Around Chimayo, the High Road to Taos officially follows NM Rte. 503.
Quite honestly, I'm amazed that this route holds onto its state-route
designation, since for a couple of miles, it drops down to one paved
lane, and takes you on a thrilling ride downhill, through several
switchbacks. Aside from feeling a bit dangerous, this is a
thrilling road, and it gives you a cool look at a rural New Mexico
community, almost untouched by time.
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If you don't want to tackle the one-lane route
through Chimayo, take a left at Juan Medina Road (the road to el
Santuario de Chimayo). It will eventually take you to NM
Rte. 76. This road passes to the west of Santa Cruz Lake,
while NM 503 passes to the east. On the map, Juan Medina
Road looks like a more well-traveled route, however, since I
didn't drive it, I can't make any guarantees. |
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If you do choose to travel NM 503, this is the closest thing you'll see
to a gas station. It's quite rare to find an old pump like this
one, by the side of the road.
This was the last stop I made for a while. There were plenty of
things to photograph, however my travel companion desperately needed a
restroom. Despite the High Road to Taos being well known and often
traveled, there were no bathrooms anywhere. For an hour we
drove. Since it was a Sunday afternoon, any businesses we spotted
were closed. Until...
... we found the Penasco Valley Food Store, a full hour's drive after
leaving the Santuario. The owner was about to close down for the
day, but was kind enough to not only allow us use of the restroom, but
also whip up a milkshake.
Now freed from the constraints of a tiny bladder, I was able to devote
some time to photography.
In Penasco, I found the Owens Potatoes store...
... and the el Puente Theatre. Nearby towns also had quite a few
small art galleries and stores.
When you finally reach Taos, drive through town, and you'll end up at...
Taos Pueblo
This is the only picture I was allowed to take while on the pueblo, and
truth be told, I wasn't really allowed to take this one.
Apparently, the Taos Pueblo closes to outsiders at 4 p.m. That's
right, the entire pueblo, not just the historic part behind the "closed"
signs. I stopped to take this picture in the parking lot of the
historic area, and was quickly chased off by an unforgiving pueblo police
officer.
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A check of the Taos Pueblo website shows
they're even more unfriendly to tourists than I experienced
see note below.
Admission to the historic area is $10 per person, and get this:
if you're carrying a camera, there's an extra $5 charge.
That's $5 per camera, still or video. More strict
rules are listed on the pueblo's
website.
The tribe will also be happy to take your money at their
casino, which not surprisingly, doesn't close at 4
p.m. |
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I don't want to be too unforgiving to the Taos Pueblo.
Just because they were short with me, and ran me off, doesn't
mean the pueblo isn't worth a visit. After all, the area
has been inhabited by this Native American tribe for nearly
1,000 years, with some of the current buildings dating back to
at least 1450 A.D. So, if you're more than just a
casual visitor, and you arrive early enough, go ahead and check
it out.
Back in modern-day Taos, there wasn't much happening. Since it was
Sunday, and the sun was about to set, most stores had closed for the day
(if they had opened at all). The old town square was mostly
deserted, except for one panhandler from the pueblo who hit me up for $1
and some change.
If you're a fan of adobe architecture, there's plenty to see.
About the only place still open was the Taos Inn, which has a cool neon
sign and pricey rooms. I already had a reservation back in Santa
Fe, so I left town.
While the High Road to Taos receives most of the fame, the low road is a
scenic treat, too. NM Rte. 68 drops down through a narrow valley,
and follows the Rio Grande River for part of the drive back to US 84 &
285. Unfortunately, it was too late in the day to see much of the
scenery.
