Flat Stanley takes the High Road to Taos
On a rare day off, we took Flat Stanley to Taos by way of the High Road that goes through the mountains and valleys to the east.
We stopped in Chimayo for a while and visited El Santuario, the destination of thousands of pilgrims, especially at Easter. In the photo below are two of the seven stone crosses along the river.
The dirt in a small well (called "El Pocito") in the sanctuary floor is supposed to have healing powers, so many people with illnesses and disabilities come here to be healed.
It was amusing to see the horse grazing near this statue in the pasture. I have no idea what the statue was since it was across the stream and we couldn't get close enough to it, but it looked kind of funky from where we were.
When we lived in Albuquerque nearly 30 years ago, very few people visited the small villages up in the mountains--places like Truchas, Las Trampas and Cordova. They're still small towns, and strangers driving through town still get looked at. I guess there are still a lot of places in this country like that: "you're not from around here, are ya?" The people in Cordova are known for their wood carving, and I noticed more than a few studios for painters and various artisans in several towns.
Here's a photo of Flat Stanley at a viewpoint on the High Road just southeast of Taos. You can see the lovely pine forest and yes, there was still snow on the top peaks of the mountains on June 2nd.
