Santa Fe

Day 7: Santa Fe & Taos, New Mexico

After several days of waking up for sunrise or hiking, we both enjoyed a lazy morning here in Santa Fe. We made our way to downtown Santa Fe (we stayed out in the cheaper area) and strolled around having coffee and checking out the adobe-style buildings. We ducked into a few shops and museums, but then hopped back in the car to head for Taos.

We took the scenic "high road" which meandered through several old Hispanic villages; these towns were so isolated and depressed that it was hard for us to believe they were in the U.S. In each town, the most modern building we saw was the U.S. Post Office; most others were run-down and appeared to be abandoned. It seemed like the only business in each town were the handful of artist studios run out of dilapidated houses. These places gave me a new understanding of the term "small town"; at one point, I missed an entire town in the time that it took me to reach down and pick something up on the floor of the car!

We were ready for some grub by the time we reached Taos, so first filled our stomachs with flautas and tamales at a local restaurant (thanks AAA guidebook!) & then went to visit Taos Pueblo. This gave us a small glimpse into the traditional lifestyle of the Taos people and an appreciation for their efforts to remain faithful and connected to their past. There are 20-30 families that permanently live in this village (which intentionally does not have electricity or running water) and others that do so seasonally. We took a tour and then walked through the village, ducking into the many open art and jewelery shops. We couldn't help but think that it must be a bit weird to live your life on display to this degree; they clearly welcome the tourism but it must be a double-edged sword.

After leaving the Pueblo, we wandered through a few more galleries and stores in the town of Taos before heading back to Santa Fe for a very scrumptious and very filling Southwestern dinner. It was one of the few times in my life that I have only finished about half of my meal! I was so full that I did not order dessert despite the amazingly perfect looking pie we saw on the way in.

Now we are at the hotel and aiming to get a good nights sleep; tomorrow is a full day of driving to Arkansas, hopefully with a stop in Oklahoma for a good steak.

Sorry, no pictures today. Not sure what we will see between here and Memphis, but if there is anything good, we'll put them up.

Good night!