On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
UncleEbeneezer
We wanted to do something fun and slightly special for my fiftieth birthday and decided that the best option was Taos, NM. My wife used to live there when she was a kid and we visited together in the Fall of 2019 and I absolutely loved it! We wanted someplace beautiful, with some real possibility of winter weather and not too far from home (Los Angeles).
As Christmas approaches, adobe homes, streets and driveways become lined with luminarias (or “farolitos”, depending on who you ask and what part of NM you are in). This home on the walk from our AirBnB to the downtown plaza looked particularly enchanting at night.
Taos has a lovely small town vibe and is very picturesque.
If you love art, Taos is a really great place for you. The city is practically overflowing with small galleries on every street.
There had been a little bit of weather recently so the Sangre de Cristo mountains (part of the Rockies) were still dusted with a little snow, which gave us a nice winter vibe. The weather was fairly mild though with daytime highs in the 40’s, though the sun only poked out a handful of times during our stay.
One of the coolest aspects of Taos is the adobe style architecture and the full embrace and celebration of South Western art. Coyote fences are very common as are some sort of artwork adorning the sides of homes.
Peek a boo!
Another home that positively screams New Mexico style.
But one of the biggest, maybe THE biggest reason we decided on Taos for my B-day/Christmas is the food. New Mexico has one of the most unique regional cuisines in the United States. Their legendary chile peppers of Hatch Valley have a really unique flavor that is Earthy, complex and spicy, but not in the way that jalapeños or Thai chiles are. To my taste buds, Hatch chiles are much more subtle with their heat and don’t give nearly as much pain on the tongue. I think even people who don’t really like spicy food, could probably enjoy Green Chile Stew, Red Chile Enchiladas or a Green Chile Cheeseburger. Pretty much every meal you get in Taos will have a side of green, red or “Christmas” (both) Chile to accompany your dish. This picture from our first morning in Taos, is my ham and eggs, “Christmas” style from Mike’s Diner, one of the oldest and best restaurants in Taos. Not pictured, but definitely there, was a basket of sopapillas, another staple of New Mexican cuisine.
Baud
Sounds like you had a good time.
Quinerly
Be careful!
That’s how my obsession with and yearly pilgrimage to New Mexico started. On the spur of the moment, I packed up my dog, Leo, and my Suburau in anticipation of my 50th birthday. I knew nothing about NM other than I wanted to do something totally different on that milestone. On that February trip, I ended up in Taos. Spent the last day of my 49th year at the old New Buffalo Commune site, the day of my birthday communing with the Earthships, and that evening at the Adobe Room. Stayed 2 weeks. Was totally hooked on NM. Moved on just “to see” Santa Fe, as an afterthought. That was 2011. 10 years later I bought a house and moved here.
Love your pictures. Taos is very special. Love the Kit Carson Cemetery, Taos Gorge Bridge, The Plaza, The Millicent Rogers Museum, Fechin Museum. Great food. I’m basically a “Christmas” chick, except for certain restaurants I prefer green over red and vice-versa.
Looking forward to your next posts and pictures.
Princess
NM food is amazing.
HinTN
We were leaving Taos, heading for the “High Road” when Mrs H commanded me to turn around. She had seen a sculpture on outdoor display and wanted a better look. The artist was an expat from Zimbabwe and he worked in stone that has these amazing layers of yellow within the gray. The yellow became the hair of The Woman of the Waves. She has resided in our dining room for almost twenty years. Taos is a lovely place.
JPL
Happy belated birthday! What a nice celebration!
Dorothy A. Winsor
What a great choice of destination. Happy birthday.
Miss Bianca
New Mexico vies with England as my very favorite spot on earth to spend Christmas. Thanks for the photos!
OzarkHillbilly
I’ve spent a little bit of time in NM over the years, tho I don’t think I ever made it to Taos. If I did it was just to drive thru. These pics have me jonesing for more NM.
I love that gate in the 5th picture, it gives me ideas.
Albatrossity
Taos is a great place to visit (and dine!), pretty much year-round. Thanks for the tour, and the pics!
Manyakitty
Lovely! What a wonderful way to celebrate 🎉🥂
eclare
These photos are wonderful! Thank you for sharing your birthday with us. Taos, wow.
