Day 6, Thursday, Jun 8 - Taos to Santa Fe

Left the El Pueblo Lodge at 7:45 after breakfast - the inn has a wider variety of food than most motels, although B&G is still a staple.  How about tamales and artisan toast to go with the eggs?  We made a couple of stops on our way down the canyon, to see the rapids.  Unfortunately, saw no rafters this morning.

 White water in the gorge

 Nice standing wave

 Arrived in Santa Fe just before 10 AM, parked in a $15/all day lot, and headed to the IAIA museum.  This museum feature contemporary Native artists from the U.S. and Canada.  The long portico is nicely painted.

Then it was time for lunch at The Shed, a very "in" spot that we found on our first trip to Santa Fe in 2004.  We plan lunch there every trip, and try to get the table where Bill got  a prize-winning photo.  Got the table, but the picture has changed, so Bill managed to get both of us in one shot.

The Shed is located in one of the old buildings along this street.


We did our usual tour of the museums and stores around the Plaza.  The NM Museum of Art had a special exhibit on loan from the British Museum - drawings by many artists famous & infamous (from Michelangelo to the present).  The museum itself is architecturally interesting:

Worn out after a lot of walking on a very hot day, we found a place to rest at the Plaza and listen to a girl (and her dog) fiddling for money.

Checked into the hotel about 3:30, did laundry, had an excellent quesadilla at Tortilla Flats off very busy Cerillos Road.  Tomorrow we'll visit Museum Hill, stop at the park adjacent to the cathedral to finish visiting a special exhibit of paintings at Madrid's Prado, have lunch, and spend afternoon & early evening at Fennboree.

For the day, 77 miles, 1263 for the trip.

Day 5, Wednesday, June 7, 2017 - Around Taos

The day started with a great breakfast at Michael's Kitchen, then it was off to Taos Pueblo.  Despite all our previous trips to Taos, we'd never visited the Pueblo.  There's a $14 per senior person charge to visit, and the tour is by donation.  Our tour guide was a UNM Senior from the pueblo.  He gave some history and talked about the lifestyle.  What follows is a series of pictures with captions:

Current church at Taos Pueblo

Church & entrance at Taos

 

Original church at Taos, destroyed by cannon fire during Taos revolt, 1847

People on a pilgrimage to the church.  They walked all the way from town, circle the pueblo, then have a service.

 

 Taos Pueblo.  The structures in front are arbors where members sell arts & crafts to tourists.

It was hot, so we came back & cooled off a bit, then headed to Pilar and the Rio Grand gorge.  Water was high, and raft trips were either putting in or taking out here.

 Came back by way of the west rim & had lunch at Michael's.  Followed that with a trip to the Plaza,
 

After a stop at Walmart for bug repellent, and eventually supper at El Taoseno, we were to bed early, since the wifi at the motel seemed to be overloaded.

For the day 61 miles, 1187 for the trip.

Day 4, Tuesday, June 6 - Las Vegas to Taos

Left the motel in Ls Vegas about 7:20 and headed up NM-65 toward El Provenir, hoping to get a good view of Hermit Peak.  Didn't realize we'd  have to go up it to see it, so turned around about 7 miles up.  Then headed up to Mora by the scenic route, NM-94.  Saw a few interesting buildings en route, and had little traffic to fight on this curvy road.

This place purports to be a Guest House

Mora has some interesting buildings.  The barn is just out of town on NM-518, while the old mill is just north of town on NM-434.

From Mora, we headed north on NM-434, which starts out as a typical narrow, winding road, then gets even narrower and more winding.  Unfortunately (for those who like narrow & winding roads), the NM highway dept is upgrading about 10 miles of it.  We eventually came out at Angel Fire, then visited the New Mexico Vietnam Memorial.  It's a scenic & moving place, and was built privately by a doctor in memory of his son, a Marine 2Lt killed in an ambush.

One more canyon, and we were in Taos.  Lunch was at El Taoseno, a locals restaurant with no frills, just good food.  We enjoyed lunch so much, we went back for supper.  In between, we visited the Taos Plaza, with its mixture of tourist traps and art galleries/stores.  Our favorite book store has changed hands and changed names, and it no longer hosts the oh-so-photgenic bookstore cats - the new owners are allergic. 

