From Southern Colorado we moved on to Taos & Santa Fe.
We had a great coffee stop at Navajo Lake, which is created by the Navajo Dam, shown here. It was at this point we realized that we should have driven OVER the dam, not DOWN THE FACE of the dam.
The coffee stops were great – the Rio Grande Region put on a great spread from the vintage trailer!
The beautiful water of Navajo Lake
We had to put our feet in the water!
There’s a great looking ’35 Packard V-12 Limousine , using the wise Caravaner’s technique of letting the heat out of the engine bay while stopped.
Another Wise Caravaner, this time with a Pierce-Arrow V-12.
A 1930 Lincoln Judkins Berline at the Lunch stop in Chama, NM.
The 1924 Bentley Classes up the joint at the Alpaca farm.
The Alpaca farm was a hoot – those critters really go after you – if you have food for them.
There’s a ’34 Packard Eight Sedan, which made the whole tour with flying colors
Good Lookin’ Auburn
Lovely ’47 Cadillac Convertible
The ’35 Packard Super 8 Coupe. This was taken at the lunch stop, where we had the best Southwestern food I have tasted. And, it was at a place that was so out of the way, you’d never find it unless somebody told you about it. That’s the great thing about a Caravan, the organizers know the area, and introduce you to the great places!
Here’s our fearless leader’s Packard in the courtyard of the Las Galandrinas Adobe, which dates to 1710. Adobe is basically mud, sand and straw in a very exact formula. Even if you mix it perfectly, it does not last forever, they have to Re-Mud it every year, sometimes more frequently if it rains a lot. Again, Adobe ranch enthusiasts make us car people seem really normal and rational!
Our tourguide in the red hat explains the intricacies of mud construction to us.
OK, now I’m REALLY lost! I thought the Caravan was staying on the NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT!
An old pickup in the Artist colony of Galisteo. Based on the rust, it might not be an original New Mexico truck!
Here is the Miracle Staircase at the Chapel of Loretto in Santa Fe. It apparently violates some really good rules of physics by not having a center post. It was built by an itinerant carpenter for the original nuns, who were afraid of going up to their second floor on ladders.
CCCA National Fearless Leader’s Rolls-Royce
The “here it is” sign on route 66 is really famous – the store that it advertises was kept alive by the owner’s relative being in the Senate, and making sure they got their own offramp when I-40 went through.
Note the little rabbits on top of the sign. When you’ve been driving for a long time, you start to zone out, and something like this seems really interesting, as well as deep and philosophical. Wow. HERE IT IS. Applies to almost everything! Or nothing!
The outdoor sculpture garden at Shidoni Art Gallery was really super. These giant Copper Giraffes would look great in the yard.
If your taste runs to the abstract, there was plenty of that sort of thing too.
Here’s a clothesline with sheetmetal clothes.
This is what happens when you don’t maintain your Adobe
This place was off the beaten path, but they had more old glass bottles on display than I have ever seen. This was in the bustling metropolis of Cerrillos. It had a real ghost town feel to it, very quiet.
Here’s an “Earthship” house on the outskirts of Taos. they’re partially underground to save energy, and they are done in an unusual style.
There’s the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge outside of Taos. Pretty spectacular. When it was built in the 1960’s it was literally a bridge to nowhere, the road going west did not exist yet.
We had some prairie dogs outside the hotel.
Here’s some more great route 66 stuff, the Largest teepee in the southwest! Cool.