from JWGs DONE AND NOT BEGUN Taos, New Mexico June 5, 2011 5:51 a.m. MDT When next I travel to the desert, I shall pack a pair of thin gloves. Although this morning is sixty-degrees, yesterday’s fifty-degrees was a bit harsh on my fingers. When the golden sun rose, however, soon all thought of cold dissipated. The afternoon brought ninety-degrees in the shade. René and I walked down the Rio Grande Gorge to the hot springs which were not the Queen’s Bath in Hawai’i. They were warm puddles of a large sort. Hot tubs are larger. The close proximity to the Rio Grande was worth the effort. (We did not partake of the warm waters.) The Rio Grande Gorge is the beginning of another Grand Canyon. The colors and striations of its steep sides are impressive. I did not expect the lava rock which it definitely is. I did read that in 2007 it was determined that the seismic activity in this area has been more active. I say this because as we looked up at the top of the Gorge’s cliffs many of its rocks looked precarious. The Rio Grande is a swiftly-moving cold river. Here, it is not wide. We did wonder how the pioneers dealt with crossing this gorge after crossing so much flat ground. I am sure many foolhardy souls were lost. Then again, being one who does enjoy comforts such as gloves, I cannot even begin to think what it would have been like to begin such a journey in the first place. Yesterday, having forgotten my walking stick, walking down to the Rio Grande was enough adventure for me. My foot screamed its disapproval of my negligence. When we came back to the Bella Vista Casita for it, the rest of the day was an easier walk. Naturally, the rest of the day was an easier walk because we were always on pavement and cement. We next drove to the Rio Grande Bridge and crossed it. Looking down, and up, was again impressive. When we walked back on the bridge, of course, to our car, I did look straight down to see how the bridge with its erector set sides looked with the Rio. Would I, myself, be a bridge worker, or painter? I tend to think not! While at the bridge, René and I remarked about the blue haze in the sky and that was masking the details of the distant mountains. Not having been here before, we did not know if this was the usual look in the morning. It reminded me of The Smoky Mountains. At night, when the sun was setting, and the haze hadn’t really been swept away, we found out our answer. When Tony and Janelle came home, they informed us that a forest fire in Arizona which is burning seventy-thousand acres was the culprit. The ash was being blown to New Mexico, especially Albuquerque. Tony stated that as of last evening, only fifteen-percent of the fire had been contained. I imagine this trip to New Mexico, for us, will be known as the Smoky New Mexico trip. We have seen clarity. Again, the sky was full of stars last night. This morning, the mountains, once again, remind me of The Smoky Mountains. They have a blue haze under which I can see the snow-capped peaks. It is wildly romantic. After our bridge crossing, we drove to Historic Taos and walked around its streets and sauntered through a few shops. It is nice. It could use more benches on which to rest and more cafés on which to have a beverage and linger. When we were exhausted, and hungry, it was easy to get into the car and go have lunch at a place Tony recommended, Orlando’s. We did and had a relaxing good luncheon of tiger shrimp on blue corn something-or-others. It was delicious which is the only thing I’m sure of. The rest of the day was spent on the Bella Vista Casita patio staring at the desert and the mountains. I was even too tired to scribble.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 10:24:40 +0000
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