Sage Waters Of Taos, New Mexico

We visited the 1000+ year old Navajo Pueblo belonging to the red willow tribe. The day was sunny and very hot with sporadic clouds in the sky. During our visit just after the tour, we were hit by the most powerful thunderstorm that dropped lots of water, extreme lightning, thunder and pea sized hail. Attached are some of the pictures of Taos and the Enchanted Circle drive.
We stayed the night in Chama, NM home of the Cumbres & Toltec steam railway.

Ojo Caliente Spa has several springs with different properties; iron, arsenic, mud, soda, etc. We soaked in many on the night we arrived, 4/3/2009. We're spending 3 days relaxing, soaking and getting massaged. You KNOW this is Susan's idea. In fact, Susan is in a yoga class as I type.

... d forgotten to pack my poor old tripod so I had no tripod at all for
the big camera. Oh well, I wanted some photos now so shot as many as I could.

Boy did we work up an appetite by
then, plus it was 2pm and we had to eat some "blue corn enchiladas" before
checking out by 5pm and hitting the road. So back to the plaza where we did a
little more looking for the ...

... picking up a few more people in the lot the driver asked who was in a real hurry and I told him "I am, my husband is due in at 12:40. Another passenger looked at his watch and said “well since it is only 11:40 you still have an hour". Opps, I guess I was using Oklahoma time. I went back to the RV picked up my laptop and went on to the terminal.

Dale and I started up to Santa Fe when the traffic stopped. There was a car ...

... the first of several old churches today. It was built in 1813, and is known for its healing powers. People have left many many tokens over the years, beads and rosaries draped on crosses, crossed made of sticks, crutches and all sorts of other things. The pews in the church were heavy old wood, so beautiful. There were doves or pigeons cooing in a niche above the roof, and old wood gates. We also stopped at a weaving studio (there are several in the village) and ...

... get to Creede, CO, and "The MERMAID Cafe" is open for business, do stop and have lunch, or dessert or coffee or tea (or all of the aforementioned). I crossed the Continental Divide today, at an elevation of 10,898 feet; but I actually went over a pass higher than that earlier in the day - 11,750 feet. As I went over that pass, I looked at the trees because I remembered a conversation with the park ranger yesterday where he was telling me about bristlecone pines ...

... provided support to build multi-story dwellings with the cliff face and caves as the back wall. Additionally, in the 1400s there was a large pueblo on the valley floor. Deb & I walked along the cliff admiring the ruins. At the end of the trail is a structure called the Alcove House. The only challenge is that to get to it you have to climb up 140 feet of ...

... by the figures in each exhibit. One grandmother with a 5-6 year old commented that she hadn't seen here grandson so excited about anything else on the trip. It is time to move on to Taos. Although a short distance, we are moving north and further away from the large cities. The roads are less travelled and narrower and it is cooler as we continue to gain elevation. We travelled through a narrow valley along the banks of the Rio ...

... the first two churches were built. During the conflict between the Pueblos and the United States when the US first acquired New Mexico, several women, children, and elderly people fled to the church for sanctuary, which the US proceed to subject to cannon fire until it collapsed (hence the origin of the cemetary around the site). We also saw the traditional outdoor ovens where breads and pies and cakes are baked, drying racks for vegetables, fruits, and nuts ...

... grounded style that often trails off or changes topic he tells us about the land of his people. Both his father and his grandfather lived here, and after spending time in other places, Mark had returned to live here, too. He took us to the current kiva and showed us where they hold their ceremonial dances, pointed out the "scalp room" (we chuckled at this, though not sure if we should be), and pointed out the new adobe building that's being built ...