Back in 1997, Zach and I went down part of this river in a raft, together with Coral Norris and her son, Sam. I can no longer remember where we put in or where we came out.
Before we got to the Pueblo, we came to the town of Taos.
This is what we saw when we first entered the Pueblo:
The church was open, but no photos are allowed inside. I found it very beautiful and peaceful inside, the walls all painted white, the alcove for statues in blue, the ceiling of wood with log beams.
When you leave the church to re-enter the community, you pass through this archway:
Today, only about 50 people live within the Pueblo. The rest of the Taos people, numbering about 4,500, live in more modern housing on the Taos Reservation outside the Pueblo.
People who live inside the Pueblo have neither electricity nor running water in their homes.
The Rio Pueblo de Taos is the source of drinking water for people who live in the Pueblo.
People who live here today still bake bread in these ovens, called by their Spanish name, "hornos."
After walking around, we stopped inside the Pueblo to have lunch at the Adobe Cafe.
Marie struck up a conversation with another tourist who spoke French because her grandmother was born in French-speaking Belgium — just like Anne Marie's grandmother!
Our lunch at the Adobe Cafe was excellent! I had blue corn chip soup with turkey, which was THE BEST tortilla soup I have ever had. Marie Therese and Anne Marie had tacos, which were huge, plate-sized tacos made with blue corn fry bread instead of a Mexican tortilla.
We had a good conversation with the owner, who told us a sad story about studying French in her senior year of high school in Santa Fe with an alcoholic teacher who gave everyone an A if they gave the teacher one dollar of their lunch money every day. In that whole year, she only learned how to say her name in French, nothing more.
We liked this woman very much.
After we left the Taos Pueblo, we drove on to the bridge which spans the Rio Grande Gorge.
Marie Therese and Anne Marie walked out onto the bridge to take more photos, while I relaxed in the car.
We drove back South on the West Rim Road, which eventually turns into a gravel road with hair-raising turns and beautiful views.
Eventually, the road brought us down to the level of the river.
There are lovely campsites right on the river's edge.
And plenty of white water!
With my back facing the river, this is the view:
At the end of the day, we are back at "home" in our Air BnB in Santa Fe.
For supper, we ate at home — an organic rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods, asparagus, and a delicious salad. And wine!
Man, that sky! Just amazing!
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