A Day in Taos

Dale and I love Taos and Santa Fe, NM. We’ve been to Taos on many occasions and have dreamed of living there. Maybe in my next blog, I’ll write about our 1^st trip to Taos with our young boys.

This trip was going to be mostly about shopping. Our RV has many issues after many miles of travel. I planned to make new cushions, trim, and curtains but wanted Native American decor. I’d been in a couple of fabric stores on a street just off the square, a couple of years ago, so knew exactly what I wanted to buy. I couldn’t find this fabric easily anywhere else so was anxious to go to Taos and purchase some.

We have been out of chili powder, good chili powder, the kind from the little Hogan style kiosk on the main street, just off the square. I was also wanting to buy a ristra for our door and one with edible chili pods for the kitchen.

We also love the New Mexican food and have a list of restaurants that are our favorite haunts. I wanted to talk with some restaurants about making chili sauce as mine that I made from guess, has been a little thin.

We drove from the Grand Canyon to Santa Fe, with a quick stop at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. We wanted to buy a bean pot since the ones we bought a few years ago didn’t work out well. We’d seen the pots at the school when we were there for cooking lessons and wanted one. I also wanted to buy a chili roaster so this was a perfect opportunity to buy all these things.

We made it to the school and purchased all of the items on our list then drove up to Taos. It was dark so we were thinking of how great it would be to see the farolitos in Espanola. Alas, we did not see farolitos, they were not lining the bridge into the city or the sidewalks. Only a handful of buildings had farolitos. We were so disappointed, but things do change, alas.

We got to Taos where we had a room at the La Fonda, a historic hotel, right on the square. The square was also very disappointing as it was full of lights, lights that blinked to music, lights on every tree limb; lots of lights. Farolitos lined the low walls,

La Fonda decorated with Farolitos

Rio Grand near Taos: view to the south

Rio Grande- view to the north

Rio Grande near Santa Fe

but they were drowned out by the lights. To us it was garish. Progress?

We went to breakfast at a restaurant we’d eaten at many times but found that now they add flour to their chili sauce. We told them sorry, take your coffee back, and we walked out, but not before the waitress told us of a place, the Taos Diner, that had great gluten free dishes.

We went straight to the Taos Diner and it turns out all of their chili is gluten free, as are many selections. The staff at the Taos Diner then told me how they make their chili sauce, which is exactly the way I’ve made mine except that they make a roux with corn meal.

After stuffing ourselves, we went shopping, buying all of the Christmas presents needed, fabric, lots of chili products and New Mexico wine. We got lots of walking in as we kept having to walk back to our truck, parked at the hotel, and load it up with more stuff!

San Francisco de Asis Mission

Enchalada with Caribe Sauce

We’d wanted to try a new, recommended restaurant, one by the San Francisco de Asis, located in a very old building. Unfortunately, they add wheat to their chili’s so dinner was out of the question. We went back to Orlando’s, a place we’ve been several times, even taking grandkids on one trip. At Orlando’s the waitress told me how to make chili using pods only, Caribe. I’d tried this process before and it was a disaster, now I learned that I had not soaked the chili pods prior.

I really like the Caribe as it is a pure chili flavor, deep red in color, but I also like the complex flavor of the cooked chili sauce. I’m anxious to try each with my fresh ground powder and fresh ristra.

Now we are returning home. Work will be starting up and we must prepare for Christmas. Our break is over.

Celebration at the Grand Canyon

We made it to Grand Canyon after dark, we’d forgotten about the time change. But we got settled into our cabin, part of the Bright Angel Lodge, and then went to have dinner. The cabins are historic, very old but refurbished with modern plumbing.

I must explain that there is a rim walk that goes quite a way around the South Rim. I’m not sure exactly where it starts or stops but we have been on several sections. There are low walls on some of the edges and other places no wall at all.

Along the South Rim are 3 hotels; the El Tovar, then just west the Thunderbird and then just west of that is the Bright Angel. The El Tovar is probably the most famous. Only 2 hotels were open now; the El Tovar and the Bright Angel. These hotels are in very close proximity to each other, each connected by the rim walk and separated by large driveways. The walk from Bright Angel to the El Tovar is about 5 min. The walk in the area is paved and wide and can accommodate wheelchairs. Other portions of the rim walk are dirt.

The Arizona Room, attached to the Bright Angle Lodge, had been recommended to us for dinner. The Zanterra Co is very conscious about food issues and the staff were aware of Celiac. There were many items on the menu gluten free as well as bread. This was evident quickly as we reviewed the menu with our waiter. We had a nice dinner, me a stuffed Native Squash that I’ll for sure try to replicate at home.

