Yesterday (Monday the 12th) we drove to Taos following the Rio Grande River. Rick had visited there when he was a teen and remembers a quaint little artist colony - now it is a sprawling mecca of tourist traps, businesses and retirement homes. The people wandering around the original part of town were, for the most part, strangely dressed - they were probably attempting to look like eccentric artists or something similar. One of the main reasons we went there was to visit the famous Taos Pueblo which is still a vibrant native community and has been for several hundred years. As we approached the pueblo we were turned around by tribal police - it turns out that for about 8 weeks each spring they don't allow visitors. This is their "quiet time" when they perform a lot of their sacred ceremonies and dances - activities not to be seen by outsiders. IF we had been able to visit we would have seen scenes like this (follow this link for a bunch more images):

After this disappointment we walked around the old Taos Plaza and found a nice little dog-friendly restaurant with an outdoor patio.

The waiter immediately brought a bowl of water for Abby, and they even brought us a dog menu!

We didn't order an entree for Abby but our food was delicious! They have a wide range of menu items including elk burgers and lots of vegan choices. If you can't read the menu above click on it and it will enlarge (as will any of the images we post).

On the return trip from Taos we followed the "high road" which winds its way through beautiful mountains and Ponderosa forests. We stopped at another pueblo, the Picuris Pueblo, to see if it had anything to offer but it was only the ruins of a recent two story adobe structure of perhaps four rooms on each floor (plus an old adobe Catholic church). There were two kivas that remain in use today but we were not allowed to view them.

We continued driving and visited the Santuario de Chimayo - an 18th century church that is still heavily used and visited today.

 It is said to house miraculous healing dirt - "Holy Dirt" - and Sharon followed the maze into the church to a small room in the back corner and scooped some out of the "well" (Rick sat outside with Abby - it didn't seem appropriate to take a dog into the sanctuary especially because there were many other pilgrims present). So we have a zip-lock bag partially filled with "Holy Dirt" if anyone needs healing. Sharon has been having some sinus problems so she will probably apply a little to her cheeks - we'll give you a complete report of successes/failures. We suppose a prerequisite for any success would be believing in this sort of thing - not so sure we qualify.

Today we will tour Bandelier National Monument containing ancient cliff dwellings and pueblos. We should get lots of good pictures because today is another beautiful day. It is sunny with expected highs around 67 degrees. It was chilly over night being 28 degrees when we got up. The water hose to our trailer is frozen but we have a full internal storage tank of water so no big deal.