Taos NM

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October 23, Saturday

Be gentle with the earth
DALAI LAMA

After showers, breakfast, and working on the internet, we’re now on our way to Taos. Our stop at Chimayo and Truchas was interesting, but.... We found an RV park right on Highway 68, visited the Indian Drum Store, where they hand make drums, St. Francis of Assisi had a wonderful church in the town. A bike shop, The Gearing Up Shop in Taos a neatplace - just so many shops and galleries. We learned about the balloon rally in Taos, so we drove to Albright Field, where there were just four balloons lighting up at dusk. It was quite interesting, but it was also much ado about nothing. We went back to the campground and got to bed a little bit earlier, because we wanted to get to the Taos Balloon Rally early.

October 24, Sunday

Taos, NM

5:45 a.m. get up and off to the balloon rally - Bob likes to be early. I think we were the second ones there on the entire field, long before the balloons, long before most of the folks. But when you take your home with you, it was easy to make breakfast and wait for the events to start. It was fascinating to watch so many balloons getting ready to take off - the excitement, the colors, the busyness of the folks and finally the peaceful ascent. The pictures that we took were just outstanding; it seemed that you could run a whole digital camera on the balloons as they float off into the sky.
That afternoon we decided to take the scenic drive to see Mount Wheeler, the highest point in New Mexico, and also up to Taos Ski Resort, absolutely wonderful scenery. The ski resort was just preparing to open; we had an opportunity to walk through some of the outdoor stores, the ski shops. On the way back, we stopped off at a Vietnam Memorial. It is the first Vietnam Memorial in the United States and was built by a physician
whose son died in Vietnam. It was a very moving experience. It had two different buildings, one included a listing of folks that died in Vietnam with a very interesting video, and on the other side of the grounds is a very modern structure, a chapel of sorts.
Back to the shops at Taos Plaza and then back home again.

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