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Published: September 13th 2015
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During my stay in New Mexico I have developed an unexpected appreciation of the natural beauty of the Southwest. High mountains that change colors depending on the time of day, the season, and the weather has given me greater awareness of the beauty of the natural landscapes and I can not help but to be in awe of my surroundings here. Different colors of deep red hues, translucent whites, and evergreen color the mile-high
Sandia mountain,
Sangre de Cristo Mountains ranges and somehow fuses my destination drive into the beginning of my adventure into the city of Taos.
Taos – The City of Art and Pottery: Driving to Taos on the curved, winding road from
Santa Fe can be a bit tricky. But it’s not so much that the roads are dangerous, but rather that the landscape is amazing and that forces your attention from the wheel to its magnificent lakes and mountains.
As our group, my wife and four-year-old twins entered the city - the sight of cows grazing on the farms, small simple homes, and seeing three people sharing one bicycle reminded me of Indian villages I drove through back home. The people of Taos are
a mixture of locals and tourists. As usual, we visited the welcome center to meet with the locals and find out more of what the city has to offer for the day. The very friendly woman at the information desk gave us a large map with recommend places to visit along with a few art galleries.
Our twins Krish & Leora decided they would be the travel guides and my wife and I agreed on this strategy. Its fun when family work as a team. Our goal is to teach our kids how to enjoy life during travel and fill their mind with knowledge about the place. Its always something important to learn from every places we visit. With kids you need to have a lot of patience during travel. They took us to the art galleries with varying collections of hand painted pottery and landscape portraits by local artists. There was very unique artwork among the usual clay bowls and framed art which made for enjoyable browsing. My wife and I realized that we would require more time and dedication if we were to buy any of these treasures because the handmade masterpieces were not only unique but very expensive as well.
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge: To further our day of natural beauty and art we decided to visit the Bridge of Love, River of Life – also known as The Rio Grande Bridge. We drove from downtown Taos on a flat road and we were surprised at how the bridge just appeared out of nowhere!
At first glance, we felt there was nothing special about this bridge, but after we parked and started walking across we soon realized why this bridge is such an attraction to tourists and locals alike. The structure of the bridge and it’s breathtaking views of the canyon are simply stunning. Word of caution: you may feel dizzy when you walk and look down at the deep canyon below. But, nevertheless, we put our fears aside and braved the task of walking to the center of the bridge, and from there we took gorgeous photos of our family right in the middle of the bridge with the stunning canyon as the backdrop. I will treasure those pictures forever.
Taos Hanuman Temple: Before the sunset we felt it would be imperative to visit the Hanuman Ashram Temple, a remote Temple on the outskirts of Taos. After seeing the beauty of Taos New Mexico’s people, art, and landscapes it seemed only natural to visit a temple where people go to recognize and worship the creator of all that is around and among us.
The theme emanating from the Temple was love is love, people are people, God is God and belief is belief. In all irregularities of place, culture and tradition of the visitors here, the one thing we all had in common was that we were celebrating the blessings of Lord Hanuman.
Free food, Bhajan, Kirtan and prayers made the atmosphere so godly, and the energy and cooperation of the people had to be admired. It was undeniable that my family and the many people visiting from all over United States and the world felt a spiritual presence and a connection to a higher power while there. My belief in one God for all people was reinforced during this spiritual experience. We even spoke to a few people outside the Temple to see how closely they felt attached to the Ashram and one man said he made a yearly pilgrimage here and has been so for the past fifteen years.
Needless to say, we left Taos that day feeling refreshed and reawakened to life and its beauty. It was indeed a Blessed day!!
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