Taos 10/25-10/24/14

Road Trip to Taos
10/25-10/26/14
Mid-morning on that perfect Saturday we motor south to Walsenburg, west over La Vita Pass and south, again, at Fort Garland to 
San Luis, Colorado, about 35 miles north of the New Mexico boarder, our transition point into the Southwest

Home of The Stations of the Cross (on the hill) and many outdoor, wall murals

with a diversity of images

An old church, surrounded by golden leaved trees under a perfectly blue sky.
Except for the UFO--typical northern New Mexico

With, maybe a couple of the priests planted on the grounds

a ruin

a mediocre cafe

and numerous stone walls built of volcanic rock.



South on 159/522 sagebrush flats turn into pinion and juniper hills

West at Arroyo Hondo, climbing to the south rim of Arroyo Hondo Canyon which is narrow and full of volcanic boulders and cliffs.

and  the John Dunn Bridge over the Rio Grande where the scenery is beautiful and the photos get crappy

Still a fine, fall afternoon.

Next stop is further south along the Rio Grande and a hike down an old road bed to Stage Coach/Mowbry hot spring
the ghost of van Gogh has taken over my camera

The view up river toward the bridge.

Stage road traversing the opposite side of the canyon.

Evidence of volcanic activity along the Rio Grande

Volcanic rocks along the Rio Grande

Elsewhere, rocks in rocks

Blooming primrose and flies--its really nice weather.

Out of the Rio Grande canyon and we're nearing Taos.
Architecture at the center reminds us we're on our way to...

San Francisco de Asis Mission Church

On the continuum of catholic churches is the manger and the crucifixion--not so much the ascension

Across the street is the ascension

Then there's the destination

the site of the sacrament of the breakfast


and the divine cottonwood

The built environment meets nature

The sacred mountain

 

Even the accessability accomodations are historic

if you can't manage the gnarly ramp there's a set of nice, wide steps

Mable and Tony loved their pigeons--why?

No trip to norther NM is complete without an old truck

and natural cobblestones

White Rim, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands Utah 9/24/14 - 9/27/14

110 mile bike ride clockwise on the White Rim Road between Island in the Sky above and the Colorado River and the Green River below.

Disclaimer regarding the quality of the photos.
Sometime, early on, the camera lens got smudged.  So, those little wisps of fog aren't.

Fall is happening as we proceeded west of Vail

and we are looking forward to the trip.

"There are some things they didn't tell me when I joined this outfit"

Parked near Island in the Sky Visitor Center at Shafer Canyon Overlook and ready drop in.

Down we go,

on a good road

A view from the underlook back to the Overlook

The gang dutifully troops out onto Musselman Arch

For a quick group photo

The brave remain, jostling for a good seat.

Parts of the white rim descending toward the Colorado River and other parts still propped up

First night's camp below Airport Tower

It's hotter than it looks.  The windblown sun shelter is in the background.

Due to a wet summer we have a nicely blooming desert

Evening Primrose

This fine Desert Globemallow is a relative of my most hated local weed the Common Mallow

But, my favorite is this Desert Trumpet with little base leaves, bulbous stems and tiny, yellow flowers

We continue our trek

A gung-ho cyclist below Washer Woman Arch and Monster Tower and above the abyss

Next stop

Could be the....

Pot holes galore with this being the largest, many with a variety of aquatic life

 Yup, it's a road carved over the edge at White Crack--makes a nice hiking trail, now

There's even an old sign post

 And, Canyonlands smallest formation--about 8" tall

Something larger, The Twins, with White Crack in the background

I probably take this same shot every time I ride the White Rim.  In fact I have a version hanging in my office.  There is a cyclist there, just right of center (I think)

Second night, we line up the wagons at Candlestick Tower (not shown)

God's promise--that it's going to rain

In case you can't locate it -- the, so called, Vicar's Pride Tower.  She's pointing to the road that passes just below it and is our climb of the day.

Climb of the day.  We drop to the Green River  and go back up

Oh, what fun!

Nicely built trail to Fort Bottom

With the Green down below

Two of us embark on the 2 mile hike to the ruined watchtower, center on the butte

It's an excellent walk including a ridge

a catwalk

a scramble

and mortarless masonry

A vehicular side trip takes us to the base of Zeus and Moses.  Some of the remains of the upper portion of Zeus now reside to the right and below.  That must have been exciting.

God's promise looms

How many clown can you get in a camper?

All but one

By the next morning the sun is out and

The rain has transferred itself to the road.

But, we love it.  Not to mention we are on our way up from Mineral Bottom and on our way home.

Rode this piece of equipment 30+ miles the last day--in sandals, which turned out to be a good choice for once.  By the end it had more squeaks than the old Isuzu and a flat front tire when I got home.