Taos, NMMay 11, 2009
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Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center - a stop on our way to...
Rio Grande River
San Francisco de Asis Church
| Today we took a side trip from Santa Fe to Taos, NM. It was a long day. We left the RV about 8:30 am and returned about 8:00 pm. On the drive up we stopped at a Visitor Center next to the Rio Grande River. As we neared Taos, we stopped first at a church in Ranchos de Taos Plaza - San Francisco de Asis Church, a National Historic Landmark. San Francisco de Asis Church, 1772, is one of the best known and most photographed churches in New Mexico. It is a beautiful church, inside and out. We then drove into the Taos plaza, where we walked around and had a nice lunch at a Mexican restaurant just off the plaza. Next we visited the Kit Carson Home and Museum and later Kit Carson's burial site located in a nearby cemetery. We watched a short History channel bio program learning that Kit had been married 3 times (first and second wives were Indian). He also was a very short man in statue just 5 feet 5 inches but very well thought of by all who knew him as a man of honor. His life and achievements read like a saga of the opening of the west and include time spent as a mountain trapper, scout, guide and army officer. Among other things, he was a guide for Fremont on his first 3 expeditions to explore the Rocky Mountains, etc. Our next stop was a visit to Taos Pueblo, located on the Indian Reservation. We thought it was a little pricey, costing us about $36 in admission and "gratuities," but it was worth it to see the Pueblo village (1,000+ years old). We felt it could have been run better - the only way to see inside the abode dwellings was to visit those set up as shops. We would have liked to have seen a representation of what life was like in the pueblo in earlier eras. Taos was a different town than we expected. We both thought it would be more like a mountain town but it wasn't. We also drove out to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and walked on the bridge to view the gorge and the Rio Grande river. On the drive out to Taos we took the "Low Road" to Taos and on the drive home to Santa Fe we took the "High Road" (which was had more mountain scenery, but was longer). |
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