When we woke up bright and early on Day 3 of our trip, it would be a busy and our first destination was Taos Pueblo . Yes, another place ...

New Mexico 2011 - Day 3 & 4

Friday, October 21, 2011 , , , , , ,

When we woke up bright and early on Day 3 of our trip, it would be a busy and our first destination was Taos Pueblo. Yes, another place we've been to a few times before, but it's also another fascinating stop so we couldn't help ourselves. It's just a few minutes drive from the town of Taos. 
Taos Pueblo is an Indian Reservation that is about 1,000 years old. Native Americans still live there, in relatively similar conditions as their ancestors did -
A THOUSAND YEARS AGO.
That's what's so cool about this place. 
It is a small village that you can walk around, many of the residents own and run their own shops. The shops target tourists like ourselves, selling hot fry bread right out of their clay ovens and handmade beaded jewelry or other Native American crafts.
One of the residents was delighted to show the girls her puppy.
Most of the Native Americans that live here are very friendly, but also reserved. 
There goes our little photo-bomber again...
Since I've been to Taos Pueblo a couple times before, I had seen their church, most of the village, and there's a small stream that runs through the reservation. I hadn't seen the cemetery before, though.
Again, with the mountains in the background, the crisp fall air, and the changing leaves - it all makes for a beautiful trip. If you go, plan your trip during autumn!
After visiting the reservation, we decided to hit the road again for a day-trip of sorts to Abiquiu {AH-bee-kee-oo} and the Ghost Ranch. The drive was longer than we'd anticipated, but full of gorgeous scenery. I wish we could have gotten a closer look at that canyon in the distance {above}.

But there was plenty of scenery to be enjoyed in the near-distance as well. 

When we arrived at Abiquiu, we stopped at Bode's General Store & Kitchen, which, we had heard through the grapevine, has the best green chili burger. It was indeed quite good, but huge. If you go, share one with your friend. 
Bode's is one of those small town/road trip joints. You know the kind, part gas station, part restaurant, part general store, part tourist shop.
It was a welcomed rest before hitting the Ghost Ranch...

Ahh, the Ghost Ranch!
Georgia O'Keeffe called it home.
They've filmed many movies using this scenery {Cowboys vs Aliens, one of the Indiana Jones films, etc.}
That's it???
No, this old abandoned house is just ONE of the many things to see at the Ghost Ranch. Most of the amazing things to see, however, can be found if you just look up & out:
and about:
There is a small museum on site, you can get a look at Georgia O'Keeffe's house, learn about the dinosaur fossils they've dug up here. But really, I thought it was just amazing to see. To just take in the scenery.
Eisley stopped to smell a flower outside the museum with the dinosaur exhibits.
Ladies were painting the scenery. I sort of wished I could join them...



Good place for family portraits, no?

 Can't...stop....posting...pictures...
 I love the American Southwest.
Okay, moving on!

After leaving the Ghost Ranch, we detoured back to Chimayo.
The Tuttles had something they wanted to pick up.
:::cough:::Sugar de Chimayo:::cough:::

Then it was back to Taos for another night at the Kachina Lodge. 
I love this hotel! 
As I stated before, when my family travels, we don't spend big money on the hotels. It's just not our style. But we still find very nice places. The Kachina Lodge is awesome.

Yes, we are about to get whipped by that statue...
My dad remembers staying here as a boy. 
The rooms are roomy, they have nightly Kachina Dancing shows for guests, and rooms include a free hot breakfast at their cafe. Though rates certainly change, we were able to book two nights here for under $100. You cannot. Beat. That.
It's kitschy and cute.
Do you know what a Kachina is?


So here starts Day 4.
One of our last stops is yet another Taos/New Mexico favorite of ours. 
Michael's Kitchen for breakfast.
And apparently we're not the only people who love Michael's Kitchen, because their walls are adorned with awards for all sorts of things like best red chili, best green chili, etc., in Taos. A sign on the outside labels them part of the "Best of Taos 2011"
Eisley started a trend with her posing style. 
She's a ham.

Anyway.
I ordered the Poor Man's Egg Benedict. 
Of course I did. This is what I always order at Michael's Kitchen {the two times I've been there now.} And everyone tries it and says how delicious it is, and then for weeks after we get home Justin and I try to replicate it, but we never can...
So that's my recommendation. If you should find yourself in Taos at Michael's Kitchen anytime soon. Poor Man's Egg Benedict. Or of course, there's also the traditional breakfast burrito.
Or...
You could order this.

 Our last stop before leaving town and heading home was to visit the Taos Plaza. It's just slightly smaller and less busy than Santa Fe's, but still fun to shop & browse. I would recommend At Home In Taos and the most darling toy shop you've ever seen, Twirl.
 I love these girls. 
 Our drive out of Taos was a new route for us. It took us through a National State Park that made for a gorgeous drive in fall time. 
This is the road that took us back to Denver...

Back to real life. 

Bye New Mexico, until next time...

For more on The Erickson's Guide to New Mexico:
See my sister's post, The Restaurant Saint of Santa Fe

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4 comments

  1. I love that picture of Eisley jammin her elbow pose. Love the glint of mischief in her eye.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Remind Eisley to Jamm her elbow when she poses for pictures, at sixteen, at 21 etc.. Should be her signature pose.
    Thanks for postin' the beautiful pics! Dad

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  3. Again, just AWESOME photos! They are a fabulous record of a splendidly memorable trip. And the good news is that the kids didn't get Hantavirus, after all ;-) The only thing missing is a pic of the baked goods at Michael's Kitchen, but maybe that would have been too hard for all of us to endure, anyway. Indy and Eisley are so cute together! What a pair they make!

    ~Mom

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  4. We're not out of the woods yet, Hantavirus can incubate for up to 6 weeks. AND New Mexico has the highest rate of Hantavirus infections.

    ...I probably should have told you that...

    ReplyDelete

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