Santa Fe and Taos

Day 2 - October 1 (cont'd) We continue on 285 and arrive in Santa Fe about 12:30 or so. The trailer park is disappointing-it doesn’t quite match the description in the guide. We set up and head into town. We walk the streets, stop in favorite stores, duck inside a new one to dodge a small hailstorm which occurs with the sun shining.
	Our less than idyllic rv park

Day 3 - October 2 We take the high road to Taos in the morning.It’s a narrow road which winds through small villages. We stop in Chimayo to visit some weaving shops.
	Rio Grande valley from the Taos road

	We arrive in Taos in time to eat lunch in the square and observe a movie crew set things up, but never get to see the stars or any action. Again we wander the streets and visit some galleries and view some wonderful paintings, particularly watercolors. Several of the artists we admired were from Colorado!
Taos square		Local courtyard
			Kit Carson house

From Taos, we drive to the Rio Grande Gorge overlook, west of town. This is a deep and spectacular canyon which, in wet years, we hear, provides some exciting rafting opportunities.
	View from Rio Grande Gorge bridge

Day 4 - October 3 Today is a planned hiking day, so off we go to Hyde Memorial State Park. We hike through a lovely forest. We are alone among the trees and birds and breezes, though close enough to the road to hear cars whizzing by.		After about a mile, we stop for a drink and a bite to eat to keep up the energy. Doug failed to put the food into the pack. Since this hike is 4 miles or so with elevation gains, we realize that without food (we are approaching lunchtime), I will become cranky as well as lethargic.
	Hyde Memorial State Park

So we turn back and execute plan B, which is to drive to the ski area. This turns out to be fortuitous because the aspens are in their glory! The road is lined with stands of tall aspens in their autumn finery and the hillsides go straight up. It is quite windy, so we end up eating our lunch in the car, watching the leaves shake and sparkle in the sunlight.
	Fall Aspen along road to ski area

We drive back into Santa Fe after lunch and decide to walk the riverwalk park, which we remembered as being quite nice. However, it hasn’t been kept up and we go in the wrong direction, so while it isn’t scenic per se, it takes us through some old neighborhoods which are interesting in their architecture and their art work. We discover some fabulous murals painted on adobe walls.

This is the day of wrong turns, because rather than heading back to our trailer we end up outside of town and see a sign for the Davey Audubon Center. We had forgotten this lovely place and drive there to discover new buildings and new trails. So off we go. We even take a wrong turn here - I wonder if these can be explained by one of Doug and Brian's "theories"!