Hey, hey USA - 2nd November - back to Santa Fé on the High Road

 


The High Road to Santa Fé from Taos takes you past the Sangre de Cristo Mountains through several tiny communities. It is 105 miles between the centres of the two towns.

We were not in so much of a hurry, driving back to Santa Fé, as when we had set out for Taos so we made more stops on the return journey. From the outset the scenery is pretty fantastic.


Our first stop was Peñasco, a small farming community, with its Catholic Church of San Antonio and it's right wing views. There is certainly a lot of money behind the anti-abortion rhetoric in the US which is operating a viscous vendetta against women.



The next stop was Las Trampas. Here the church of San José de Gracia was much older, built between 1760 and 1776. Unfortunately it was shut as it contains wall paintings in the nave which would have been worth seeing. The village once had defensive walls around it to protect the Spanish fromNative American raids but now it all looks a little run down.









Our last stop was a large lay-by overlooking Córdova and the mountains. We were perched on a high point with views of the mountains and the badlands and there was quite a lot to take in.







Finally we were on the home stretch, turning right on to Highway 84 and racing down to Santa Fé. We were staying at the Parador which was within (long) walking distance of the city centre, but this first night we just found a barn like eatery that was close by.





























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