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While there are several nice, and luxurious
hotels near Santa Fe's old town square, you can probably
find a better deal on Cerillos Road (NM Rte. 14). I stayed
at the
Holiday Inn, where the staff was extremely helpful (not to
mention the beautiful lobby, and pool that goes from outside to
inside!) |
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Denee Mirabal of Taos Pueblo wrote:
"How can you call my home as an unfriendly place when it
seems that you have not even spoken to one Indian. I am a
proud member of our tribe, I live near the area you were not
allowed to take pictures of. We live in these lovely adobe
homes as we did for over 1000 years. Our ceremonial dances
represents who we are and how we honor living creatures and
plants like the corn we eat. That is why we do not allow
photography on these holy days. We are indigenous people who
have a language a culture much different from yours, so your
lousy pictures may have produced an Indian like me getting
water from the river in traditional clothing. How would you
like me to go to your home and take a picture of you in the
backyard sunbathing! When you visit someone's home, you
respect their rules just as you would expect them to do if
they visited your home. The entry fee you pay to visit my
home supports our tribal needs, such as village
preservation, our school and many other programs. Our
Casino employs many tribal members. We have endured European
invasion for years, and luckily you were able to even set
foot on an historic and spiritual area we call home! So
thank you for using our home to endorse your website. I
suggest next time you actually get out of your website and
meet the people in it!!!!!!"
First of all, I spoke to two Indians
during my visit to Taos. The first was that pueblo police
officer, who told me I wasn't allowed to be in a parking lot
which was *outside* the gated area. He was not friendly.
The second was a resident of the pueblo whom I met a few
minutes later in the town square. The main reason he
approached me was to ask for money. However, I shook his
hand, stood and talked with him for about five minutes, and
in the end, I did give him a couple of dollars. Almost all
the other businesses were closed in town, and the streets
were empty, so no, I did not meet anyone else in Taos.
The town felt, in a word, unwelcoming. A friend who
accompanied me on this trip (a native of New Mexico) shared
the same feeling as we walked through Taos, and was anxious
to leave.
As for the pictures: my quarrel was not that
photography is not allowed of religious or sacred events, or on
special days. My observation was that it seems disingenuous to say
that the invasion of privacy is suddenly okay if you pay for it.
This rule, it seems to me, has nothing to do with photography being
inappropriate, and everything to do with the desire to make money.
And I'm all for Native Americans making money, don't get me wrong.
However, what I said in the comments above, is that the demand for
extra money--a per camera fee--was a practice that was unfriendly to
tourists.
"When you visit someone's home, you respect
their rules just as you would expect them to do if they visited your
home." -- you're right. But if someone --let's call him
Joe--visited my home, and I demanded money from Joe, and Joe
responded by saying "I don't feel very welcome here", Joe would be
completely within his right. Joe would leave, and probably never
again have the opportunity to come into my home, and learn about who
I am, my beliefs, and my culture. It would be Joe's loss, but I
couldn't fault him for how he felt.
I hope this more clearly explains the point I
tried to make in my comments above. On every page of my
website, my ultimate goal is to convey how I honestly felt about
the places I visited. If I'm way off base on this one,
please let me know, and I will include your comments here.
Another note: After exchanging a few emails with
Edward Archuleta, a 15 year old from Taos Pueblo, I'm compelled
to expand a little more on my comments. Edward makes the
point that the photo policy is in place to protect the privacy
of residents of the Pueblo, at any time when the Pueblo is not
open to the public. He writes, in part: "What if you
accidentally caught a picture of something private and sacred in
progress, aside from the old bell tower, a ceremony for
instance? This is why the Pueblo closes at 4:00 p.m. so we can
have alone time and carry out our rituals, and simply be Pueblo
Indians." Edward makes a valid point, although I still
think it's possible for some visitors to conclude that the
restrictive photo policies are an attempt to nickel-and-dime
visitors, a policy which could still be construed as unfriendly
to tourists. Edward went on to say, "You want to talk
about being unfriendly, unwelcoming and offensive? Why don't you
look at the last four hundred years of unfriendliness, and
offensiveness that your ancestors showed toward Native
Americans!"
I want to make it clear, this page expresses my
opinions, and accurately describes the feelings I was left with, after
my brief visit to the Taos Pueblo, and after researching the Pueblo's
policies in the process of writing this page. I take hyper-road trips,
sometimes covering thousands of miles in a week's time, and this website
exists to share my experiences and let others know what they may
experience on a similar trip. While I try to be factually accurate
and comprehensive, I have never claimed to be providing a thorough
assessment of every city, town, and community I visit -- the Taos Pueblo
included. In this case, I could be way off base. Or not.
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