We stopped at the rock formation called the “Echo Amphitheater” in the Carson National Forest. I parked on the highway and walked into the park to take this photo. The rock formation stood out by itself as was visible for miles.We stopped again to take a closer look at these formations. We could not get near them as there was a mud field from recent rains between the trail and the rocks. We are now heading towards Taos, New Mexico.Passing through Rancho de Taos I spotted this apparently old church. Once we found a camp site, we headed back to see what I thought I saw. This is the San Francisco de Asis church, built in the adobe mission syle in 1813 – 1815 and is one of the oldest churches in the country.A lot of the icons are original and are in the neighborhood of 200 years old.It was amazing to us that this church has stood, almost intact for more than two centuries.This was a very detailed statue outside of the church.Cathy and Jason standing at the entrance to the adobe church. Our next stop was to be the famous Taos Pueblo and sacred Blue Lake. We were stopped at the border (of the reservation) and turned back due to COVID. Their land, their rules. We really wanted to see the oldest continuously occupied home in the United States but it was not to be. I also wanted to make the hike the the sacred Blue Lake, but I was told that that was closed to visitors also. My other goal in Taos was to climb Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico at 13,361 feet, but due to the rain, lightning and snowfall, those plans were also nixed. Oh well, time for a backup . .We modified our plans and headed to the famous Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. You can see recent snowfall on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background. I missed the turn while gazing at the scenery and drove halfway to Questa before noticing, and now we had to backtrack. We made it to the Rio Grande Gorge and walked to the center of the bridge. It was so windy here that I had to put my hat in my belt. If it fell to the river below I would have to send Jason to retrieve it (not).This bridge is 1,272 feet in width and stands about 650 feet above the river. It is the seventh highest bridge in the country and the only major span of the Rio Grande river within 100 miles. It was completed in 1965. It is hard to imagine that I hiked three times this depth in the Black Canyon!It afternoon so of course we have rain. At least it comes in heavy showers and not the long lasting drenching type. And you can usually see it coming!We decided to take a tour of the Kit Carson home, located on Kit Carson Ave (go figure!) in Taos. We did not really expect much more than shelter from the storm but found a very informed tour guide inside. He has spent a lot of time researching Carson and his history. This is the courtyard at Kit’s home. Carson was born in Kentucky in 1809 and was at times a trapper, Army Officer, scout, and Indian Agent. He played a major role in the opening of the West. We watched a great documentary of Carson and his history. The part of Kit was actually played by a direct descendent. The film was part of a television history series and very well produced.The kitchen in the home, accessorized in period pieces.This is the desk used by Carson in his office. It is typical of furniture of the day in Taos, due to shipping issues most furniture was locally made and very sturdy but simple in design. It is interesting to note that Kit was illiterate but used the desk mainly to read maps, of which he was very good at. This desk was used by him while he was an Indian agent.This is Kit’s masonic apron. His signature is on the inside flap, one of the few words he learned to write.Kit was known to have always carried a small, canvas bag with him, wherever he went. Sometime after his death, the bag was found and inside was his original baby blanket. It must have really held sentimental value to him. Today, it is incased in the glass due to its age, as the material deteriorates upon touch. This blanket, the masonic apron and the desk were a few of the articles that can be directly attributed Kit Carson.The cannon balls were removed from the walls of the Pueblo Church. or so the card says . . . We were lucky and met a direct descendent of Kit Carson and his wife, Lorainne Jaramillo. She had her eyes closed for both photos (I think she was afraid of a flash) She had just found out about her family ties and was getting a private tour of the home. Our tour guide introduced us. We drove to the Kit Carson Memorial State Park to find the burial place of Kit. We seemed to drive right to it, no maps, no directions! It was amazing that there was no one in the cemetery! And there was a bandstand directly behind this plot!Kit’s wife Josephine seemed to have a better headstone than him!This is the burial site of Peter Joseph de Tevis who established a trading post in Taos in 1840. de Tevis was involved in overturning the insurrectionists of the Taos Rebellion of 1847. He was a close friend of Kit Carson and served as an Indian agent on his behalf in 1854, 1857 and 1858.
We spent the better part of the next day (after visiting a book store and a thrift shop) driving part of the “Enchanted Circle”. We headed counter-clockwise to Angle Fire, a ski resort about 30 miles due east of Taos. Angel Fire was a really nice resort town, similar to other ski towns we have visited but a notch lower key. It is an area where we would like to visit if we had more time. We drove through rain and water washing down the narrow roadway all the way back to Taos. The continuation of the “Enchanted Circle” would have taken us to Eagle Nest, Red River, Questa and Taos Ski Valley before returning to Taos, an all day trip.New Mexico’s Governor Bent’s home is on the main plaza in Taos, and is very nondescript. There was a museum of sorts inside, but we walked through and decided not to enter. I have the book . . .We were going through most of the Route 66 bypasses but decided that it was just too depressing to see all of the abandoned business that once were so vibrant. We did not turn off again until we passed a little town that had something going on on the main downtown street. We quickly backtracked, parked and walked to see what we thought was going to be a street fair. It turned out to be a three-on-three basketball tournament. The main street was covered with marked basketball courts and there were a lot of competitors. Jason wanted to join in but I think he may have been over his head on this one.We did stop at Paris in western Arkansas. We detoured off of I-40 and went south towards Magazine Mountain. The town of Paris had this “Eiffel Tower Park” next to the town square. It sported a 25 foot tall Eiffel Tower in a fountain and a “Love Lock” Fence (second photo)The “Love Lock Fence” in Eiffel Tower Park. Walking back to the motorhome, we noticed this sign outside of a local furniture store. We haven’t seen Crosley products in years! The furniture store had a Hours of Operation sign that read “Call me if you need assistance” as they appear to be open on demand only.This was the Count Courthouse in Paris.We did make the drive out to Mount Magazine State Park, about 15 miles south of Paris. Jason got to be on the highest peak in Arkansas, we picked up a little trash (we used our litter gitters) had lunch then headed back to the interstate.Our final stop was to be in Cahttanooga. We found a KOA so Jason could swim (which he did until they closed the pool for the evening) then we rented this pedal cart in the morning. It was already hot as hadies!After a couple of circles around the camp he found out that it really is work to pedal these things. But he continued until his time ran out.I took a walk down this wooded path and found a monument of sorts. Evidently we were sharing a campsite with one that the 84th Indiana Volunteer Infantry occupied during the Civil War.
Travelling with the Schinglers 