A Rather Long Drive to Taos!

Ken and I left for Taos, about 80 miles NW from our CG, around 9:15.  It was a very nice drive through the Rio Grande Gorge - some beautiful sites. 

I love what some of the states do to make their highways
interesting!

Very nicely done!!!

This is the Rio Grande Gorge!

Just liked this photo!

Our 1st destination was the Taos Pueblo where the multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years.   Adobe is a brick made of an earth, straw, and water mixture formed and sundried.   Each adobe layer is stacked with a mortar (adobe mixture) and sundried.  Upon completion a coating of the same material is applied.  The coating is continuously maintained to sustain the impacts of weather and deterioration. Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American Community designated both a World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark.  Each home is owned by a family and passed from one generation to the next. Currently about 10 to 15 families live in the original area with no running water or electricity.  Many people sell their "wares" including jewelry, pottery, and baked goods that are baked in the outdoor adobe ovens. 

These buildings are some of the shops!

Hard to imagine that these buildings have been here for
1,000 years!

One of the shops inside the adobe building!

A wooden inlaid door!

Adobe walls too!

The Catholic Church was built in 1850 and is the second church built
after the Mexican American war.  It is still used today!

Many of the folks who were selling items live outside the walled area on the 100,000 acre reservation.  They have all the modern conveniences.  We did talk to one of the native women whose father lived in the walled area.  She chose to marry a white man and they had no choice, but had to move to the outside reservation area.  She was rather bold when speaking about her heritage.  She feels the government has tried to provide monies for education, older folks, etc, but it is not passed down to her people by the tribal leaders.  A rather interesting view from a native Indian!

From there we headed to Orlandos, a Mexican Restaurant that was a recommendation from my Lanc. Co. urologist.  His family skies in this area and love this eatery.  It was an excellent choice.  The enchiladas were delicious and we were able to eat outside!

We ate on the outside patio! 

This chicken enchilada was so yummy!

Then we went to the Taos Plaza to enjoy the art galleries and some of the shops.

All the shops were in a square surrounding the park area!

We went to a very special gallery, Charles Collins Gallery, where we had a very nice conversation with Mr. Collins.  What an amazing artist and so gracious and friendly.  His sculptures were incredible and you had to see them to really appreciate the detail. He makes multiple component sculptures that look like one large face but can be divided into 3 very detailed figures from both the front and the back.  His main award winning one was called Lincoln's Union which celebrates the Union soldiers, Confederate soldiers, and the women who held the flame of hope for the soul of our nation.  He did 2 other ones with the same technique that were equally amazing.

From the front it looks like a large detailed face,
but you can see how the 3 pieces can be
separated into 3 different sculptures!

From the back you see a Union Soldier,
a Confederate Soldier, and the lady in the middle!

On our way back to the CG we made one more stop at the San Francisco De
Asis Church, a mission church dedicated to St. Francis.  It was constructed between 1813 and 1815 and is an outstanding adobe mission architecture.  It continues today to be a place of worship and an important part of the community.  

The back of the mission church which is what you see
from the highway!

This is along the one side!

A front view!

A view of the other side!

St. Francis!

We arrived at the CG at 5:50 after a long day of driving but we saw many interesting places in this area.  Tomorrow we plan to go back to Santa Fe to the local Farmer's Market and take a tour of the city via trolley.