March 14 Saturday Taos

After being kept awake a good portion of the night by our rowdy upstairs neighbours, we packed up, had breakfast and headed to Taos on the low road (285, 84, then 68). The first sign you see warns to "Proceed with caution, Watch for rocks". The views of the mountains are fantastic and my car windows were dirty.  At Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center we stopped to look around and I cleaned the windshield as well as I could.

Arriving in Taos, we had a little search for the San Francisco de Asis Church but finally found it. It was built by Franciscan priests and completed in 1772. You can still see the straw glinting in the sunshine on the massive adobe walls. Photo are not allowed inside the church.

Next stop was the E.L. Blumenschein Home and Museum. Ernest and Mary were artists and made this their home in 1919. The restored 13 room house contains original furnishing and showcases their works as well as their daughters and other Taos artists.

Our Super saver ticket also gained us admission to the Martinez Hacienda. This restored hacienda was built in 1804 by Don Antonio Severino Martinez, a merchant and mayor of Taos. The fortress like house has 21 rooms built around 2 large courtyards. It contains exhibits of Spanish colonial life and culture.

Next we thought we would visit the Taos Pueblo but when we got there, we were told it is closed until March 20.
Taos Plaza was our next site so, we parked the car and walked around the streets looking at the shops and architecture for awhile. It was a pleasant way to spend a piece of an afternoon on such a nice day.
Our accomodations tonight are at the Sun God Lodge. Tomorrow we are going to drive the Enchanted Circle drive.