We're staying at the El Pueblo Lodge, a classic Taos motel - a significant upgrade from our previous lodgings at the Sun God.

Only 122 miles on the day, 1124 on the trip.  Tomorrow we see the pueblo and enjoy the rest of Taos.

Day 3, Monday June 5, Liberal to Las Vegas

Left Liberal on US-54 about 7:30, bought gas & ice in Guymon, and headed for New Mexico on US-64, with stops at Boise City and Clayton.  Our real sight-seeing destination was Capulin Volcano National Monument.  After a visit with the ranger, we headed up the road to the summit.

The volcano provides lots of good views of neighboring landforms - craters, lava flows, other extinct volcanoes, etc.  This was the greenest we've ever seen the surrounding grasslands.

On the way out, we saw a couple of horse grazing near a long-abandoned house.  Meanwhile, thunderheads were building on the horizon.

We stopped at a welcome center in Raton, where we discovered our favorite restaurant (El Matador) is closed on Mondays.  They recommended Casa Lemus, where the green chile enchiladas were excellent.  On I-25 south toward Las Vegas (the one w/o all the lights) and the Holiday Inn Express there.  About Wagon Mound, the storms on the horizon decided to visit the hiway, giving us around 10 miles of intermittent rain, hail & winds.

Dinner at Charles Bakery & Cafe - the green chile was very hot, but I finished my stew.  Sandra had a bit more trouble w/ her stuffed sopapilla (green).  Did the laundry & ready for the scenic route to Taos tomorrow.

354 miles for the day, 1002 for the trip.

 

Day 2, Sunday, June 5th - Great Bend to Liberal, via Wichita

An expensive day.  Tire was down to 22 psi this AM, so called NTB in Wichita - they have a tire that'll fit.  So, aired up the tire and started backtracking via KS-96 at an easy 56 mph.  the tire stayed up, and at least I was getting good mileage.  Yep, NTB had a tire, and I was out in an hour, less $200. 

While waiting at NTB, I had time to change tonight's reservation to Liberal KS.  It's US-54 all the way. Stopped en route to tour Greensburg, KS, & see their rebuilding effort.  Then on to Liberal, arriving about 4:30.  Dinner at Cattleman's Cafe - you can't go wrong with chicken fried steak, meatloaf or pot roast.

Tomorrow we get back on schedule.  It'll be US-54 to Guymon, US-64 to Raton (with a side trip to Capulin Volcano), and I-25 to Las Vegas (NM).

325 miles today, 647 for the trip.

Day 1, Saturday, June 3, 2017 - Warrensburg to Great Bend

Our 2017 trip started off with a bang - or could have.  We have a nail.  Have you ever tried to find an odd size of tire in a store open on a Sunday?  Here we are in Great Bend, Walmart doesn't have our size, and all the other stores are closed until Monday.  Thanks to the internet, we've found one at NTB in Wichita, so we may boogie on down there tomorrow, then try to make it to Liberal, or at least Pratt, tomorrow night.

Oh, well - on  to our trip.  Got an early start at 6:30.  Cats went to boarding on Friday, so they weren't in the way.  Proceeded as normal thru Holden, Harrisonville, Ottawa, and Council Grove.  Stopped for lunch at the Gridiron Cafe in Hope - good burgers & rings - and Sandra took pictures of an old thresher. 

Saw the Swedish-settled town of Lindsborg, and boy do they promote it.  Their painted critters are Dala horses.  Here are some pictures from Lindsborg:

 Dala Horse

 Sandra w/ Dala Horse

 Lindsborg main street

Got to Great Bend, new but busy HIE, got the bad news at Walmart - tire can't be fixed as too close to the wall.  Plans for next few days are in flux.

 wheat field & thunderstorm near Great Bend

322.5 miles total today.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Headed Southwest Again

We're off (almost).  Saturday morning we start a 15 day trip to New Mexico, via Kansas & Colorado, returning via Texas, Oklahoma & Kansas (again).  Among the sites and activities on our agenda: Castle Rock & Monument Rocks, KS; Capulin Volcano, Vietnam Memorial at Eagles Nest, Taos Pueblo, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Roswell, Washita Battlefield and Ft. Scott.

I expect to post daily as we travel.  Enjoy!