The weather was so cold, but we found that by layering up we were not cold at all. The only issue was icy spots on the walkways. The sky was clear with sparkling stars.

I woke up at about dawn to a beautiful blue sky and went out to shoot photos. There were no clouds and no apparent haze. It was cold and my fingers were the worst since I had to keep my fingertips free for the cameras. Few people were out so I had the canyon nearly to myself. I shot a bunch of photos with my big camera and several with my cell phone. It was so enjoyable to be out without many people, shooting photos where I liked.

We had an anniversary breakfast at the El Tovar, complete with a glass of champagne. We had a large filling breakfast so that it would last until an early dinner. The El Tovar has a huge fresh tree in the lobby that extends up to the 2nd floor. The dining room has farolitos around the room, on a shelf close to the ceiling. Wreaths hang on the walls. Everywhere there is a feeling of Christmas.

Feeling full, but not stuffed we decided to take the free Shuttle out to the Visitors Center. Even though it was not above freezing outside, we were toasty warm and able to just enjoy the drive thru the snow.

We walked from the Visitor’s Center to Mathers Point, rim walkways had been cleared and were free from ice. Mathers Point itself was full of people, especially from other countries. It seemed like a bus full of Asians had stopped there. Other years we’ve seen busloads

of people from Spain and other countries. But we went to the areas not so crowded so it wasn’t a problem.

We went out a little before sunset, as at sunset the canyon is actually mostly dark. Unfortunately, the sky was quite hazy so photos were not so nice.

We had a nice walk up to the El Tovar and got there just a little early as we hoped to enjoy the tree. We’d wanted a window seat, but the hostess recommended that we have the table in front of the fireplace as the canyon would be dark. We realized that she had a good suggestion. So there we had a table front and center of the large fireplace.

Arizona law prohibits ones from bringing their own wine in so we had to order from their menu. We had a wonderful ½ bottle of Champagne and ½ bottle of Zinfandel. Dinner was good, but dessert was amazing. We’d ordered a piece of Flourless Chocolate Cake, which the chef then decorated for our anniversary. So memorable. It was amazing with the 20-year old port.

We walked back to our room in the cold night air, full and happy after a wonderful day.

Holiday Planning Bah

Here it is Christmas time again and our anniversary. We’ve been busy helping kids out lately and as usual everything has been poorly planned.

We have started on a trip to the southwest where it is forecast to be only 7F low. We only just realized that we left our warmest down jackets in the closet to stay nice and warm, while we on the other hand, freeze. Guess we will practice some running moves. But on the plus side, there is no rain or snow storm about to hit.

As for Christmas, we started looking early in November for grandkids presents and bought for the 3 youngest boys. And here we are on Dec 15, driving to the southwest while the presents are safely stored in our closet. Looks like, once again, the gifts will not get to kids in time. Our poor grandkids and their parents must get so tired of us and our ways.

We are, except for the being cold part, looking forward to this trip. We haven’t been away since Sept when we cut a vacation short in order to help out kids for the month of Oct. And with the forecasts of a strong El Nino on the horizon, we will have fun while we can.

An Anniversary Trip

Without a word of blog, we are off on another short trip.

Tomorrow is our 43^rd wedding anniversary. Amazing. We’d planned a trip to include Taos, Hovenweep, Jemez and ending at the Grand Canyon today. Alas, when the weather was predicted to be frozen we decided to forgo that trip. The RV has too many issues and we’d likely be found as frozen mummies.

New and improved plan is the one we have now. We should be at the Grand Canyon by dinner time. We will stay at the Bright Angel Lodge, a place we’ve been in when beginning our hike across the canyon years ago. We’d wanted to stay at the El Tovar, but the rooms didn’t look appealing, so we will go for breakfast and dinner there tomorrow.

After the Grand Canyon, we will head to Santa Fe, where we will make a stop at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. We won’t go for cooking lessons, this time, but rather supplies and Christmas presents.

From Santa Fe we will drive on to Taos. This should be towards evening so we will get to see the city and Espanola decorated with Farolitos. This is truly a wonderful sight to see and we are so happy that we can see this again.

In Taos, we plan to eat and eat some more! La Cava and Orlando's. OMG!!!! Also, we must buy some spices and fabrics for our RV. It is due for a major remodel.

I-40 on the California Side

The Arizona Border

This trip is only for Dale and I. We are basking in the aloneness!

I-40 on the Arizona Side