Taos Pueblo -“The First Living World Heritage”

In the English language, Taos means “place of the red willows”.  We had to explore at least one of the pueblos in the state and this is the most well known and is considered to be “the oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA”, according to the pamphlet we were given.  The Red Willow Creek runs through the center of the enclave dividing the buildings into the north and south.  This is the only source of water for the roughly 50 or so native peoples who live there permanently - there is no running water or electricity so they gather water for all their needs from the river.  We have it so easy!

 

The buildings are all made of adobe; the two main structures joining the individual homes together are about four storeys high with ladders to reach the entrances in the rooftops.  Nowadays there are brightly colored doorways which also serve as entryways for visitors to buy arts and crafts as well as the breads and pastries. 

The tribal members selling their art, drums, pottery, etc. were very willing to talk about their way of life and we gleaned so many interesting facts from them.  They have their own Tiwa language which has never been written down or recorded and wish to keep their values and culture to remain so.  The feast days are held throughout the year for dances or their annual Pow-Wow and photography is not allowed then. 

Unfortunately, as with most tribes, they have been oppressed by the white Americans and have had a violent past and many were forced into “slavery or Catholicism in order to become civilized”, another quote from their superb brochure.  In fact, this brochure with photos and facts about the Pueblo was one of the best we’ve read during our travels.

You can see Howard looking inside a “horno”, the adobe ovens still in use almost daily for baking the bread.  One of the vendors, whose son has the appealing name of “Dancing Humming Bird” after which the shop is named, told us that she and a friend built a horno recently and could bake at least 72 loaves at one time in it. Naturally we had to buy a loaf and it was delicious.

However, the “fried bread” on offer was not the type we eat in the UK as part of a big English breakfast, (which is a piece of white bread fried in a huge amount of fat), but similar to “funnel cake , a popular sweet pastry we tasted at a fair in Arkansas, too calorific for us!  The oven is also used for cooking vegetables or game.  The whole experience was unmissable and if we have a chance in the future, we shall certainly visit other pueblos. 

Thursday, 28th May - The High Road to Taos

Taos, just north of Santa Fe, is a welcoming place and famous for its galleries, inns, museums and outdoor activities including a large ski area and white-water rafting on the Rio Grande.

It was time for a day trip before I got too claustrophobic, so after several days doing mundane things except for several good hour long phone calls with our daughters and one with my best and dearest friend, Jenny from Devon, we headed for Taos, pronounced a bit like ‘house’.

Having had no breakfast, and needing a coffee fix, while stopping for diesel at a Valero Gas Station, I tried a new drink from the shop.  Amongst the cappuccinos and mochas was a “horchata”.  It was described as tasting like a cross between rice pudding and french vanilla, an unusual white mixture but very sweet and filling - not a smidgeon of coffee.

From our current place to Taos is a journey of about 85 miles, maybe 2 hours - it took us four hours on the High Road to reach the town center because of several stops on the way to take photos of scenery which reminded us a little of the Badlands in the Dakotas but not nearly as dramatic, various odd rock formations and later on an area that looked much like the Alpine region of Switzerland.

Just past Chimayo, seeing some unusual donkeys, we pulled in to take some pictures and met Pat who asked her son to give us a tour of the equine center.  So, we were able to spend some time with a delightful young man called JJ, who loved his job at La Centinela Ranch and invited us to meet the donkeys.

The ranch also encompasses a gallery for both wood and bronze carvings where JJ’s father, Marco Oviedo is an award winning sculptor with his own foundry and also breeds mammoth donkeys, once almost extinct and still quite rare.  They were used for the cavalry during the civil war both for riding and for pulling wagons and were much bigger than the mules (or burros), which were used for carrying heavy loads.  We stroked the nose of a gentle, grey spotted jack donkey named Julio, a crossbreed of a Peruvian and Andalusian, who was the stallion and had his own stall. Up the hill, we petted a gentle, pregnant “jenny”, sometimes called a jennet, the female.  JJ said that the gestation period for a donkey was longer than that of a horse, about 12-13 months.

It was such a delight to learn firsthand about the animals and the difference between a horse, a mule and a donkey, the three we saw together in a large enclosure. Cuca and Musca were hungry and hee-hawed their impatience loudly for the bales of fresh hay, which JJ was already on his way to throw into their fodder rack in the field.

