Our first stop was Taos Pueble to experience the
multi-storied adobe homes.
The north house is known as Hlaauma
with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The south house is Hlaukkwima.
Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community
designated both a World Heritage Site by
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization
and a National Historic Landmark.
About 15 -20 Red Willow people live here year round.
Each home is owned by a family and passed from one
generation to the next. Some use their homes as shops
selling sculptures, wood carvings, pottery, t-shirts, beaded
necklaces, bracelets, and baked goods to the tourist.
Red Willow Creek is the water source where
they use pails to carry water to their homes.
There is no electricity but they do use propane.
They bake item like bread and cookies in the Hondo,
which are pretty good.
The first church was built in 1619 and was destroyed twice:
1680 Pueblo Revolt and 1847 Taos Revolt.
The bell tower is the only part left standing.
San Geronimo Church was built in 1850 after the
Mexican American war and is still used today
for Sunday mass, weddings, etc.
A short drive west of Taos is the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.
It was very windy but we walked out to see this
amazing view on the bridge which is 650 feet above the river!
We also had a fantastic visit with family, Lee and Skye,
here in Arroyo Secco! If you are ever in the area you
have to stop at
Taos Cow for ice cream! Yummy!
One of our plans was to drive the Enchanted Circle Scenic
Byway which is gorgeous!
Nestled in the mountains are the towns of Angel Fire,
Eagle Nest and this is Red River.
We stayed in Questa which is north of Taos for three days.
Elevation 7457 ft.
It was cold at night so we had to have our space heater on.
One thing you can't get in this photo is the wonderful
smell of sage and pine everywhere you go.
Hiking in Rio Grande del Norte National Monument,
especially along the rim, was exhilarating!
There are camping spots right along the river if you feel
like hiking down the canyon trail. We found some
scenic, peaceful campsites, right along the rim, where
we will camp when we return to this area.
As we took another side road, we came across a white buffalo!
Besides all the natural beauty there are lots of
art galleries, pottery places, farmers markets, shops
and music venues to see in Taos.
Camping at Cochiti Lake was great.
Our spot overlooks
the lake that is fed by the Rio Grande River.
We saw a rainbow one afternoon
and a coyote walk by
about 30 yards away as we sat outside.
Skye recommended the Kasha-Katuwe “white cliffs”
Tent Rocks
National Monument as a great place to hike.
The Slot Canyon Trail is moderate to difficult. Starting
elevation is 5570 feet to 6760 feet at Scenic View.
Several areas are very narrow and
only passable
by one person at a time.
You can see why it is call Tent Rocks!
When we reached the top we could see a rain storm with
lightening very near. We quickly descended to avoid the
experience of being hit
by lightning or getting caught
in a flash flood in the slot canyon.
We were invited by a young man at the visitor center to
attend
the Santo Domingo Pueblo Annual Feast Day. It sounded
interesting but we
had no idea what to expect. When we got
closer we could see cars backed up for
a mile. Oh boy, we
thought it was a small, less than 100 people, event.
Once
parked we walked through the streets of vendors
selling pottery, turquoise,
snow cones, jewelry,
baked goods, and beef jerky.
Following a group of people,
we ended up at the center of the
pueblo and the ceremony of presenting food and candles.
Several hundred Native Americans were lined up in full dress
with white
and reddish-orange body paint, pine twigs,
coyote skins, bells, and necks adorned in beaded necklaces.
No photographs were allowed in the pueblo. We were
very
honored to observe this Feast Day. Sitting quietly just watching
as over a hundred children stood by us in full ceremonial
dress waiting for their turn to
dance was amazing!
They smiled at us but they took
participating in this
dance serious. What an opportunity we were given to
experience a little of their culture!
We did ask later and were told that the candles represent prayers and
the food was a symbol of the blessings received.
"Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away,
once in a while, and climb a mountain or
spend a week in the woods.
Wash your spirit clean."
John Muir
Eroded Boulder House
Square Tower is two stories tall.
This is an area we would like to come back and explore. 
