We stopped to take a look at the Rio Grande Bridge

It's a pretty good walk to the middle so I just went far enough to see the river.

There are a lot of decent rapids on the river, but these guys were enjoying some of the smooth parts too.

Taken from the other side of the Bridge looking south.

A view of the bridge from the south west side.

Tom Miller entering the town of El Rito

One of the local artisans seems to be enthralled with towers

I don't quite understand this first one

We might have stopped if it had been open

Please use side entrance

I forgot to look in the window

His newest project does have a purpose

That Alien standing there should give you a hint.

It's a polar lander, Tom is signing up for the first trip.

Tom said "look at the size of those fish!" I didn't see anything, but there they are.

Abiquiu Lake

That's where he saw the fish, good eyes.

Vibrant colors of the desert

We stopped to take a picture of the pretty pink trees

One that has lost it's color

Tom thought they are some kind of Locust tree

The sign said unimproved road, unsafe for travel. I said I would really like to ride one of their improved roads as this one was very nice.

Fifteen miles later, not so much......ugh!

This is the early bird dinner for all of the people that showed up a day early

The rally doesn't officially start until this evening so I took a little ride alone today.

They have designated a National Monument for this area that contains the confluence of the Rio Grande and Red rivers

This will keep the rivers free flowing without the possibility of dams.

It also protects them from development for 2 miles on either side of the protected river.

I like this shot of the river through this hole in the rock wall. It was all natural

On the way back to Taos I took a little side trip to Red River, the community.

Along the way I saw this rather large mining operation.

I wasn't seeing any mining activity taking place, but everything looked operational

I couldn't even find any signage to determine the name.

Near the office area, there were quite a few trucks, and I saw Fed-Ex make a delivery.

Using 20X I was able to read this sign. No useful information. At my motel I googled the place and discovered that it is a Molybdenum mine that seems to be in a bit of controversy with local contamination. 

Red River is an all seasons community, but it's main purpose is snow skiing in the winter.

A few of the ski runs cut on that hill.

Several high end lodges to warm yourself in after a day on the slopes.

Our official meet and greet

Always fun seeing old friends and meeting new.

We were having thunder storms this evening so Sandy volunteered to take the lightning strike while keeping my dry during the taking of the pictures.

If you ride a Bass Boat, you need water shoes.

Not the most stylish, but has survived for awhile

It has been stuccoed over the original adobe

My picture of the oldest church didn't turn out because the sun kept me from getting it to even be acceptable

Not only that, we were too early for the tours

A little look down a walkway on the outside

The courtyard at the front of the church

This gives you an idea of how thick the walls are.

Interesting old construction methods

Some of these from the early 1600's

You would think a crusty old sailor in WHITE pants would have reason to lean a bit, not the parking meter.

I should have mentioned that we are at the Plaza in Santa Fe, NM today.

A very pleasant plaza surrounded by high end shops and galleries.

Just about any style of art you can think of is available here from cuisine to bronze sculpture.

Not very good light and to early to go through it, but the Cathedral Basilica is a beautiful building just off of the plaza.

The Loretto Chapel

A model of the spiral staircase going to the choir loft.

The real thing

A picture of how it was used for eight years before the banister was added at the nuns request.

While the unsupported staircase is the main draw to this church building, the rest of it is absolutely beautiful too.

The confessional

Outside

Sherm used to come here years ago and remembered how good their crepes were. They still are.

These buildings near the plaza all look historic.........I'm not sure they are.

The local artisans gather here to sell their wares.

Most of their work is very nice

We didn't have change for the meter so we...............luckily got by with it this time.

This old town clock always reads standard time.

We saw a sign for Nambe Falls so we decided to check them out.

We rode past this fire on the way to the falls but figured someone would have already reported it as there were several homes in the area.

There was a no entry gate across the road at the falls and we had to turn around. These guys were there on our way back.

Disappointed to not see the falls, but did see some nice rock formations.

Then Sherm rode by scraping pegs.

Just checking out the beautiful scenery

Our last church to visit today

This one is renown for the pilgrimages people make to it each year. 

A very serene location

It was clearly marked that photography wasn't allowed inside the church. This gentleman was taking a lot of pictures so Sherm respectfully let him know of the restriction. Of course I had to document the event to protect my Bro.

Not as old as the others, but 200 years is still a bit of time.

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How does that song go? On the wrong road again!

A few shops in the town of Chimayo

This looked like it might be and old hollowed log water flume.

It was and was still being used. After we passed here, we just had a very pleasant ride on into Taos. Let the Rally begin!