Up and at 'em for another full day. We start in Burro Alley, only a block from the Eldorado, for breakfast at Cafe Paris. Delicious french pastry, coffee, and an omelet. We get more coffee for the road, and away we go!
One scenic drive later (Picture 1), along the Rio Grande (why, oh WHY, am I cursed by not being a resident of New Mexico?) we arrive in Taos ahead of schedule.
I admit it. Taos is kind of a let down. I pictured hippies, mountains, and a peaceful little town. It's far more touristy than I thought it would be, especially the Plaza. We have lots of time before check in, and I do find a few nice things. Aventura sells very cool wool coats.
http://www.newterritoryleathers.com/women_blankets_coats.html
Then, I find La Lana Wools. I'd visited the website, but there's nothing like molesting the yarn in person. They have a sweater in The Natural Knitter, and I plan out my sweater using some different colorways than what is recommended in the book. I then see the Chile Line Sweater, and think maybe I might do it instead. Always one for a challenge.
http://www.lalanawools.com/
http://www.lalanawools.com/patterns_kits.php?id=106&sortBy=exp
Andrew sits outside for what he probably thought was hours. And here I felt rushed. I could have stayed there all day.
We then discover that an art fair is going on in Kit Carson Park. We go. I end up finding a beautiful ring in carmelite and opal. The artist is a young Native man who learned the craft from his ancestors. I hope he passes it on. He explained the sun and lightening on my ring are for warmth and cleansing, and the rise in the center symbolizes the mountains.
http://www.fernandobenallyjewelry.com/
We find a great independent bookstore, Moby Dickens. I find a Frank Waters book. We then drive up the mountain to the ski resort. It's much colder up there, and raining. (Picture 2) We drive down to the trout hatchery, but it's raining pretty hard by then and we don't stay long.
We then check into the B and B, the La Posada de Taos. These are the grounds (Picture 3).
http://www.laposadadetaos.com/
The host, a very nice man named Eldon, has homemade peanut butter cookies, tea, coffee, and cocoa. We have the honeymoon suite, a cottage detached from the rest of the house. It has a sitting room with a kiva, a nice bedroom, and a separate bath. Sadly, it's too early in the season to fire up the kiva.
We try to get reservations, and we originally decide to take a fellow traveller's reservation at Josephs'. It's for 8:45. Andrew falls asleep watching some stupid football game while I read.
By 6:30 I'm starving. We decide to forage for food and discover the Guadalajara Grill. It's cafeteria style Northern Mexican. Cheap, plentiful, and tasty. I have pork adovada and all the fixin's. We then try to get a drink in a local bar with live music, but it's packed. We head for the car and find Karaoke night at the local Holiday Inn. The locals appear serious about this stuff. A young lady does sorta butcher Santana's Maria Maria, but in fairness it's a very hard song and I didn't even know some of the words until they were plastered on the screen. A man does a nice job with a Roy Orbison tune, and another dude does the obligatory Elvis. It was quite entertaining, all in all.
We hit the hay.
One scenic drive later (Picture 1), along the Rio Grande (why, oh WHY, am I cursed by not being a resident of New Mexico?) we arrive in Taos ahead of schedule.
I admit it. Taos is kind of a let down. I pictured hippies, mountains, and a peaceful little town. It's far more touristy than I thought it would be, especially the Plaza. We have lots of time before check in, and I do find a few nice things. Aventura sells very cool wool coats.
http://www.newterritoryleathers.com/women_blankets_coats.html
Then, I find La Lana Wools. I'd visited the website, but there's nothing like molesting the yarn in person. They have a sweater in The Natural Knitter, and I plan out my sweater using some different colorways than what is recommended in the book. I then see the Chile Line Sweater, and think maybe I might do it instead. Always one for a challenge.
http://www.lalanawools.com/
http://www.lalanawools.com/patterns_kits.php?id=106&sortBy=exp
Andrew sits outside for what he probably thought was hours. And here I felt rushed. I could have stayed there all day.
We then discover that an art fair is going on in Kit Carson Park. We go. I end up finding a beautiful ring in carmelite and opal. The artist is a young Native man who learned the craft from his ancestors. I hope he passes it on. He explained the sun and lightening on my ring are for warmth and cleansing, and the rise in the center symbolizes the mountains.
http://www.fernandobenallyjewelry.com/
We find a great independent bookstore, Moby Dickens. I find a Frank Waters book. We then drive up the mountain to the ski resort. It's much colder up there, and raining. (Picture 2) We drive down to the trout hatchery, but it's raining pretty hard by then and we don't stay long.
We then check into the B and B, the La Posada de Taos. These are the grounds (Picture 3).
http://www.laposadadetaos.com/
The host, a very nice man named Eldon, has homemade peanut butter cookies, tea, coffee, and cocoa. We have the honeymoon suite, a cottage detached from the rest of the house. It has a sitting room with a kiva, a nice bedroom, and a separate bath. Sadly, it's too early in the season to fire up the kiva.
We try to get reservations, and we originally decide to take a fellow traveller's reservation at Josephs'. It's for 8:45. Andrew falls asleep watching some stupid football game while I read.
By 6:30 I'm starving. We decide to forage for food and discover the Guadalajara Grill. It's cafeteria style Northern Mexican. Cheap, plentiful, and tasty. I have pork adovada and all the fixin's. We then try to get a drink in a local bar with live music, but it's packed. We head for the car and find Karaoke night at the local Holiday Inn. The locals appear serious about this stuff. A young lady does sorta butcher Santana's Maria Maria, but in fairness it's a very hard song and I didn't even know some of the words until they were plastered on the screen. A man does a nice job with a Roy Orbison tune, and another dude does the obligatory Elvis. It was quite entertaining, all in all.
We hit the hay.
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