Taos area

Monday October 13

We drove to Taos in the morning. Stopped at the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church, a National Historic Landmark, in the Ranchos de Taos plaza, Built in 1772. The Spanish Colonial adobe building has twin bell towers and an arched portal entrance that overlooks an enclosed courtyard. The interior has two carved reredos (alter screen) divided into painted panels, a ceiling of vigas (beams) that rest on elaborately carved corbels and a traditional choir loft. Next to the church, was the second oldest building in NM. The oldest, is a house in Santa Fe.
Next we drove into Taos and visited the Lady of Guadalupe church. A more contemporary, but very pretty, church. We walked around Old Town Taos. A collection of art galleries, gift shops, restaurants, etc. This was the site of the original Spanish settlement over 400 years ago. We walked through the Kit Carson Park. A very old graveyard with Kit Carson’s remains, and the burial site for a number of the very early residents of Taos.
We continued on to the Cimmaron Canyon State Park near Eagle Nest. On the way, we stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park near Angle Fire. The Memorial was built by the parents of 1st Lt. David Westphall, killed in Vietnam in 1968. When we got to the campground at Cimmaron Canyon, our two traveling friends, decided to continue on to connect with I-25. The weather is supposed to get bad tonight and tomorrow and they didn’t want to risk driving on icy roads. The time we traveled together will be one of the highlights of this trip. We thoroughly enjoyed their company. That’s one of the beauties of owning a Lazy Daze; you meet some of the most wonderful people. The campground has one site with electric hookups. There was a horse trailer in the site so we took another. The guys with the horses, two hunters, came back. They were leaving so we took their space. As we were pulling in, another RV arrived. Our timing was perfect. The electricity will come in handy tonight. It’s supposed to get well below freezing and might snow!!

Tuesday, October 14

Woke up to about an inch of snow. We enjoyed it. A nice change for us. Took Gopher walking. She had a ball. I don’t know what it is about snow, but she can’t get enough of it. Eats it, rolls in it, runs through it. There was a couple from Texas in the campground. They had two miniature Border Collies and a Shelty. The BC’s liked the snow, the Shelty wanted to stay on dry ground. About 9:00 we decided to head west and see what developed with the weather. The plan was to simply stop if the roads got too bad. Bobcat Pass at 9,820’ was the worst. Heavy snow with about an inch of snow on the road. I drove about 25 mph and it was OK. As we went down, the snow turned to rain so we decided to continue to our destination; Heron Lake State Park near Los Ojos. We had to cross another mountain pass; Jawbone. 10,179’. I stopped at the Forest Service Ranger Station in Tres Piedras to inquire about road conditions. They said the road was open and had been plowed & sanded so we continued on. The road was just fine but the fog on the west side of the pass was real bad. Very limited visibility for perhaps 10 miles. Stopped for lunch at a pretty rest area. Arrived at Heron Lake State Park about 1:30. John & Linda recommended we get Site 17 in the Willow Creek camping area. A good recommendation. The site was nice & level with a view of Heron Lake. The weather is cold & dreary. Walked the dog then mostly stayed inside. A neighbor said the weather was supposed to clear tomorrow with the high about 70*.