Fun in Taos

September 20, 2012

Today we took a kayak trip down the Rio Grande.  Although we traversed several rapids, the pictures only depict smooth sections of the river because I was too busy dodging big rocks and trying to keep myself upright, to take pictures then.  Note the bow on Lynn’s kayak, she banged into her share of these big rocks, and fell out twice, oops not supposed to tell you that.  It was lots of fun, but we are both really pooped tonight.

Paddlin' on the Rio Grande

September 19, 2012

We are enjoying our stay here in Taos, NM.  Bright and sunny with highs near 80 and really low humidity.  At night it gets into the upper 40s, a little chilly.  Were basically in high desert country about 6000 ft.  Today we drove around a bit, saw Rio Grande Gorge bridge, and the ski area up at 9800 ft.  Pretty landscape, but we have seen cooler scenary last year.

Today we also visited the Taos Pueblo. It is a community that originated around 1400, populated by Native Americans related to the Anasazi.  We learned last year they mysteriously abandoned their cliff dwellings and moved south around 1100AD. Today, about 50 people still live within the sacred boundaries of the Pueblo, with another 1900 in the adjacent reservation.  The people within the boundary maintain a lifestyle very much like it was over 400 years ago.



Taos Pueblo



The adobe pueblo in the picture is the only remaining multistory pueblo in the U.S. There was work going on to spruce up the outer surface with new adobe in preparation for a fiesta in a couple of weeks.  Adobe is applied like plaster, and needs to be fixed up annually. 



Church of San Geronimo

The church; San Geronimo, named for the patron saint of Taos, was rebuilt in 1850, after the original one got destroyed in the Spanish American War.  There were many shops in the Pueblo selling art items that you buy directly from the artist. All the people were very friendly there.