to US 64 through Eagle Nest Lake State Park with a spectacular 2,400-acre lake that’s excellent for hiking, fishing, boating, and cross-country skiing. Watch for deer, elk, bear, and eagles. As you continue west, you will pass Angel Fire, another great family resort on the way back to Taos.
You can visit eight historical pueblos (Native American settlements) during your stay in northern New Mexico, the most famous of which is the Taos Pueblo. The nearby forested mountains abound in game: deer, elk, bear, and wild turkey. Seasonal trout fishing is outstanding in mountain lakes and streams and year-round in the Rio Grande. Try horseback riding through valleys surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Consider a raft trip down the Rio Grande River. Skiing and snowboarding may be enjoyed at several nearby resorts from Thanksgiving to Easter—Taos Ski Valley, Red River, Angel Fire, and Sipapu.
Opportunities for hiking and biking are plentiful on miles of developed trails in these areas offering dramatic vistas, wildlife viewing, solitude, and visits to prehistoric and historic cultural sites. There are hundreds of miles of trails, some maintained by volunteer groups. Opportunities also abound for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and four-wheel-drive (4WD) exploring. Many summer hiking trails and forest roads become cross-country ski and snowmobile trails in winter.
HISTORY
This was wild country fully tamed only 120 years ago. Let that sink in. New Mexico only became a state in 1912. This region is still one of the wildest and most remote in the Southwest.
The history of northern New Mexico can be explained in waves. One wave of people came after another: the Pueblo Indians followed by Spanish, Anglo, Mexican, traders, Eastern Americans, artists and painters and writers, hippies and counter-culturalists. And the latest wave? Tourists from around the world. The nineteenth-century commercial highway Santa Fe Trail ran through this area, connecting the civilized world with the Wild West. Kit Carson, Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, Father Jose Martinez, and other frontier heroes lived here, fought here, for varying reasons. Outlaws and famous Western personalities were a part of the historic fabric too, including Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, Billy the Kid. When horses and wagons were replaced by trains, the region continued to be a crossroads for trade and travelers.
The sign marking the historic San José de Gracia Church.
The history includes the Pueblo Indians, who lived under various rulers while trying to keep as much of their culture as they could. Once you visit the pueblos, you’ll see that they were extraordinarily successful even through cultural intrusion and forcible control. First came the Spanish, then Mexican, and finally Americans. The Pueblo Indians eventually lived next to and with Anglos (sometimes) and Mexicans. We used to hear about how these three groups formed a tricultural community, but the area’s population is more complex and varied than that simplified view would have you believe. The region’s history saw revolts and reservations, barbed wire and cattle, six-shooters and bows and arrows, priests and outlaws, land grants and mining, bears and llamas, miners and hippies. Northern New Mexico is a melting pot of different cultures. Now, the region bends to tourism, with hundreds of thousands from around the world visiting each and every year, and it’s only growing in numbers.
WEATHER
The region enjoys over three hundred days of sunshine a year and generally has a moderate climate, although it ranges from the dryness and heat of the high desert to the cool summers and bitter cold of the alpine mountains. The weather changes quickly here, so be prepared. In summer, it can be pleasantly cool in the morning, hot during lunch, rain and cooling in the afternoon, hot again before dinner, perfect temperature for outdoors eating by supper. In winter, you may see many bluebird days that reach into the fifties (degrees Fahrenheit), even sixties, but before you can blink, a snowstorm will have moved in and dumped a foot of snow. Again, be prepared.
July and August, the so-called monsoon season, are rainy months with almost daily afternoon showers. Make your plans accordingly. Mornings don’t usually have as much rain as the afternoons. Visitors should carry rain gear. Daytime temperatures in the summer range from highs in the fifties to seventies in the higher elevations, and seventies to high eighties in the lower. Breaking ninety is not common, but it can happen. Many places have air conditioning, though you’ll be surprised by how many do not. Adobe walls tend to keep temperatures inside cool and constant after all.
Magical winter snowfall in Taos.
Temperatures can drop dramatically when a storm moves in. Nights are cool, worthy of a jacket, and by fall they’re occasionally below freezing. Snowfall usually begins in early October. If you are hiking, beware of lightning on the ridges. Since you will probably be the highest point around, get off the ridge if thunderclouds are overhead.
Be sure to take proper clothing. Temperatures can drop suddenly in all seasons. Wet clothing can chill the body quickly. You can wear the space-age wicking materials, shells, or old-fashioned wool. But cotton next to the skin will keep the body damp and will actually wick heat away. That means jeans. Dress in layers that can be added or removed as the temperature changes.
Remember, the weather is sort of like the Enchanted Circle laid-back vibe. No hurry. You’re on New Mexico time. Climate is perfect, and if it’s not sunny at that moment, wait a few minutes; it will be soon.
DANGERS
ALTITUDE SICKNESS
Your body is not used to higher elevations, and if you try to do too much too soon, you’ll likely suffer the effects of altitude sickness. Altitude sickness is a group of symptoms that range from headaches to vomiting.
The pressure of the air that surrounds you is called barometric pressure. When you venture into higher altitudes, this pressure drops and there is less oxygen available. Your body needs time to adjust to the change in pressure. There are three kinds of altitude sickness: acute mountain sickness (the mildest form), high-altitude pulmonary edema (a buildup of fluid in the lungs), and high-altitude cerebral edema (fluid in the brain).
Signs of altitude sickness:
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fatigue and loss of energy
• Shortness of breath
• Problems with sleep
• Less appetite
Symptoms usually show up within twelve to twenty-four hours of reaching these higher elevations. You typically get better within a day or two as your body adjusts to the change in altitude. If you get a headache and at least one other symptom associated with altitude sickness within a day or two of changing your elevation, you might have altitude sickness. Rest and drink lots of water; if your symptoms are more severe, you’ll need medical attention.
The best way you can lower your chance of getting altitude sickness is through acclimatizing to the elevation slowly. Drink plenty of water, avoid alcohol and tobacco, and don’t do much strenuous activity until the second day.
FROSTBITE
Frostbite is
