We left Santa Fe early. We had a long driving day ahead of us, and the BIG fiesta parade was planned today (MUCH bigger than the pet parade from yesterday), so every road out of town was going to be blocked. Indeed, as we left around 7 am, we started seeing the traffic increasing, and the road blocks being set up.
Since we were so early and since the point of this trip is not to go from point A to point B as fast as possible, we took the high scenic road to Taos, which is a bit of a detour toward our final destination: Mesa Verde National Park. The high road is pretty, and shows off the change from high desert to a more mountainous landscape nicely. Trees started replacing brush, and the landscape got much greener.
On the way to Taos, we stopped at the famous Chimayo Sanctuary, knowing very little about it: it is the most popular catholic pilgrimage site in the country, although, after much Googling, I still don’t know why. The little chapel is very pretty indeed, but we could not get in because we were too early. The grounds, with the many shrines are fascinating, if a bit odd.
Then we drove to Taos: By that time, we were famished- we had left before breakfast, and there is very little between Santa Fe and Taos. So we had a VERY big breakfast at a local place, which was so big, it kept us satiated till dinner.
After a stroll through the pretty town of Taos, it’s typical Spanish plaza, and it’s many colorful and artsy stores, and we continued on our way.
As we drove out, we stopped at the local grocery store (Alberston's) for snacks and ice, and saw something you just don't see in NY: It's hatch chile season! So people buy 10lb boxes of them, and then there is someone in the front of the store that fire roasts them right there. There was a very long line. Not sure what people do with that many chiles.....
We drove through the Carson National Forrest, and then the San Juan National Forrest (where - years ago- we went to a dude ranch with Claire and Emily and had a wonderful time), crossed the continental divide and some pretty high passes (note altimeter on compass), all the way oohing and aahing at the grand landscapes. (it is just impossible to give a true feeling of how beautiful and grand the landscape is, and how long the roads are, so here are just a couple of pictures.
When driving through such empty parts of the country, you often stumble upon very weird stuff: Like this community of "earth dwellings" - supposed to be completely self sufficient and off the grid. There were dozens of them.... they did look interesting if a bit other wordly...
Some of the landscapes look so much like every Western movie you've ever seen, you'd almost expect Geronimo and his warriors to be waiting on horses on top of the ridge (since we are indeed inthe Navajo nation, it would be appropriate!)
The good thing about a road trip, and about not paying too much attention to time, is that you can stop anywhere on a whim: So, when we saw a sign for “Chimney Rock National Monument,” which we knew absolutely nothing about, we just took the short detour. That was so worth it! We though that the “monument” were the interesting rock formations- and indeed, they were beautiful. But in fact, it is the site of one of the oldest Chano Pueblos, dating from about 1000 AD. What a fascinating site!
So high up, and so hard to reach (that's me on top of the trail). One can only wonder as to what the main purpose was (people did live there - but agriculture was happening in the valley below),
although it is strongly believed that it has to do with the moon cycles, which- every 18.6 years- go into a “lunar standstill”, so that it rises between the 2 rocks for 16 months straight (you’ll have to Google it for more details, as I have to admit to not completely understanding this). Anyway, the short but steep hike was so worth it!
What a fascinating and beautiful place!
We were still almost 2 hours away from our final stop: Mesa Verde National park, and the Far View lodge. We did not see any of the park, but the “mesas” are very grand, and the lodge deserves it’s name!
After a few drinks and a simple dinner at the Lodges’s lounge, we spent some time on our balcony just admiring the glorious sunset. (Picture at top of blog)
We get to explore the park tomorrow.
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