Taos sunsets...

No words required, you just have to be there... ;-)!!

Fall break in Taos

We took a break from studying and working and spent it in Taos. We stayed at a lovely bed-and-breakfast and RELAXED!!! Pretty grounds with 200 year old traditional adobe rooms, crisp mountain air, beautiful views, a great small town atmosphere AND very good coffee...

Fall foliage



B&B grounds



Do we look and act stressed?



River gorge

Pole - Pole

Without really planning to, we hiked Wheeler Peak, with 13.161 feet, New Mexico's Rocky Mountains highest peak. We did want to hike the ridge leading to it (as it seemed like it would have great vistas) and somehow, following the Swahili Kilimanjaro motto 'Pole, Pole' (Slowly, Slowly) we made it to the summit in great time. The winds were howling, the temperatures too low for comfort, the path occasionally icy but the skies were wide open and the views priceless!!!






We made it!!!!





On the way down, we saw a 15-20 herd of Big Horn Sheep, apparently all female as they travel together. I think I did an extra few hundred feet of elevation trying to get above them for some good pictures!





The fact that we did enough carb-loading to probably do the hike 3 times must have helped too ;-)!. But we still had room for some icecream from "Taos Cow", a little ice cream store in Arroyo Seco, named in the top 10 US icecream places in "Bon Appetit" magazine 2009!! It did live upto it's reputation and both the cinnamon and chocolate chip flavors were to die for!

Earthships

An earthship is a passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials. It uses tires as permanent forms for rammed earth, has a passive solar design, rain catchment, and other integrated systems to create low-impact, energy-efficient structures. The are off-the-grid homes, minimizing their reliance on public utilities and fossil fuels.
They were designed and marketed by "Earthship Biotecture of Taos" and some of them are open for the public to visit and learn.

Balloonfiesta time!!

Unbelievably spectacular!!!

Early - Early - ....

I was there EARLY, wanting the full experience, so I got up at 4.30 am (read four thirty in the morning!!!), got on my bike at 5.00, in the park by 5.40. I was so fortunate that the temperatures were incredibly mild, at least 15 degrees above normal Balloon Fiesta temperatures.
I witnessed the inflation and take-off of the first dawn patrol balloon and saw the whole spectacle evolve from there....

Unusual shapes