Up, about and off early to our next stop…
And, the sun is out.
We drive out of Santa Fe through the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Jemez Mountains to our first stop, the Bandelier National Monument.
After parking the motorhome we took the 20 minutes shuttle bus to the park and then a 1.5-mile walk, meandering through the canyon looking at the ancestral Puebloan ruins and cave dwellings. We could even climb a ladder into several of the small caves and the wilderness was breathtaking.
Back on the shuttle bus and on our return to the motorhome, we had a quick snack before driving the beautiful country roads to the El Santuario de Chimayo, a Roman Catholic Church in Chimayo, New Mexico. It is known as the ‘Lourdes of America’ and is one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world as well as known for it’s healing dirt.
The church was beautiful, set amongst the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Chimayo.
We all said a prayer and Wes purchased the healing dirt.
We drove on so many roads today… 23, New Mexico 503, 285N, 567E, 68 and lots, lots more…
The quiet roads were filled with gorgeous rammed earth or ‘pueblo’ style houses and as we got closer to Taos, the countryside change again, and although it was still arid, it became a lot greener.
Back on the road and our next tourist stop, the Earthship Sustainable Subdivision just outside of Taos. The houses in the subdivision are all built with natural and recycled materials, solar/thermal heating and cooling, solar and wind electric power, water harvesting, contained sewage treatment and their own food production. The community comprises 650 acres of rolling mesa, featuring beautiful views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. It was amazing.
Note: The wind here is almost as strong as Geraldton…
Next, a stop and photo at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge (I got vertigo and wanted out of there, Pete and Noah got selfies) and then onto our final destination for the day, the town of Taos. Again, set at the bottom of the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The campsite tonight, Taos Valley RV Park.
Out for dinner just down the road from the RV Park at Antonio’s, a taste of Mexico (and did not have a clue what churros were) and then ready for a good nights sleep before our next day of adventure.
It really does feel like we are in the wild, wild west here.
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