True tales from New Mexico

During the last week in July 2013, had the good fortune to travel to Arroyo Seco and stay in a beautiful cabin at the base of Wheeler Mountain (near Taos) with special thanks to Laura, Meg, and to Laura's sister and brother-in-law who own this phenomenal retreat! If you've never been to New Mexico, it will haunt you for several reasons and here are a few:

• The people - We met a sculptor who has been working there since the 1970s and he gives us a generous studio tour where we see the two enormous kilns in the back yard (one for firing and one for glazing) and meet two dogs and one cat. We also got to hear him brag about his daughter (an attorney in Albuquerque) and he shows us how to add handles to coffee mugs that he makes on the wheel and then stamps with his initials before letting them air dry. His wife, whom we originally meet in their Taos studio, also tells us about her recent trip to Quebec where she and a girlfriend ("the two Barbies") practice their French. Madame also teaches Italian in her spare time. 

• The scenery - There are about five different National Parks within a 100 mile radius. And, we can scratch off "hot air balloon ride" from our bucket list. After our trip over the gorge, the tour guide operators took us back to their property in a white 12-person van with the 12-person balloon basket strapped to the back on an hydraulic lift. Upon our return to their property, we got to meet their wolf-dog and she was gorgeous, very friendly, and all nose to the ground! Her senses must be active all the time because she definitely acts like a domestic dog but with keener senses since she was tracking scents down to the large red carpenter ants crawling along the dry earth! All scenery is stunning and the last week in July is the time to go since it's not peak tourist season (trust me, we had each park almost solo--it was stunning and oven-hot so bring extra water and never leave the trail or you will get lost...promise. This is actual wilderness). Plus, you can ride the ski gondola up and down the Taos ski resort mountain but my travel companions, who are experienced skiers, explain that you don't want to do this during actual ski season since it irritates everyone and they may take away your ski pass since it holds up the line if you ride the gondola rather than exit at the peak to ski. Also, it's incredible to explore these parks with the understanding that at one time these areas were the sole livelihood for tribal peoples considering we did not see any wildlife except one beetle (no exaggeration--not even a single bird in sight--much less wild game but did have a tiny fish nibble on my foot in a stream bed). Kept waiting to see a raven or crow but had no luck until our last day several miles outside Taos near a gorgeous Buddhist temple where these HUGE birds flock separately in small groups to forage. These birds are surprisingly solitary but we did hear a loud caw in downtown Santa Fe near the state office buildings and never saw the culprit. Once we returned home, was reading a bit more about ravens and learn that not only are they among the most intelligent creatures on earth but it's illegal to keep them as pets as they cannot be caged or they will go insane.
• The artwork - World class art and jewelry in downtown Taos, a community with about 6,000 full-time residents. Bought a gorgeous hand-hammered copper bracelet for $75 but other pieces easily range into the thousands or the most expensive oil painting seen at $24,000 (only about 12"x12" original). Apparently, Taos draws wealthy art patrons who will fly in and fly out to buy a particular piece and more expensive items are routinely protected by microchip in case they get stolen (from dealer or owner).
• The people - Several locals tell us that most jobs are seasonal and that residents will hold at least two jobs in summer and winter. A longtime resident, who used to be a schoolteacher, told us that one bad and longstanding tradition in their town is racism. In her classroom, the students would self-segregate and never intermingle even into adulthood. As she put it: "The Mexicans would sit at the back, the Native Americans in the middle and the Whites at the front and at the end of the day they would all go home to their own communities." It's been that way for generations, she says, and some Mexican families have lived in the same area for more than 500 years! Also, she says there's a lot of political or civic favoritism if you happen to know the right people to dismiss a traffic ticket or disregard other more serious criminal charges.
• The Mountain - Met a woman from Dallas at the local shopping market (huge seasonal art fair in downtown Santa Fe) who said that she and her teenage daughter had visited "the Mountain" the day before and had encountered a massive storm with hail and snow plus ghastly winds (basically unheard of during this season)! Am still curious which peak this may have been and need to look at a map. Fortunately, they were OK and Mom seems giddy from the experience.
• The night - If you do nothing else within the next year, please visit Taos, and find a spot near the mountain to watch the sky where you can see every star and experience the crisp reinvigorating air (did not get above 83 degrees at the cabin with mid-50s at night). Will never forget sitting on the second story deck overlooking the foothills around midnight. Am hearing various domestic dog "woof woofs" in the distance when a piercing, shrieking coyote frenzy laughs after making a kill and the common pooches all go silent in deference to one low chorus emerging beneath the laughter: "Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo." In unison, hundreds of wolves or perhaps their wolf-dog ancestors begin the dirge that seems to say: "The coyotes have again brought death to our valley."