Mustang Bobby
I lived in New Mexico twice: first from October 1977 to August 1978 in Santa Fe and was a ski bum at what was then called the Santa Fe Ski Basin, running a chairlift and working part-time elsewhere. I loved the town, the people, and the food. Then in October 1995 my partner and I moved to Albuquerque so I could take a job working for a now-defunct window and door distributor. We had a great six years there (even through our separation) until I moved to Miami in 2001. During that tenure we explored all the little towns in the mountains above Santa Fe and Taos. I miss it for all the right reasons.
eclare
I just looked it up, wow that place is tiny!
UncleEbeneezer
@Quinerly: Thanks. Millicent Rogers was closed on the day we thought about going there but we did go to Fechin House (pix tomorrow) and really loved it. Totally agree about the magic of Taos. We visited Santa Fe in 2019 but I thought it was a bit too fancy for my tastes. Like Carmel CA, it felt very manufactured pretty. Taos feels much more real.
UncleEbeneezer
@eclare: You’re quite welcome. It was a great trip until we got home and both tested + for Covid. Just over my rebound case now, but feeling much better.
UncleEbeneezer
@Miss Bianca: New England will always be #1 for me (I grew up in Boston), but yes, New Mexico (especially up in the mountains) is really lovely for the Holidays. The Eastern Sierra would also be great, but because of ski-season prices and everything being booked we never go up then.
UncleEbeneezer
@Quinerly: Next time you get back to Taos, try the restaurant “Gutiz.” It’s a French/New Mexican fusion joint and the food is superb. Our friend Randy is the owner/manager. You can tell him you sorta know John and Kelly from Los Angeles :)
Xavier
Michael’s Kitchen?
Quinerly
@UncleEbeneezer: this is wonderful to know. I am always looking for a place to take visitors when we do a day trip to Taos. I stayed in a bed and breakfast there in 2011. No kitchen, so I ate a lot of meals out. So many places I went to aren’t around anymore. When I go now, I usually end up at The Love Apple, or La Cocina. Thanks for the info! If you are ever in Santa Fe, let’s try to meet up.
Quinerly
@Xavier: great place. Still there as far as I know from my travels. I was last in Taos in June for Allison Kraus and Robert Plant.
Quinerly
@UncleEbeneezer:
I’m about 12 miles out from Santa Fe. Direction of Pecos and Little Vegas. I love Taos but needed a bigger town when I decided on a move. Honestly, I probably would love living closer to Albuquerque if I had thought long and hard about it. I don’t necessarily fit in here in Santa Fe. I do hate the traffic in Taos…at least the last few times I have gotten up there. Tourist season. I love the High Road and sometimes just take a drive for the sake of driving to Las Trampas, with stops along the way, and just turn around. Great winter drive.
mvr
Thanks for these! Spent several nice days in Taos last spring for a fisheries conservation conference. Jenny and I enjoyed the used bookstore we visited complete with well known local author shooting the breeze with the owner. Also the food. And also the fly fishing up on Ria Costilla north of there.
Parfigliano
Moved from SD to NM in 1989.
UncleEbeneezer
@Xavier: Correct. Brain-fart on my part when writing the post.
Alison Rose
Great photos! Happy (belated, I assume) birthday. My oldest brother turned 49 last Monday and I told him “Happy last year of your 40s” which he seemed mildly amused by, so I’ll tell you “Happy first year of your 50s” and hopefully you can find some humor in it, too :P
UncleEbeneezer
@Quinerly: We had to learn to use back streets to get to and from our AirBnB which was on Kit Carson Hwy (about two blocks from the Plaza) to avoid the Plaza traffic during rush hour. I wouldn’t rate Taos traffic as being within even light-years of Los Angeles traffic, but it was definitely bad for such a small city.
UncleEbeneezer
@mvr: The food is one of America’s best kept secrets. Even in Los Angeles (which isn’t THAT far away) there is only one New Mexican restaurant in all of LA. I’m guessing that in most major cities in the Mid-West, East Coast etc., there are none. Such a shame. More people need to know about the magic of Hatch Chiles.
UncleEbeneezer
@Alison Rose: Thank you. It was a great trip and one of my best Birthday’s ever. Because my B-day is 12/23, it’s really hard to have a good one. Planning anything with friends in LA is basically impossible due to Holiday scheduling. So many people are traveling etc. And we don’t really love visiting my family in Denver. It’s okay, but we aren’t that close and my Sister and Dad really get on my nerves after about 48 hours.
PJ
@UncleEbeneezer: Zia Hatch chiles https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/product/zia-hatch-green-chile-16-oz-b0732k6rj7 are available from Whole Foods and other distributors. I made a big pot of green chile stew last Sunday.