A short way down the road, he was going to feed the flock of Churro sheep and we would have accompanied him except we were less than halfway to our destination.  The Churros were introduced by the Spanish and these ones are sheared twice a year by hand - the fleece coming off almost whole by using this method. They have a soft inner wool and a longer protective coat and with 4 or more horns are somewhat related to the Jacob sheep we’ve seen in Cumbria and Scotland.

JJ’s uncle, Irvin Trujillo is a master weaver and he and his wife, Lisa, hand spin the yarn to weave “world-renown” (as mentioned on his web site) blankets and other useful items using the traditional method.  Their work has been collected or shown by many U.S. museums including the Smithsonian.

On our way again, we stopped at Las Trampas to photograph an old 1760 Catholic church.   Any building over 200 years old is very old for the U.S. 

Arriving in historic Taos we had an excellent lunch at the Bent Street Deli and Bar in a pedestrian area of the town.  Kevin, our #1 son-in-law would have loved trying some of the beers with names such as “Flying Dog Fat Tire Golden Ale” from Colorado, or “Rio Grande Outlaw Lager” from NM.   

“Bobcat Bite” (Sat, 23rd May, continued)

That afternoon, we drove along part of the historic old Route 66, where we felt we had to eat at the famous “Bobcat Bite”, noted as one of the 100 best burger places in the country. It was transformed into a family restaurant in 1953. Its name derived in the early days when the owners were friendly to the bobcats who came down from the hills and were given a few scraps.

Having read about it, we knew we’d have to wait for a seat, and we did, for an hour!  With only 9 seats at the counter, we got a good view through the window of a couple of bird feeders visited by two species of humming birds.  The café is an unassuming building lying back from the road and we would have missed it if it hadn’t been for so many cars in the parking lot.  There are so few tables available in the covered porch, that three more tables were quickly occupied. 

You may ask, was the wait worth it?  Yes, indeed. The burgers are cooked on a 50 year old cast iron grill and are each 9-10 oz in weight.  They’re cooked to order and delicious.  Loved the grilled onions on top with home fries (pan fried potatoes).  You can see the menu online along with some photos and the awards they’ve received, one of them for the best green chile burger in Santa Fe.

Saturday, 23rd May - Dandelion Jelly at the Farmers’ Market

We left for the Saturday Farmer’s Market at 07:10. This market, considered by some to be one of the top 10 in America, is held three times a week outside in summer with some vendors inside the tent. The venue is fairly new having opened last September in the renovated Railyard Park and Plaza. There’s plenty of parking and although the fee is normally $1.00 per hour, on Saturday morning we got 4 hours for our dollar.  Walking across the tracks of the Yard, we saw people already leaving with local produce such as leeks and garlic sticking out from their bags. It’s a real foodie lover’s place with unusual freshly picked vegetables, artisan breads, homemade soaps and jellies and incredible herbs, all grown locally.

It’s so tempting to buy lots of unusual items but our fridge is very small and I have to admit that I don’t cook a meal every day any more.  We can’t stock the tiny freezer with much either.  However, some things we just have to buy, like the homemade dandelion jelly made by Gayle Ice, who, with her husband, Ron, grow and make various jams and jellies amongst other items on their organic farm.  The samples, like crowder pea jelly, were interesting to taste. The crowder pea, also known as the black-eye pea or cowpea (I’m still wondering how that name came about) is well known in the southern states.  Not being very knowledgeable about weeds, such as the dandelion, I’m always amazed at what people can produce from flowers or plants such as dandelion leaves in salads. 

There was a sweet young girl of Mexican descent selling items from her stall while her Momma was elsewhere. We bought a small deep red colored corn cob decorated with red chili peppers and dried flowers which the young girl had made with her mother, who gathered and dried the flowers for the ornaments.  Chilies are said to protect people and  property and are so popular that strings of them are hung from porches as decoration and also traditionally known for many uses in medicine today.

 

The homemade breads were tantalizing. Varieties with wheat, rye, sprouted seeds, herbs, cheese, some sweet, many savory.  After tasting a small sample of the Anadama Bread, known to originate in New England and baked with cornmeal and sorghum molasses, I had to buy some from the wonderfully named “Intergalactic Bread Company”.  Did this name mean that their goodies were out of this world?  Maybe it had something to do with all the alien sightings seen in New Mexico - remember Roswell?  I didn’t find out but the bread was delicious.

