Discover the Road to Taos

Early Saturday morning the traffic on I-25 south through Denver and Colorado Springs was sparse; and by noon we approached Taos. As If stepping back into an ancient European village, the pace slowed and the adobe architecture shown in the sun. Lunch at a local favorite Michael’s Bakery definitely hit the spot as freshly baked cinnamon rolls and apple fritters tempted our senses. Across Paseo del Pueblo Norte the Taos Museum (www.taosartmuseum.com, 575.758.2690) in the Nicolai Fechin home introduced us to the multiply talented artist born in 1881 in Kagan, Russia. Fechin excelled as a draftsman, painter, architect, and wood carver who built his adobe home and studio by hand from 1927 to 1933, while carving the beautiful and unique tables, chairs, beds, doors, columns, stair railings, built in cabinets and cedar lined closets which filled his home. Fechin carved and molded the adobe buildings into a marriage of Russian, Native American, and Spanish symbology. Fechin’s portrait paintings brought to mind John Singer Sargent’s assured bravado brushstrokes combined with Gustav Klimpt’s German Expressionist style. Taos Museum owns a permanent collection of 300 works by fifty artists of the original Taos Society of Artists and modern Taos painters. Plans are underway to construct a 12,000 square foot additional building to house this collection with a major fund-raising black-tie event scheduled in August 2009. Strolling through fragrant gardens of cherry and apple trees, lilies, roses, bachelor buttons and lavender we visited Fechin’s studio which contains a gift shop of art books, hand-made jewelry, pottery, and woven scarves.

Taos Plaza contains several historic Spanish Colonial buildings including the La Fonda Hotel Taos, rebuilt in 1710 and filled with original period artworks by local and regional artisans. A short walk from the Plaza takes you to numerous art galleries. Walden Fine Art was gearing up for a reception for Colorado painter Marie Massey. Next door Michael McCormick Gallery (www.mccormickgallery.com, 575.758.1372) planned a buffet dinner for the Angus McDonald “Summer of Love in Taos” show. On Kit Carson Road, Wilder Nightingale Gallery (www.wnightingale.com, 575.758.3255) featured oversized portraits by Rory Wagner, glowing landscapes by Stephen Day, abstracted landscapes by Kit Lynch, and architectural paintings by Greg Moon. Diane Grimshaw’s Gallery featured architecture paintings by Walker Moore and expressive figures and still lifes by Scott Freeman. Total Arts Gallery (www.totalartsgallery.com, 575.758.4667) celebrated its 40th Anniversary with a courtyard buffet reception for Kim English, John David Phillips, and Spike Ress. Works by renowned painters David Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, and Burton Silverman were also displayed at Total Arts Gallery.

Sunday morning we set out to explore the High Road from Taos to Santa Fe. State Road 518 climbs the scenic route through Carson National Forest with many side roads to hiking and fishing sites. Passing through Talpa take a right on state road 75 through Valida and Penasco, where a right turn takes you to Picuris Pueblo. Take a left on state road 76 through Chamisal to Las Trampas where the old Santo Tomas Church was begun in 1751 in Spanish Colonial alpine construction and dedicated in 1760. Still in use today, the church was rededicated in 1881 as San Jose de Gracia. Continue on through Ojo Sarco to Truchas Mission and Cordova. Take state road 98 toward Chimayo to see the Santuario de Chimayo referred to as “Lourdes of the Southwest” because of the alleged healing powers of the miraculous dirt in the corner of the 19th century chapel. Here we cut across the loop to the more modern city of Espanola, stopping for a fresh Southwestern taco salad for lunch. We completed our loop along the Low Road, Highway 68 North, back toward Taos. Passing Velarde and the historic railroad stop at Embudo we saw lush farms of fruits, corn, chiles, vineyards and wineries. Along the Rio Grande River we spotted rafters braving the rapids resulting from a rainy summer. The area between Ohkay Owingeh and Pilar was known in 1598 as San Juan Pueblo. Reaching the southern border of Taos we visited the adobe buttressed San Francisco de Asis Church built in 1710 in Rancho de Taos and a favorite painting subject of Georgia O’Keeffe and modern artists.

Hacienda de los Martinez (www.taoshistoricmuseums.org, 575.758.4741) is one of the few remaining late Spanish Colonial period “Great Houses” built in 1804 by Don Antonio Severino Martin, later pluralized to Martinez. The carefully preserved fortress-like double courtyard hacienda provides the visitor a glimpse of life in the early 1800’s, when the family made a living through agriculture and commerce on the Camino Real and the Santa Fe Trail. By 1827 the Hacienda had expanded to include 21 rooms enclosing two placitas. Occupied by the Martinez family until the mid 1930’s the rooms included a sala or living room, bedrooms, family chapel, granero, trade room, la cocina, la dispensa, gran sala or meeting room, weaving room, santos display room, blacksmith’s shop, servant’s quarters, tack room, and servant’s chapel. Animal stalls and adobe baking ovens were located outside the main structure.

Sunday evening we dined at Doc Martin’s Restaurant in the Historic Taos Inn built in 1880. The menu included such delicacies as rattlesnake, calamari, buffalo burgers, and a house favorite recipe for chile rellenos. The colorful, fluid stylized landscapes of Kit Lynch decorated the walls of the former home of the first doctor in Taos. As the evening cooled we joined the fire circle at La Kachina Best Western to experience Taos Pueblo Indian dancers and drummers. A Native American narrator described the costumes and the meanings of the dances which he assured us were not spiritual but meant for entertainment.

Monday morning we drove two miles north of Taos to a civilization dating back over a thousand years at Taos Pueblo (www.taospueblo.com), “The Place of the Red Willows”. A Native American cemetery of 1619 held graves of those killed in the revolt of 1680. Drying racks were used to dry grains and meats in the hot summer sun. Outdoor adobe ovens called horno were used to bake bread and pastries over a cedar fire. The native language Tiwa is unwritten and unrecorded even today. Red Willow Creek flows with clear, icy water from Blue Lake high in the nearby Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The North House, Hlaauma, is built of adobe in multiple stories which were originally accessed only by ladders which could be pulled up to prevent entry by enemies. The South House, Hlaukkwima, is smaller and also does not include running water or electricity. Doorways and windows have been added and the pueblo is still inhabited by Native Americans today. The San Geronimo Church built in 1850 has been faithfully tended and continues to provide services.

A short drive west on US 64 will take you to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge spanning the dramatic 650 feet deep chasm to the river. One wonders at the thoughts of early settlers in covered wagons upon encountering such an obstacle on a westward trek. Heading back towards Taos the Millicent Rogers Museum (www.millicentrogers.org, 575.758.2464) must not be missed. Millicent Rogers was an art patron, stunning beauty, and talented designer who settled in Taos in 1947. In five short years until her early death at age 50 she amassed an awe inspiring museum quality collection of Native American turquoise and silver jewelry, hand-woven baskets and textiles, authentic pueblo pottery including the Maria Martinez Family Collection, Hispanic textiles, metalwork, sculptures, and contemporary Anglo-European Southwestern Art. Before heading back home we enjoyed an al fresco lunch at the Dragonfly Café, a charmingly decorated 1911 adobe residence with its own European bakery. Savoring a curried chicken salad croissant, my mind’s eye composed images for painting series yet to come and noted sites to see on my next journey on the road to Taos.