Santa Fe to Taos, New Mexico
Yesterday was my last day in Santa Fe. I had heard there was snow north in Taos. It was a couple hour drive to Taos and I stopped
I wanted to visit the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge which was a little off the route I was taking to Taos. I stopped at the Rio Grande Gorge Visitors center on RT 68 south of Taos. The woman was very helpful and told me the bridge was closed for a few hours. There was another suicide an hour before. I read that this was a common occurance and they are trying to put measures in place to stop it. She also recommended the Farmhouse Cafe and Bakery to the woman in front of me.
I stopped for a late lunch at the Farmhouse Cafe and Bakery. The food was really good and fresh. I had a bowl of butternut squash soup and fresh out of the oven vegetable quiche. I sat by the window and took in the view of the wind sculptures work in the garden.
View Out My Window At The Farmhouse
I drove to the Taos Ski Resort to make sure I got everything together for skiing the next day. I spent the next four hours getting to the resort, buying the ticket online to save myself $30, and then renting equipment (skies, boots and poles). I needed gloves as well and purchased new ski gloves at a shop on the hill.
Taos Resort Skating Rink
As the evening light still shone, I strolled through the village until I came upon the Hondo Restaurant. Taking a break, I ordered a beer at the bar and struck up a conversation with a man named Justin. It turned out that Justin worked on the mountain, doing maintenance at the Alpine Hotel just a block away. As an enthusiastic skier, he shared his insights on the various slopes and conditions. He even predicted that there would be heavy snowfall later that evening and throughout the next day. Excited to hit the slopes, I mentioned that I planned to ski with my sunglasses. Hearing this, Justin offered to lend me a pair, explaining that skiing with sunglasses in the snow is a miserable experience due to the constant snow blowing in your eyes. It was a thoughtful gesture, and I gratefully accepted.
I made a dinner reservation for 7:00 pm and went off to setup a campsite reservation in the resort. This had to be done on line. The actual camping location was at the resort entrance in a section of the parking lot set aside for this. I thought the price of $40 was a little high but it was on the mountain.
Enjoying A Fire In The Evening
After dinner, around 9:30 pm, I drove back to the RV/Camping designated area. It was at the base of the mountain. It was windy and a wet snow was coming down. As I pulled in, I thought someone was in my campsite. I got out and asked the couple about the site numbers. I was off one site and beside them. They were in a new Mercedes Sprinter camper made by SyncVans. They had flown to Idaho from New York to pick it up. They showed me around inside. It was really nice.
I went back to setting up the Outback and had to walk through a lot of slush. my sneakers were soaked by the time I got into the Subaru.