Taking the high road

We took the “High Road to Taos” and fell in love with it. The road, that is. Not Taos. 

Again we had the feeling that we had left the USA. Little towns like Cordova, Truchas, Peñasco, and Talpa had small, one-lane paved roads that turned to dirt and gravel if you kept going for long. A cow might be in the road, and we spotted a few sheep behind a gate. Signs announced “Gallery” in every town, but most were closed. Covid? Off-season? We weren’t going to buy anything anyway, but we’d have enjoyed looking at the results of cottage industries: weaving, wood carving, religious artifacts, and of course, chiles. 

I made a photo of Talpa Tavern in honor of my blip friend Talpa. The tavern, located in a town called Talpa, had seen better days (Extra 1). 

On the outskirts of Taos, we visited St. Francis de Assis church made famous by images by Ansel Adams and Georgia O’Keeffe. We were shocked to find it surrounded by parking lots, strip malls, galleries, and a copycat structure called “Old Martina’s Restaurant.” Cars were parked right up next to the church, and grass was growing out of the adobe (Extras 2 and 3). Taos itself was a mass of strip malls, four-lane roads, construction, and chaos. We knew we were back in the USA, and we left without even stepping out of the car. 

But the road? The road was gorgeous. We are here at the height of autumn color, stark against the electric blue sky. Very few cars on the road. Another world entirely.