| | -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| |  |
|
1 |
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
| | |
|
| Scenic Drive | |
|
| | Scenic Drive | | | | |
| | | |
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | It's only about 70 miles from Santa Fe, where I had been staying for Zozobra, to Taos. I had a room reserved for Saturday night in Taos at the Sun God Lodge. However, this trip was also about shopping and nostalgia, so there would be a good bit of meandering. There were several places that were on the to do list, but their hours of operation created some logistical problems and forced me to forego my usual early morning start. On Saturday I wanted to stop at the Sierra Blanca Brewery in Moriarity to pick up some beer, but they didn't open until 11 o'clock. So I took my time leaving Santa Fe and decided to check out a route that goes from Bernalillo over to Sandia Park crossing a portion of the northern Sandia Mountains by way of Placitas and part of the road to Sandia Crest. I had intended to drive this back in June when I was up in the San Pedro Parks Wilderness with friends, but the road was closed at that time due to the closure of Sandia unit of Cibola National Forest because of extreme fire danger conditions.
Following a visit to the brewery, I headed east on I-40 to NM highway 3 for the scenic drive to I-25 that reaches the Pecos River at Villanueva and follows the river through some ancient farming villages on the northern part. This is a nice alternative if you want to get to the Las Vegas area from Albuquerque without traveling on the busy section of I-25 to Santa Fe. Another of my goals this day was to stop at the Salman Ranch Raspberry Farm La Cueva, which is just east of Mora along NM518, another very scenic drive. Because of the time constraints on the day, I was unable to execute my original plan of driving the Enchanted Circle through Eagle Nest, Red River, and Questa on my way to Taos. I hadn't been up that way in a long time, but it can wait until next year. After my late afternoon visit to Salman Ranch, it was on to Mora, then up to Angel Fire on NM 434. This is another sort of remote route that I enjoyed a long time ago with my Mom when we camped at Coyote Creek State Park.
You reach US 64 at Angel Fire, and from there I headed west to Taos on the southern portion of the Enchanted Circle, as daylight waned. I enjoyed a nice short overnight stay in Taos, while pondering the possibilities for Sunday.  |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
