Road Trip #2 (Day 4) Riding around Taos

June 18, 2012
Colorado, USA

After spending a great morning at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial near Angel Fire, NM we were ready to put a few miles on The Ride. Some of the veterans we met asked us out to lunch with them but they were headed in a different direction than we had in mind. One of them upon hearing our intended direction pulled out a map and advised us on our route. We thanked them, said our goodbyes and after snapping a couple of pics, rolled out shortly after them.

We traveled the short distance from the memorial to Angel Fire and took a turn south on a small country road (Hwy 434). The veteran said the road was small and narrow but paved well enough for him to pull a fifth wheel on it even though the signage said no trailers. The road was exactly as he said (mostly a paved cow trail with no center line the majority of the way and likely prone to flooding in inclement weather) especially once past the community of Black Lake. It was a nice ride, not as rough as we thought it might be but we wondered how in the heck the Vet managed oncoming traffic with that fifth wheel. Ha!

The road ran near the Mora River in many places and alongside the river sat several camping/fishing cabins that appeared to be long out of use. In fact there were many abandoned structures along the way. Just before Mora we rolled by the Victory Alpaca Ranch. We've never seen so many of those cute little critters in one place. In the tiny village of Mora (lots of old architecture here) we picked up NM Road 518 and travelled a high scenic road back into Taos. This segment of 518 between Mora and Ranchos de Taos passes through the rugged terrain of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Carson National Forest. What a beautiful ride!

Before leaving Taos, we made the hot ten mile jaunt on Hwy 64 to see the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. This bridge spans over 1200 feet and crosses the Rio Grande which wanders through a gigantic gorge 650 feet below. They are working on the bridge which is an amazing thing to see as well.

The trip back to Eagle Nest took us around the Enchanted Circle traveling in reverse of the way we had traveled on the Saint Jude's benefit run a couple of days ago. The trip went well and we had the road almost to ourselves.

As I predicted yesterday, we strolled down to Kawliga's for a burger and a beer. Yep! We are well-pleased with our choice for supper. The burgers and fries were every bit as good as advertised. YUM! And, of course we finished of the meal with ice-cream.

Today's ride = 173 miles

Slide show of today's ride (123 photos):

Alternative link for this slide show.