Sometimes there are art and craft stalls at the market.  We are now proud owners of a small sized Micaceous pot from the Mudsoup Studio.  Aimee and Lee learned their craft from a Native American, an extremely well-known Apache called Felipe Ortega.  They are proud to carry on a tradition which has been part of the Indian culture for probably thousands of years.  It’s a process whereby the earth must be blessed before the clay is dug from the ground and a ceremony usually takes place beforehand to thank the earth for its bounty.  Aimee said that when they dug their clay, large muscled native men armed with pick axes and shovels must also be barefoot in respect of the land from which they take it. 

Once the clay, (which looked like small, hard rocks to me) is dug, it’s mixed with water and kneaded until pliable, then formed by hand into bowls, jugs, baking pots, mugs etc. covered with slip and then fired.  

Usually a soft orangy color, the change in coloring occurs during the firing process in a wood fire; the hotter the heat, the blacker the pot.   The clay is highly heat resistant and items were mainly utilitarian items used for cooking  directly on a fire or in an oven, but also for carrying water at least 400 years ago and probably longer.  The little pot we bought is additionally decorated with horsehair, which is thrown onto the sides when it’s taken from the fire, so seems to melt into the clay to make squiggly black lines on the surface. 

 

Friday, 22nd May - Day in Santa Fe

Santa Fe, a phrase meaning "Holy Faith" in Spanish. Although the weather didn’t look promising our plans didn’t change so drove straight into the city where the parking lots were full.  Of course, it’s Memorial Day weekend so probably lots more tourists and Santa Fe is apparently the 4th most popular destination in the country. It’s also the oldest capital city in the nation, with its Palace of Governors in the central Plaza celebrating its 400th year of continuous occupancy by various governments since 1610.  On Sunday, 24th May, there is a grand opening of a new History Museum celebrating “thousands of years of New Mexico’s rich history.”  Much of this is a mixture of Mexican, Native American and Spanish.

                                                               

Under the long facade of the covered Portal or porch of the Palace, Native Americans mostly from New Mexican Pueblos, are allowed to sell their goods.  There is a very strict code governing authenticity of the artisans’ crafts; each product whether it’s beadwork, sandpainting, silver jewelry, weaving, pottery or hand tooled leather, must have a maker’s mark and all of the handmade products must be made from traditional materials.  The spaces are free 360 days of the year but there are so many participants that we were told by one of the vendors that they use a lottery to determine who is allowed a space.  It’s a great place to walk through and talk to the people about their crafts and to know that if you buy something, it is absolutely authentic.

The city is rich in culture and the Official Visitors Guide contains a wealth of information.  I’ve never encountered so many art galleries on almost every street; fine art, abstract, sculptures, native crafts etc. The authentic adobe homes on the delightful Canyon Street now contain galleries of all types including many from other continents and has become world famous. The Opera brings in international singers during summer, there is a symphony orchestra, a chorale and about 7 museums. On the outskirts are casinos, plenty of outdoor activities and old towns to visit. No wonder it’s such a charming city.

Having just missed the midday tram tour, we walked around the square admiring the chic boutiques before we had lunch at the Blue Burrito Cafe. You can see the photo of an authentic New Mexican dish of a chicken filled blue corn burrito, a chalupa with some sort of bean mixture and two small containers of red and green chile sauces. 

Although it was near to rain and quite cold and cloudy, the tram tour lasted an hour and 20 minutes and our guide, Gary, gave us much history and was an excellent source of information. 

He explained that adobe is the material which was used centuries ago for constructing the Indian Pueblos and churches made of clay, sand and water with mostly straw to help hold it together. It was often made into the form of bricks and then dried. He told us that the word “adobe” is now used to refer to the city’s architecture and incorporates both Spanish and Native influences.  But, the most interesting story was that the city, in 1958, passed an ordinance requiring all buildings to be built no higher than 37 feet and “that the style must be of Southwestern type, either Spanish Territorial or Pueblo.” Such a delightful idea.

The advantage that we found was that there were no skyscrapers to block out the sun and it doesn’t appear like a huge city. The older buildings, we heard, were “grandfathered in”, a term in the U.S. which means that older structures were exempt from the new regulations.