Rain and gold leaves

We really enjoyed the foggy landscapes along the road (click here to see where it all started - On the Way...). The rain had returned, low clouds, golden leaves... everything looked simply beautiful!

 

On the Way...

Someone once asked me what’s the best time to visit New Mexico. Well… it depends. I guess any time is good, but fall is twice as good as any other season. It’s not as hot as summer, and if you time your visit right, you can enjoy the beautiful and vibrant fall colors.

So, we planned carefully, hoping to catch that perfect moment when the Colorado mountains had already shed their golden beauty, but the colors were just beginning farther south. On October 11th, we jumped in the car and headed toward New Mexico. The forecast didn’t look too bad, but once we passed Walsenburg, the clear blue sky began to change. We were stunned to see a cloud shaped like a tornado stretching across the horizon. Well… this trip was already promising a bit of adventure.

 

Challenging way back home...

As usual, we enjoyed a stroll through the streets of Taos as the sun went down (click here to refresh your memory - Evening in Taos) and headed back to the place we stayed during this trip. Actually, I think I should say a few words about this place, don’t you think? Normally we stay in the hotel when we are in the area, but this time we opted for AirBnB and we didn't regret it. We spent a couple of days looking at all properties nearby and eventually settled on the historic Mill House. Yeah... it doesn’t look impressive from the outside… an old adobe building that blends in with the surroundings… but inside, it was something else.

 

Evening in Taos

We enjoyed visiting Taos museums that day (click here to see it - Two houses, two worlds... ). After we left the Art Museum at Fechin House, we decided to walk the streets. It was such a nice evening and we couldn't resist the temptation to see a little more of Taos...

 

Two houses, two worlds...

We had a busy morning driving around the town (click here to see - Morning in Taos ). At this point, we needed some rest and recharge. So we quickly cooked lunch and gobbled it :) Now we were ready to explore more...

 

Morning in Taos

As you may remember... our way to Taos was long and indirect (click here to refresh your memory - Adobe churches in Colorado and New Mexico...). But it wasn't really a hard drive, and after a restful night in our historic Airbnb (I promise to show it later) we woke up ready to explore... Since we were staying just a block off the main plaza, we decided on a short walk to look around...

 

Adobe churches in Colorado and New Mexico... Part 1

We really enjoy our short stop in La Veta (Short stop in La Veta, a cute little town...), but we still had something else to explore. We planned our first stop at Fort Garland, where we planned to turn onto Highway 159... It would have been easy to just drive straight to Taos, but... it wasn't what we wanted to do this time. This time we wanted to take some backroads and to see something that usually escapes the attention of travelers - some old adobe churches. And the first one was at Fort Garland.

Holy Family Catholic Church - 626 Beaubien Avenue Fort Garland, CO 81133

Set against the picturesque backdrop of Fort Garland, Colorado, the Holy Family Catholic Mission stands as a serene beacon of faith. This cherished landmark is noted for its stunning structure that exudes a sense of tranquility and a welcoming atmosphere. Though some travelers might find the doors closed past the usual visiting hours (sigh... yes... we also were unlucky ones), the mission's exterior beauty continues to garner admiration. 

 

Flamenco in Albuquerque

A few years ago we went to Albuquerque for the famous Balloon Fiesta (click here to see the event - Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta). But we planned to spend some time exploiting the city too. First we enjoyed the farmers market downtown (click here to check it out - Downtown Albuquerque). Next we moved to see the old town. The oldest part of Albuquerque and we discovered something unexpected there. Something we didn't even think we could find in New Mexico - flamenco dancers.

 

On the road. Between Santa Fe and Taos, NM

We've had so many trips to New Mexico over the years... And no one has been the same ;) So this time we spent a nice and impressive day in Santa Fe, exploring a lesser known part of the town (click here to see what we found! - Santa Fe, Cristo Rey church district). The next day we woke up in our Airbnb to a delicious breakfast burritos served by our host. What a nice way to start the day ;) Anyway, we were soon on our way and headed back home. But... As usual we took the long road instead of the convenient and quick highway ;) This time we took the High Road to the Taos Scenic Byway. This winding road begins in Espanola and passes through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, home to Native Americans and early Spanish settlers.

 

Taos, blue sky and bright sun... what else could you wish?

