I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles, oh yeah!!!!
For our first Saturday in New Mexico, we headed to Taos about an hour and half away. I went to Taos for their annual (before COVID) Fiber Festival in October 2019 and was excited to share it with the hubs. It was a very nice drive – part of it was along the Rio Grande river and miles of flat desert full of scrubby shrubs. You could see for miles! (Ed. Note – It is the most foreign looking / feeling place we have been since we started this journey!!!) We went to Michael’s Kitchen for a sweet to eat treat 😊– they make all kinds of bakery items fresh every morning and have other great food as well. We walked down the street and found a LARGE picnic table to enjoy our treats. The weather was lovely, mid-sixties with warm sunshine.
Dang, that’s a long way down!!!
Our next stop was the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge about 10 miles outside of town. Its amazing! The bridge was built in 1965 and is the fifth highest bridge in the United States. It is 800 feet above the Rio Grande. You can see a dark line running across the horizon as you drive toward the gorge. All of a sudden, you can see the canyon. As we walked across the bridge the wind was whipping but the bridge felt nice and sturdy (thank goodness). There is a sidewalk on either side of the road with 2 viewing sections on each side so you can look down on the river and the canyon. Thinking about the millions of years it took for the river to carve out this gorge is extraordinary! (Ed. Note – Water is probably the most powerful natural element we got going!!!)
We had a chance to do something right – but let it slip through our fingers!!!!!
Just a mile or so past the bridge is the Earthship Global Visitor Center. The Earthship plan was started in the 1970s by architect Michael Reynolds. His vision was to build houses made from recycled materials such as tires, cans, and bottles that use natural energy sources and can be built by ordinary people who do not have specialized construction skills. They reduce or eliminate utility bills, use water caught from the sky, stay at a comfortable 72 degrees year round and have their own greenhouses for growing food. There are about 70 earthships in this community with some rentals for those interesting in staying the night. We went on a self guided tour and found the whole concept fascinating! Be sure to check out their website. (Ed. Note – We have forgotten, to our and the Earth’s detriment, what seeing the Big Blue Marble picture from the Apollo missions did to the thinking around what it means to preserve and protect our home planet. We will pay the price for that!!!!)
Now this feels more like home!!!!
We drove up to Taos Ski Valley before heading back to Santa Fe. Our daughter worked there a few years ago and it’s a lovely drive up the mountain. The hubs and I marveled at the change of the desert ecosystem to climbing up a mountain with tall evergreens, aspen groves and snow covered peaks! The road ends at Ski Valley – a resort that’s like a little Swiss village filled with shops, restaurants, and condos. The parking lot was full and we could see people skiing along the mountain – it was cool!!
Well, it’s a marvelous night for a Mooncat!! Wait, that doesn’t sound right!!!!
As much as I LOVED all this – I saved my favorite for last! A great little yarn shop called Mooncat Fiber! It was not a big shop but the selection was really good. The owner, Cathy was so friendly and very enjoyable to chat with – her brother, as well – he moved to Taos to be closer to her several years ago. She showed me her great selection of local yarns. Even though they were not all local to New Mexico, they dye for her shop. I bought a beautiful skein of yarn named Taos (how appropriate!) by Pink Adobe Dyeworks. It’s 85 merino/15 nylon, fingering weight. She offered to wind it for me but I wanted to keep it in the skein so I can just enjoy the colors for a while 😊. The shop has beautiful jewelry and shawl pins that Cathy’s husband creates for her shop, roving for spinners and yarns from Juniper Moon Farm, Malabrigo, Ella Rae, Concept by Katia, Greenwood Fibers, and so many more. Don’t miss it if you visit Taos. We’re heading to Albuquerque tomorrow!
