We arrived in Taos that afternoon. Chris’ sister Cynda drove down from Colorado to join us in for the night, and treated us to a nice dinner at Doc Martin's Restaurant. After dinner we headed back to the coach where we had a bit of dessert, and we all enjoyed listening to the rain that night.
10/03/16, Monday: Taos, NM
Cynda took off early, and we enjoyed our typical take-it-slow morning, and then rode the bus into Old Town. We got off the bus near a brew pub Chris had chosen for lunch, but it turned out they were only open for lunch on the weekend, so we walked over toward the historic Taos Plaza, and found 'The Gorge Bar & Grill.'
After lunch we checked out several stores, still looking for a spoon rest for the coach with some scenery related to the trip. I didn't find a spoon rest, but I did buy a pair of maracas made in Mexico (I’d wanted some for a long time, but by the time I asked my Mom if she still had hers, she had given them away).
We walked around the heart of town and checked out a few galleries and Our Lady of Guadalupe church.
Surprise-surprise, we also did a wine tasting--La Chirapada, “northern New Mexico’s oldest winery”. We weren't crazy about any of their wines, but we enjoyed chatting with the girl doing the pouring anyway.
10/04/16, Tuesday: Taos, NM to Santa Fe, NM
As we headed away from Taos, we drove alongside the Rio Grande for awhile before veering towards Santa Fe.
The spot Chris had chosen here was an RV park conveniently located a few miles south of downtown. But no more sightseeing today. It's a low-key afternoon, taking time to do some laundry.
10/05/16, Wednesday: Santa FE, NM
After chatting with the very knowledgeable camp hostess about sights and bus stops, we rode our bikes to a nearby bus stop to catch a ride into the downtown area. The first bus that came along had 2 bikes already on it (they only hold 3), so we decided to keep pedaling toward town and try the next bus. And we were in luck. We put the bikes on and were soon dropped at the Santa Fe Depot.
We locked up our bikes near a bike rental store and made our way to the free trolley that makes a loop around the heart of town. We had hoped to make the whole loop to get a feel for the lay of the land, but it was too crowded. Anyway, the second stop was the closest stop to the brew pub Chris had chosen for lunch (Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery), so it worked out fine. We both enjoyed the beer and our respective meals, although the portions were enormous and I wished we had brought a cooler so that we could (safely) hang on to our leftovers for the remainder of the day while we did sightseeing. Oh well . . . something to think about for future treks of this nature.
After lunch we strolled the historical section of town. We checked out the plaza in the heart of town, and a few art galleries.