More long and winding ...
Another long way home, this time by way of the Rio Grande Gorge.
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This time around, we took the scenic route eastward along U.S. 64, a drive best known for fall colors. This early in the year, just a few of the cottonwoods and willows along the streams were just beginning to turn gold. Unfortunately, insect ravages (tent caterpillars in the aspens, bark beetles in the firs) have made for less than vibrant colors in recent years. Still, the scenery was dramatic.
At Tres Piedras, we took a right and took the back road to Pilar. The descent into the Rio Grande Gorge is rather rough, but before the high bridge was built in 1965, that was the way to get from one side to the other. The stagecoach ride from the train station at Taos Junction into Taos must have been grueling.
By this time, it was dark, so we didn't get as much enjoyment out of the scenery as we might have. Darned days are getting shorter now.
(Stats on this journey, according to Google Maps: 214 mi.; 4 hours, 28 minutes.)
Labels: desert, five o'clock somewhere, new mexico, observations, rio arriba county, travel
posted by Carol Anne | 11:55 PM
2 Comments:
Many, many long years ago, New Mexico Tech published a series of booklets titled "Roadside Geology of New Mexico." Each booklet featured a day trip driving through some part of the state, with stops along the way to look at rocks, learn about the geologic history of the area, and more, with odometer mileages for each stage of the way. Think Google Maps plus interpretive science.
I remember as a kid riding in the family van as we did the Taos-area drive. Part of the journey involved driving through the gorge on the Taos Junction road.
Hi nice reading yoour post
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