El Porvenir Campground to Taos, NM

June 07, 2013

We had planned a morning hike, so after our campfire and coffee we put a package of veggies in the hot coals.

Oh my a deer in our campground!

Turns out that the sky was getting dark and thunder rolled in the heavens so we packed everything up. Kathy's ankle gave out and she fell against the cement picnic table, ouch. That will be a nasty black'n blue. Will finished most of the outside puttin' away.

We left the Santa Fe National Forest and made the windy climb down the mountain.

This is the view back up to where we were camped; you can see the road we traveled along the edge of the hillside.

Here you see the view towards Las Vegas. The shiny roof of Montezuma, the World College stands out and beyond the hills you see the flat plains.

Well, we made it down and the rain started pounding hard against the windshild; then the hail came.

We found a place under a bridge to park and watch the rain along with a few others. You can see the hailballs bouncing. We spent the night at the Las Vegas, NM Walmart.

And in the morning we took off for Taos. Today is a good day to drive!

First stop along the way was the historic La Cueva National Historic District. Legend has it that Vicente Romero came to this area in the early 1800s. He slept in small caves while tending his flocks and fished in the streams. He named the area La Cueva de los Pescaderos meaning the cave of the fisher people, but only the first two words survived on printed maps today. Vincente is believed to be the original grantee of the Mora Land Grant of 1835.

The remains of many buildings still stand, the church, now reconstructed is where Vicente and his wife are buried under the alter.

The Big House was a hacienda in the Monterey Peninsula Territorial style. It was a two story house surrounded by high adobe wall. The big house still stands across the street from the store. By 1881 Vecente had died and his son Rafael stated selling off his father's holdings. In 1942 Colonel William Salman had asked a friend to accompany his wife to find a ranch in NM. Today it is the Salman Ranch. The Big House, The Mercantile Building and the Mill are now designated a National Historic site.

The mercantile building, Salman Ranch Store, has many unique items including items made from the vein-ripened raspberries the ranch is known for. You can even pick your own raspberries and picnic near the ancient Acequia.

Flowers are everywhere.

We met Inger Jerby, she has an art gallery in Taos. www.jirby.com

We loved walking through the gardens; reminded us of Sueann's gardens.

What a big beautiful butterfly!

Bright yellow,

brilliant blues,

soft peach to rich browns,

and pretty pinks popping up everywhere.

By 1850 La Cueva had become a major shipping center for livestock and agricultural goods. The adobe mill ground flour. The water wheel generated electricity until 1949.