Today (yesterday, really, I'm writing this the day after - travel writing is so damn complicated) reveille was 0600. Had quick cups of coffee, a bite out of a protein bar, short yoga session and out the door with maps in hand for Santa Fe and then home on the famed, scenic High Road.
Another beautiful day in the neighborhood - they've all been. Sunny and crisp but turned down the car's heater before we were out of the Taos city limits (not soon enough for hot-blooded Royce). Drove the river road south to Santa Fe. No traffic to speak of. Arrived there in an hour and headed for Trader Joe's. Stocked up on an odd array of groceries, including red quinoa, their itty-bitty crispy chocolate chip cookies, body lotion and an organic treat for Cindy's dog (she's collecting my mail). Too bad, so sad they were out of white balsamic vinegar, so will not be able to surprise Kay with this treat. Royce and I both picked up some cheap wine.
Groceries in the boot (just finished a foreign novel - Hedgehog!), we zoomed off to Tia Sophias for a breakfast of red, cheese enchiladas on blue corn tortillas con huevo con frijoles (just finished reading a couple signs in Spanish). A lip-smacking breakfast. Royce had the huevos rancheros and proclaimed them lip smacking also. Lots 'o happy smacking lips. Tia's (aunt in Spanish) is a local dive on San Francisco Street that's been around for decades. A lot of the native American Indians dine there before sitting down to sell their wares in front of the Palace of the Governors.
After brunch, we hit a couple of my favorite shops and then headed back north for the high road to Taos. Our first stop was the Nambe gift shop, where I learned something. The silver Nambe ware that some of us know and love is not made by the tribe. Some capitalistic pigs purloined the name before any advertising/marketing hacks could suggest that the Nambe tribe trademark their name and brand themselves. Wait until you see the new line of Hopi Hotdogs I'm going to market when returning to Denver.
From there, it was another 15 minutes or so the Santuario Chimayo - an old church where the faithful are purported to walk and crawl every Easter for healings (scabbed knees, for starters). Since it's a small church, they have a very small priest (seriously, about 5' 2") whom we saw being helped down the path by an alter boy (not really, but it perpetuates the salacious news from the Catholic church). The gift shop was selling fifty cent plastic bottles for three dollars to fill with holy dirt and/or holy water = holy mud, if the recipe comes together correctly. You can read the real story about the church by Googling it, but you won't find shit like this in the Wikipedia account.
Walked down the road where a lady was selling paintings created by herself, husband and daughters - simple, but sweet. I ended up buying a pretty sage bundle to purify myself against the spirits who are bound to be after me after writing that last paragraph.
The road from Chimayo to Truchas has been bequeathed big Obama bucks, so there is much digging and rearranging of the two-lane highway, which slowed us down a bit. Truchas is on a ridge overlooking the Sangre de Cristo (blood of Christ - there's a theme) Mountains. It hosts many small art galleries, including the Blue Gaucho owned by the owners of the condo in which we're happily ensconced. We rubbed our noses against the windows for a look see, as it was closed, as are many of the galleries. During the off season, they're generally open just a few days a week.
After Truchas no stops. Sailed along through rain and sun and landed back at Burch Street around 3. After this grueling day, nothing would do but to have a couple gin and tonics and watch Don Juan de Marco - starring Johnny Depp - god, what an actor he is. And because we were so muddled and couldn't do much of anything else, watched Capote. Did I mention that our condo is stocked full of great DVDs? With the exception of finding another bottle gin, you'd never have to leave it!
A side note: Yesterday watched Ladies in Lavender, a sweet, beautifully filmed movie starting Judy Dench and Maggie Smith.
Will let Royce fill in the blanks, as there are surely blanks in this day's adventures.....we're happily propped up in bed with our laptops, drinking coffee, eating itty-bitty chocolate chip cookies and laughing about what we're writing.
La vida es muy buena (life is very good). Adios!
Royce’s two bits: As usual, Barb has covered the day thoroughly, eloquently and with humor. I’m fortunate to have my name appear on this body of work without doing much work at all.
Besides, it’s more fun to be at Barb’s side as she writes. If you’re amused by her musings, you should hear how much fun we have as she blogs. Her best lines are so irreverent that we howl with laughter before she deletes them for being “over the top.”
To add a simple perspective on our day: With New Mexico’s incredible landscapes as far as the eye can see, sitting in a car on the High Road is like basking in a 360 degree IMAX movie. I’ve visited this state many times – often on a drive-through and at other times for extended stays – but I’ve never see it more beautifully arrayed than in our High Road excursion.
Another good day in the Land of Enchantment…
To add a simple perspective on our day: With New Mexico’s incredible landscapes as far as the eye can see, sitting in a car on the High Road is like basking in a 360 degree IMAX movie. I’ve visited this state many times – often on a drive-through and at other times for extended stays – but I’ve never see it more beautifully arrayed than in our High Road excursion.
Another good day in the Land of Enchantment…
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