Scenic Byways Adventure #3 - Oct 15

I've had this draft saved awaiting editing for seven months now. It seems that keeping a blog up-to-date is low on my priority list when I'm traveling. But since this post is nearly finished, I will finish it, post it and summarize the balance of my fall travels.

The High Road to Taos Scenic Byway (about 67 miles one way) was suggested by a friend of mine, Carol Rayburn. I had been undecided about how much "road" to cover in one day! I had wanted to drive the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, which is about 84 miles, the same day, but it was about 80 miles from Albuquerque to Espanola just to get to the starting point of the High Road to Taos. So, if you calculate the miles round trip from Albuquerque to Taos via the High Road to Taos, it totals nearly 300 miles...a long "day drive" without the Enchanted Circle drive!

So the day started mid morning!....Carol navigated and I drove! Lots of enthusiastic conversation as we enjoyed the drive northwest on I-25 and north on Hwy 84 to Espanola. Right on Hwy 76 and the drive up the High Road to Taos began!

http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/52023/stories/52041

Our first stop was in Chimayo at the Santuario de Chimayo.
http://www.archdiocesesantafe.org/AboutASF/Chimayo.html

I got my camera out to start taking pictures.....later! The batteries in the camera were dead!... and I had left the spare set in the carrying case....back in the motorhome! All wasn't lost, at least Carol had her camera. Here are a few of the pictures she took of the Chimayo Santuary.

I believe the seven crosses at the entrance represents the seven days of creation.

The Chimayo Sanutary
Our next stop was in Las Trampas, the home of the San Jose de Gracia Catholic Church built in the late 1700's.
The church was undergoing some maintenance thus the scaffolding in the picture below....

While Carol snapped pictures, I found someone who wanted some attention!
After leaving the church, we continued on the drive through the Cundiyo Farmland. The fall colors were out, but near the end...however the picture still captured the beauty of the area.

The road that makes this highway a scenic byway is a two way winding road that shows much of the history and the diversity of the land in this area of New Mexico. Truely a beautiful road to drive.

By the time, we arrived in Taos, it was around the 2 pm hour. Both of us were starved, so after finding a Walmart for "camera batteries"....we made our way to the Taos downtown square for lunch. The food was good at the restaurant we stopped at but the service was almost non-existent! Once we were served, we devoured our food and decided that we better head back to Albuquerque as it was going to be dark in a few hours. But we made one last stop at the Mission San Francisco de Asis in Ranchos de Taos.

http://taosguide.com/businesses/view/151/8

San Francisco de Asis

We took a few pictures, walked around and headed back to the car to make our way back to Albuquerque. We drove back down to Espanola via Hwy 68....a beautiful drive for our drive back!

By the time we arrived in Espanola is was getting pretty late...nearly sunset and we still had another hour and a half to go! We were both tired and anxious to get back home to our cats. It was a good day.....a full day.....and a long day! Good choice Carol!