A day in the mountains

About ninety minutes north of Santa Fe is the tiny community of Arroyo Seco. The village is set in the snow-capped Rocky Mountains against the deep canyon cut of the Rio Grande. It borders the Taos Pueblo, the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States.There is an abundance of creative energy with interesting sculptors, jewelers and potters making and displaying their work in Arroyo Seco. We chatted with Scott Carlson, a potter creating beautiful and practical pieces of art including sets of wine glasses, juicers and lamps. He has experimented with different techniques including firing small-bore shotguns at the wet clay to create interesting holes in his hanging lamps. He also makes his own glazes and leaves some of the clays natural iron deposits in order to reveal their own beauty. Being at the top of a 8,000 foot rock, he imports his clay from around the US.He suggested that we visit the Black Rock hot springs near the John Dunn Bridge. It was too windy (50mph gusts with airborne pebbles) and dusty for us, that will be another trip. Instead, we meandered through some of the unique stores before stopping for a snack at Abe’s Comidas y Cocina. We wanted to have some Taos Cow ice cream but that store was closed and not due to reopen for a while. I did get a picture of their soon-to-be ice cream truck. We left Arroyo Seco and drove fifteen minutes to Taos, the town, not the ski village. Taos is picturesque and filled with many adobe pueblo-style shops and great restaurants. There are galleries, speciality coffee shops and shopping opportunities. There are also high-end chain stores and traffic lights. We enjoyed letting the time slip away as we explored the area, drank fair trade coffee and people watched.The signs and overpasses along the route between Taos and Santa Fe are worth looking at. Many of the cow and falling rock signs have been altered and are amusing. Also, the overpasses have native names and artwork. Excuse the out of the window at speed photos. The Rio Grande is deep and fast-flowing in the mountains, with its deep gorge rising and falling along the highway. It feels a completely different river than where it bends in Texas. Mountains, art and river it was a perfect day.