I always enjoy visiting Taos. It's a nice place to pass by or to spend a weekend. And not that far away - just a few hours from Denver. So... let's do it... let's jump in the car and find ourselves there... less than 300 miles away ;)

 

Taos and on the way back to Denver

It was a nice but short escape to New Mexico to watch the eclipse and eat some spicy food (click here for previous part - Somewhere between here and there... Town of Los Cerillos)... but we needed to get back to Denver. We woke up early and left Las Vegas (New Mexico, not Nevada ;) ). We only made one short detour to see Montezuma Castle. United World College - USA uses the building now so we could only look at it from some distance (and, unfortunately, couldn't see much) ;)

 

Somewhere between here and there... Town of Los Cerillos

We drove along Highway of Legend and enjoyed the vibrant fall colors (click here to see - Vibrant colors of Highway of Legends) and ended up in Las Vegas (don't get me wrong, it's not Las Vegas, Nevada, but Las Vegas, New Mexico ;) ). This is a great place to stay (click here to see - Las Vegas, the small town with a big history) but we weren't planning on doing it this time. We had some other plans... It may not be as big and bright as its sister town in Nevada (click here to see - Las Vegas - Sin City) but... we loved it a lot! 

The next morning we left while it was still dark outside and headed towards Madrid (not Madrid, Spain but Madrid, New Mexico, yes I know it's very confusing, during this trip we were always not where the names were suggested), where we planned to stop on the side of the road and look around...

 

Mabel Dodge Luhan house, Taos

We had a really good time discovering the treasures of La Loma Plaza (click here to see - Taos, a place you will never forget ;)) but ended up going elsewhere to see another Taos landmark.

 

Taos, a place you will never forget ;)

As you may remember, we caught the very last shuttle bus at Bandelier National Monument (click here if you want to refresh your memory - Bandelier National Monument) and drove back to Taos, where we planned to spend the night. The next morning we woke up full of energy and ideas about what we wanted to see...

 

Bandelier National Monument

There was a lot to see in Chimayo (click here if you are interested in - El Santuario de Chimayó) but in the end we left this beautiful town and continued on to Santa Fe. But... we couldn't go straight there (surprise-surprise) and made another turn... We turned towards the Bandelier National Monument to see the place where no one has lived for the last 500 years :-)

 

El Santuario de Chimayó

We said goodbye to Irwin (click here to meet him - Back to Golden Fall from snow...) and moved to the main attraction of Chimayo. This town is famous not only as a weaver's paradise, but also well known for its pilgrimage place - El Santuario de Chimayó. Many years ago I found a website where I learnt about the history of this place. The site no longer exists ;( But... thanks to the Wayback machine I was able to recover the content... So let me just paste it below so you can read it if you are interested ;)

 

Back to Golden Fall from snow...

You know how it is... The days get shorter, the leaves turn from green to yellow and then fly away... in a few days it snows and the temperature drops by a good 20 degrees... Yeah, we usually call it Fall ;) And that's exactly what happened in 2012, when we had snow most of the day on Friday, October the 5th. And (as you might have guessed) there were no leaves left on the trees by this moment. But we had some plans for that weekend, so we loaded up the car and headed down Highway 285 towards New Mexico. At first, we moved slowly, not only because of the snowy and slippery roads, but also because of the thick fog... But after about an hour... the clouds were left behind and we enjoyed a blue sky and nicer weather... The trees were mostly barren and looked miserable when we stopped for a second at Kenosha Pass...

 

Downtown Albuquerque

Let's take a walk there. Starting from the street market where you can buy many different goods like pumpkins and corn ;)

 

Santa Fe, Cristo Rey church district

Santa Fe is a really nice city and we always enjoy being there. Downtown is usually busy but worth exploring. And I don't remember if we even missed walking narrow downtown streets, looking at the vendors in the open market and window shopping. But sometimes we feel like trying something new, going off the beaten path and finding something we didn't see before.

 

Pecos National Historical Park - just between Las Vegas and Santa Fe

If you travel across New Mexico along Highway 25, you can make a right turn somewhere between Las Vegas and Santa Fe. If you do it, soon you find yourself in the Pecos National Historical Park exploring the ruins of ancient Pueblo.