Our last few days in Colorado were spent in the Conejos Valley near the border with New Mexico whose state motto is 'Land of Enchantment'. It is very dry everywhere around here with over 300 days of sunshine a year and a very very low humidity. So there were no flies or mosquitos just blue sky by the gallon. One day we drove up through the huge San Luis Valley to see the tallest sand dunes in North America. Nestled at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains they rise to over 750 ft.
Formed from the sand on the dry valley bottom being carried by the prevailing South West wind and dropped at the base of the mountains, they are a magnificent spectacle.
On our last day in Colorado we caught the Cumbres and Toltec steam train that goes from Antonito in Colorado to Chama in New Mexico. It is a long 6 hours ride, climbing over the Cumbres Pass which at 10500 ft is the highest carrying a train in North America (so we are told). Quite different to the steam train we had been on the week before at Durango but a very pleasant way to spend a lovely sunny day.
At the half way point they put on a splendid lunch.
Then it was time to head South into New Mexico. The countryside is so different here, unlike anywhere else in the USA. Most houses are built Adobe style with low flat roofs and lovely curves and courtyards. Our first stop was Taos (rhymes with house) which had a lovely old Pueblo (indian village) dating back over a thousand years. It also has a lovely Adobe church. The whole of this area is more Spanish/Mexican than English. 90% of place names are Spanish; the people look Mexican. And indeed they should as New Mexico was part of Spain for two hundred years before the Americans decided to annex it.
We drove up into the Sangre de Cristo mountains that are the backdrop to Taos. Part of the Rockies, yet with a separate identity. The Rockies are not one mountain range but a series of ranges.
Then from Taos we have driven to Santa Fe, the state capitol. Today was Fiesta time and there was a great parade through the plaza celebrating 300 years since the first fiesta was declared, and also 100 years since New Mexico became a state. It is a very pretty city with ALL development having to be in keeping with the adobe traditions. These days made from plaster rather than mud, they still look just as nice.
We are here all week in Santa Fe before heading South deeper into New Mexico next week.
