Taos

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August 30 – Taos
Today went into Taos and went by the visitors center there and they have a really nice setup for free WIFI. There is a row of tables with electric connections along the wall. The people there were very helpful and loaded me down with tourist info. I asked about visiting the Taos Pueblo but they told me that the people at the pueblo were gone on a pilgrimage and would not be back till tomorrow so I said I guess I would stay another day and visit the pueblo then. I invested the day exploring the town and it has a lot of interesting places to see. The square is the usual tourist trap of shops etc. but there were some interesting museums. I went to the Kit Carson Museum and the La Hacienda de Los Martinez which is a hacienda restored as much as possible as it was lived in in Spanish New Mexico. It was very interesting. I was told that the Motel Don Fernando had a good salad bar but it only served lunch with a salad bar so I missed out on that.
I went and ate at some other restaurant I have forgotten the name of and the Mexican food was awful. It looked very nice from the road but inside looked like something from a Fifties movie. After eating I decided that I would go out and take a look at the Rio Grande Gorge bridge on Hwy 64 North. They have a very nice rest area just west of the bridge which made a very good observation point. After I got there and had a good look at the bridge I decided to just overnight at the rest area as stays of less than 24 hours are permitted in New Mexico rest areas. It turned out to be a good choice as traffic died off at night and I had it all to myself. I did have to move around till I found a tree that blocked out some of their street lights as the place was well lit up. Another free overnight parking.

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