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I can't wait! My fiancee and I will be staying in Taos Dec 19-23. We will be driving to Santa Fe on Monday Dec 21st but the rest of the time we're staying in Taos.
I've already done some research on museums and restaurants and shops to visit... would like to stay away from tourist-y places and visit more authentic places....
So, does anyone have recommendations on where we should go?! Thanks in advance!!
would like to stay away from tourist-y places and visit more authentic places....
So, does anyone have recommendations on where we should go?! Thanks in advance!!
Well Taos isn't that big so it's kind of impossible to avoid the "touristy places". Unfortunately, if you try to do so, you'll probably miss most of the sights. Don't worry about authenticity and just enjoy it for what it is. In the amount of time you're going to be there you can probably see just about all of it anyway. Non-touristy? Shopping at Wal-Mart and eating lunch at the Chow Cart.
I can't wait! My fiancee and I will be staying in Taos Dec 19-23. We will be driving to Santa Fe on Monday Dec 21st but the rest of the time we're staying in Taos.
I've already done some research on museums and restaurants and shops to visit... would like to stay away from tourist-y places and visit more authentic places....
So, does anyone have recommendations on where we should go?! Thanks in advance!!
Espanola. jk
There are some really intresting Pueblos around that area. I never had the chance to check them out when we were up there because we were always going THROUGH Santa Fe or Taos on our way to Durango. Personally, I was not very impressed with either town. And often we would go 90 miles out of our way just so we didn't have to across the Rio Grande bridge in Santa Fe, which I hate.
It's our first visit to Taos... I actually tried to find a place in Santa Fe but around the holidays, everything is so expensive. Taos has several museums so we will probably go to those, and see what shops are around, check out the main square/plaza, and just spend time at the place we have rented. I'm taking my camera & my sketchbook and hope to spend some time taking in the scenery.
Alright, this isn't Taos but if you want a real slice of Northern NM, call Curtiss at the link below and see if he's got room at his place in Truchas (between Taos and SF):
He's only got a couple of rooms so it's a very intimate experience. He'll even cook your breakfast on a wood stove and give you the run down on the area (usually has horses and dogs roaming around the property). He's somewhat famous for having re-ridden the Santa Fe Trail on a horse and wrote a book about it. You can drive a back way through the mountains behind Truchas to Santa Fe that's pretty cool. It's also close to Rancho de Chimayo which has an excellent restaurant, woven apparel shop, and a Church that's famous for being the Western version of Lourdes. Truchas has some art galleries and is my favorite town in Northern NM.
CAVA1990 is talking about the High Road to Taos and you can find information about it on the web.
The High Road to Taos (http://www.newmexico.org/explore/scenic_byways/highroad.php - broken link)
There is of course a reason they call it the High Road, e.g., Truchas is 8400 feet, and the weather can throw a serious crimp in your plans. If I had only four days, I personally would NOT plan a late December vacation around Truchas or the High Road. The weather could be good and you'd have no problem, but rain or light snow in Santa Fe or Taos could be something more serious in Truchas.
The church is the Sanctuario de Chimayo. A church which is supposed to be even better (although without healing properties) is San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church just south of Taos in Rancho de Taos. It is just off the main drag going into Taos and I keep meaning to see it myself.
Santa Fe - it completely slipped my mind that we're talking December here. I agree 100% that it's not a good idea to do the high road that time of year. I drove it in October (same trip that included the "mystery restaurant" in SF) with my bro-in-law after his induction into the sports hall of fame at Highlands U. The post above should have said the back road goes from "Truchas to Taos" not Santa Fe.
A church which is supposed to be even better (although without healing properties) is San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church just south of Taos in Rancho de Taos. It is just off the main drag going into Taos and I keep meaning to see it myself.
That one's the most photo'd church in America. However, unlike the church in Chimayo, it's no longer a working Catholic Church and hasn't been for quite some time as far as I know. I'm curious if it's been desanctified.
It can shake a little from traffic or the wind but you don't have to drive over it. You just drive up and look and go back to Taos. I drive over it, however, and I am a cautious type. The Washington monument sways in the wind and it has been standing for over a hundred years.
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