Libations: The High Bridge, Taos Food, and the Rancho de Chimayo, and Rio Grande del Norte National Monument

The nights in Taos are cold, and the days are warm. This is northern New Mexico in the winter. We are a bit lucky in that the night time temperatures are just at freezing and not to much below, so our trailer water pipes have not frozen. Partly this is because we looked at the weather forecast before planning our route, but some of it is pure chance. The night after we left Taos, the low temp was 20 degrees F. The sunsets are big and colorful, and that makes up for the fact that they signal your imminent freeze.

We passed our first day here driving out the the Rio Grand Gorge High Bridge, which is just outside of town. The gorge is designated as the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, and this had protected the area from development (nothing within 3 miles of the rim). The High Bridge has been used in 8 movies, including one of my favorites,"Paul." I found that I could not walk out to the center of the span, despite the high railing, because it just felt so exposed. I ventured across just far enough to take a picture of the river below.

The High Bridge.

Rabbit brush and the Rio Grande Gorge below.

It is a long way down. This is the same river we saw at Big Bend National Park.

The Gorge Rim Trail. 3.7 miles out and back. We didn't walk the whole thing.

We drove back into Taos for lunch and found the Burger Stand at Taos Ale House. It was great. One of those spots that feels really local and unpretentious. We ate so much that dinner was tiny, just one soy taco each with some tortilla chips.

Good pilsner.

Impossible green chile burger and fries.

Everything in Taos is decorated.

Soy taco for dinner.

Day two was definitely a day of food. We went out for breakfast at a combination of the Coffee Apothecary and Mary Jane's Home Cooking (a permanently installed food truck). Mary Jane's boasted a recent Best of Taos Award, and it lived up to the hype.

The best part of the day was our drive to the small village of Chimayo and the restaurant there. Russ remembers going there with colleagues when he worked in Santa Fe after graduation from college and he wanted to go back and eat there again. I'm so glad we did. The food was delicious and the traditional adobe building with its terraces, courtyards and gardens was perfect. They have hung red chile ristras under all the eves around the outside of the building. I know I'm back in New Mexico when they ask if I want red or green when I order. The restaurant opened in 1965 and has been operating under the same family ever since. We drove home on the high road to Taos, which goes through the Carson National Forest. Beautiful.