"Looking at this sudden, definite, precise earth form, that towered there so still, I saw something again that I had never noticed in nature.It seemed to me that the mountain was alive, awake, and breathing. That it had its own consciousness. That it knew things .... The mountain seemed to smile and breathe forth an infinitely peaceful, benevelont blessing as the light faded away from it."
~~Mabel Dodge Luhan
"My eyes, and the eyes of all Taoseños, are forever attracted to the mountain. Nobody can travel the valley without centering off to its bold presence. It is the central symbol in our lives to which the eye is always drawn. Some of us may take it for granted, yet in our subconscious it breathes heavily, an exclusively solid shape in the otherwise ever-changing, sometimes ugly, often beautiful, and too often unfortunate landscape through which we travel."
~John Nichols
"Taos is not a city. Taos is not a town. Town is not even a place. Taos is a state of mind and a power center of the universe."
~Taos Mayor Phil Lovato
6 comments:
I have to know, what route did you take? If you went through Mora, Cleveland, Holman, then you drove by some land my husband's father and his siblings own. We have a big family reunion there every year, very secluded. No electricty or water, we just all bring campers and tents, musical instruments and lots of beer and stuff to make smores by the camp fire.
Hi Jenny.
We took the low road up through Espanola, along the Rio Grande. It was so scenic, and there were rafters on the river, which seems high this spring.
Then on the way back we took the *high* road through Peñasco, Las Trampas, Truchas and Chimayo. This is my favorite way to go - the mountains vistas are spectacular, and the little Hispanic villages so cool.
Mora and the other communities are further north - those will be on a later trip. There is just so much scenic beauty all over out here!
I like the low road best... it's more sporting (think mo'sickles and lil green sports cars) yet still scenic as all get-out. My friends from SFO just couldn't stop oooh-ing and ahhh-ing when I took 'em up that way. We came back on the high road that day, as well.
Buck,
The day we went up there, there were dozens, maybe hundreds, of motorcyclists headed up to Red River for a bike rally. It was fun to watch them driving along the low road. Taos was so crowded with bikes on the way to Red River that we could not get through the massive traffic jam in town! I bet that ride up to Red River is spectacular.
I bet that ride up to Red River is spectacular.
Ab-so-freakin'-lute-lee!! ;-)
Whenever we took the high road, I always thought about the book "Red Sky at Morning." If you have not read that, you need to. Be sure and eat at the restaurant in Chimayo and set outside. Buy yourself a rug at Ortega's. I miss those things, but not the bikers on Memorial Day - they are fun to watch, but a pain in the butt to drive around.
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