories. I met him several years ago through the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers group and have followed his stories ever since. We had breakfast at Sammie's Cafe and caught up on our individual writing pursuits. I mentioned to him again that if we could find a way to send his first book to Tom Selleck, I think it would make a fabulous movie. The scene with the cows in the bank would be an Oscar nomination for sure.

After leaving La Veta, I headed across Highway 160 towards Fort Garland and saw beautiful fall colors and, to my delight, the San Luis Steam Train out for a morning run.

My trip south from Fort Garland took me through the oldest town in Colorado, the little community of San Luis, circa 1851, home to a hillside Stations of the Cross. Further south I found Questa, Ne Mexico where they are known for their honey and their Stupa.

The place I was reminded to slow down and be deliberately present was at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. This place is not for the faint of heart. You walk out on the bridge and between the height and the fact that you feel the bridge tremble every time a car or truck drives across makes you realize how deep that gorge is. A gentleman stopped me on the bridge (I was in a hurry and tried to resist but he insisted he had something to show me) and pointed to a spot near the river and there were nine bighorn sheep. He told me that these had been transplanted from Colorado near Canon City when their population was getting too large.

If you look real close at the narrowest part of the river pictured you can almost see three of them. I swear it is true. The guy went on to tell me that he and his wife sell authentic Indial jewelry at the bridge every week and he has seen the big rams on the gorge edge and a variety of other wildlife. He reminded me that being in a hurry keeps me from seeing and being. It was a great experience.

While at the bridge we were all reminded that the political push for the upcoming election was not over yet. And American sentiment is everywhere for the looking.

After all this excitement and calm, I headed to downtown Taos to visit the local yarn shops and figure out where I could park tomorrow for the Wool Festival. Taos is an interesting town to navigate and you must be prepared to walk because parking can be difficult at best. I lucked into a space near the Plaza that put me within a three block radius of the three shops I wanted to visit. First on the list was a place to get postcards so I could get them written and mailed from here in the AM. Most times I buy them and bring them all the way home before they ever get posted. This time I planned to do it right. I found the Mercado on the Plaza which is where you can sit for an hour and watch the whole town walk by. This fall Friday was no exception.

I visited La Lana Wools, and The Yarn Shop, both near or in the John Dunn Shop complex just north of the Plaza. Both places are small and sell handspun and hand crafted knitting supplies and yarn. I walked into Weaving Southwest and gaped at the wonderful weavings of art and clothing. This is the place in Sue Henry's book The Tooth of Time that got me started knitting a little over two years ago.

My next stop was the little town of Arroyo Seco where I am staying two nights at the Snowmansion Hostel. This little village is on the road to the Taos Ski Resort which was quiet and beautiful today. I also visited the Taos Sunflower yarn shop that is closing this weekend after the festival. They will now just be an online yarn shop. They had a fabulous shop housed in a 200 year old adobe hacienda. Shame to see that one close. I called it a day and settled in for the night. Tomorrow is the big day at the festival.