Taos, NM

Sunday, September 26

We left Chama, New Mexico around 7:30am this morning with the intent to sight-see in Taos today. Andi and I were really excited to finally see Taos — we’d heard so much about it in movies and from friends.

The two-hour drive east from Chama to Taos were prettier than northwestern parts of New Mexico. As we ascended the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, we saw a lot more forests, rivers and wildlife.

Andi and I both thought Taos was larger than it is. There are only 5,000 people that call the city home. We considered going to breakfast somewhere downtown this morning, but everyone was hungry by the time we arrived, so we decided to pull the RV over on the outskirts of Taos and eat at “home.”

During my quick research about Taos on the drive there, I found about 10 things to see & do with kids during a visit. One of them was a sightseeing visit to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge which is the second highest bridge in the US spanning 10 miles across the river. We happened to be on that side of town, so Andi and I decided to start our tour of Taos there first.

There wasn’t much parking at the bridge, especially for a RV. There was also a small farmer’s market happening in the parking lot which made finding a place to park the RV even more of a challenge. Andi circled the lot a few times before driving over the bridge before finally ending up parking on the “other” side where there’s a dirt pull-off area.

The Gorge Bridge doesn’t look that impressive until you’re standing on top of it looking down at the river below. It is HIGH. Eerily, there are several suicide prevention phone boxes on each side. We could see a wrecked car below the bridge and someone’s teddy bear. If you fell off this bridge, it would definitely be the end. I suppose the bridge was cool to see, but definitely not a “must do” in our opinion. Not much to do there except look over the edge of the rail.

Next, we drove into downtown Taos. It’s not a very RV-friendly town — roads were small and there wasn’t much parking available for a bigger vehicle. We decided to pay-to-park $10 in a church parking lot a few blocks from town.

I wanted to visit the Taos Pueblo, but unfortunately it is closed right now due to the pandemic. The Taos Pueblo is the oldest Pueblo community in the country which has been continually inhabited for over 1,000 years. Instead, we went with Plan B to walk around downtown and shop at the Taos Mercantile.

The kids kept calling Taos tacos which they both found to be hilarious.

I loved seeing all the dried red chilis hanging from buildings, porches and along fences in New Mexico. They are called ristras and are said to bring good health and good luck.

Another neat local find were a delicious line of healthy granola bars and nuts from Taos Bakes.

We’ve been on the hunt for the perfect ball cap for Aden during this trip and we finally found one in downtown Taos. We affectionately call Aden, “pup” so we loved the cool-looking pup on the front of this hat. Trip souvenirs like this hat are the best because they remind you of the place you were & the memories you made there every time you wear or use an item.

After we shopped, the four of us walked around the historic streets of Taos. The southwestern style architecture is really unique here & we could sense a big artist community thriving here. A lot of museums and art galleries.

Overall, the town was quiet for a Saturday. We didn’t see any other RV driving around, or people walking around for that matter. To our surprise then, we had a really hard time finding camping available in Taos. Andi called a few RV parks and both receptionists laughed when he asked for an available spot for the night. Apparently everything around Taos books out months in advance.

I guess Andi and I were expecting more excitement in Taos. It was much sleepier than we anticipated. In only a few hour’s time, we felt like we’d seen everything the town had to offer so we decided to drive to nearby village of Angel Fire to check it out.

Angel Fire was shockingly quiet as well! I think Andi and I expected the hustle and bustle like ski towns in Colorado but that wasn’t the case. Granted, we were visiting during the fall so it wasn’t exactly prime ski season, but still. There wasn't much infrastructure around at all.

Andi parked the RV near a playground and let Tory and Aden play outside for a while. It was a pretty playground surrounded by mountains.

For lunch, we decided to eat at a bar & grill in Eagle’s Nest, NM. It was hard to find a restaurant that was open! This place had a nice outdoor patio though and a decent menu. Shortly after we were seated at our table, another family sat down at a table right next to ours. They proceeded to loudly FaceTime with a family member for the next 20 minutes. Why in the world do people do that in public??

Anyway, we ate and then made our way to our campsite in Red River, New Mexico. Andi was able to secure us the very last spot available at Road Runner RV Resort. It was a really nice place. Our campsite was right on he river.

After we got the RV settled, we decided to walk around downtown Red River. Now this town had the energy we were expecting in Taos and Angel Fire! There were quite a few shops open to browse and several breweries with full patios of people. We spent some time walking around town and down by the river.

Tomorrow we’re making our way across the state line — back to Colorado.