Last weekend we returned from spending a week in Taos, New Mexico, our home for eleven years. We left there nine years ago and hadn’t been back since, except when Hank went to retrieve his woodworking tools. It was a great adventure living in the high desert among three cultures. I was editor-in-chief of The Taos News. We explored what the area had to offer.
We have no intention of moving back, so I considered this a closure trip. Here are some highlights.
ELEVATION: Once again we had to adjust to being at 6,969 feet in Taos and 9,350 in Taos Ski Valley. (TSV’s Kachina Peak is at 12,481 and Wheeler Peak, 13,161, the state’s highest spot.) There’s less oxygen at those heights, so as it happened when we first moved there, I had a hard time sleeping, and when I did, I had whacky dreams. I was careful about drinking alcohol.
RECONNECTING: There wasn’t enough time to see everyone we knew, but we did a few—people I had worked with, a dear neighbor Mary, and a friend in TSV for whom Hank had built cabinets and other woodworking projects. Ben grew up in another hilltown where we once lived, Worthington.
HOTEL: We stayed at La Fonda Hotel in the Plaza, which made it easy to explore downtown. The old building, adobe like most in Taos, has a lot of history, which includes a small exhibit of author D.H. Lawrence’s nude paintings, which I will write about for my next post. He was one of the many famous creatives who have lived in the area. At night, we walked to the Taos Inn to listen to good local music.
BIG SKY: Except for the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Taos is on a flat high desert, which makes for a big sky with brilliant sunsets—see above—and an abundance of stars at night. Alas, it was uncharacteristically rainy during our visit, so the nights were clouded. But there was a bonus: the mountains peaks got snow instead.
CHANGES: We missed favorite stores that went out of business. Prices were higher like everywhere else. The Plaza was rather quiet. But Taos Ski Valley had changed the most. The quaint Alpine-style buildings from the Blake family, the previous owner, were gone. Under the ownership of Louis Bacon, a super wealthy hedge-fund manager, buildings were very upscale, including swanky new homes. The sale happened before we moved, but now, we saw the impact.
OUR FORMER HOME: Yes, we got to see inside, thanks to its new owner. (Mary, our former neighbor, arranged it as part of a walking tour of our old neighborhood.) Once again, I admired the carpentry skills of Hank, who worked alongside the mostly Hispanic crew building the pumice-crete home covered by stucco. That’s it above.
FOOD: We ate out every meal from smothered burritos at Orlando’s to a smoked trout salad at the Bavarian in Taos Ski Valley. (Thanks Mary for lunch.) I felt fortunate to smell green chile roasting outside Cid’s.
TAOS PUEBLO: We came specifically for San Geronima Feast Day. Late morning, we walked among the tented vendors and in the shops that had jewelry and pottery for sale. Hank bought a ring. I chose a small clay pot. Later in the day, Koshare (Sacred Clowns), their bodies painted in black-and-white stripes and wearing corns husks for hair, traditionally appear to entertain. But the rains came down heavy and the clay mud was getting messy, so unfortunately, we missed that part. I recall being entertained by the Koshare’s mischief. One time we were invited into the home of the late Tony Reyna, a honored member of Taos Pueblo, for a meal.
OJO CALIENTE: We got to soak in the hot springs at Ojo Caliente, definitely a goal. Each pool has a different mineral content and level of heat. A great place for people-watching for certain.
RIO GRANDE: We crossed the bridge over the deep rocky gorge of this great river and walked a trail to see it from above. I was glad structural efforts are being made to discourage people from committing suicide by jumping off the bridge. I recall writing editorials for the state to address this problem with barriers, but there was so much resistance. The river far below looked rather muddy, largely because of longtime dry conditions.
Taos remains a special place that has drawn so many creative people to live among those whose families have been there for centuries. There’s a saying “The Mountain calls.” Another is “The Mountain kicks you out.” I suppose I have experienced both. Adiós Taos.