Hiking, day 42: Bear Creek

I had to cut my hike short due to the rain, but it was nice to get a little time in at one of my favorite Boulder hiking spots.

Hiking, day 41: Sandstone Ranch

Got a quick hike in before the rain...

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge

Last day in Taos! I stopped by the breathtaking Rio Grande Gorge Bridge on the way back to Colorado.

Hiking, day 40: South Boundary Trail

I headed out in search of my mountain biking friend's favorite trail in the area. Quite an elevation change (accompanied by a wide variety of flora and mineral deposits on the trail), not to mention a nice view.

It's hard to see, but there's a lizard hiding out in the shadow at the base of the tree.

After hiking, I did a quick lunch stop at Lotaburger (never been to one before), then headed south towards the small winery area.  I stopped at the local brewery (Blue Heron) first.

My first winery stop: Vivac.

Second winery: La Chiripada.

...and the last winery as the rain rolled through: Black Mesa.

Hiking, day 39: Rio Grande Gorge State Park

Great day of sight seeing!  I headed out in the early morning to visit the Taos Pueblo, then headed deep into Rio Grande Gorge State Park for a few hiking trails.  Details below!

Walking in to Taos Pueblo early this morning.

A wide view of the north section of the pueblo with the mountains behind, built approximately 1000ACE, and still inhabited.

The most 'recent' building in the pueblo, the Catholic church, built (for the third time) in 1850.  Pictures were not allowed inside, but the architecture and decor was quite impressive.

The pueblo has a handful of *mostly* domesticated dogs, kept around to keep the coyotes and other predators out.  This guy was happy to tag along with our tour group throughout the morning.

Bell tower from the second church, destroyed in a revolt in 1849.

A close up of one of the most favorite views of the original pueblo, built circa 1000.

A second view of the same section.

Back to the remains of the original, second church. The sacred ground is filled with tombstones, up until 2012.  Now, members of the village are buried on a second plot elsewhere.

Since this blog is *mostly* dedicated to hiking, I had to take a quick shot of the market at Taos Pueblo on my way out.

I headed down the road to my main hiking spot of the day: Rio Grande Gorge State Park.  I have to admit, my GPS was spotty, so I was originally trying to get to the big bridge farther north, but didn't mind my mistake due to the amazing hiking options nearby.  This is my first shot from the first trail I hit, which was predominated by ancient lava rock.  I almost felt like I was back in Hawaii again.

Another view of the old lava flows, overlooking the gorge.

I headed back down the road to another trail closer to the water.  As I followed along, I found these little fishes hanging out in the shade.

Following the river led to some pretty great shots of the gorge.

The trail was pretty primitive - at times, it was through thick brush or down to half of a foot of space to traverse.

For dinner I headed to a slightly different part of downtown, in search of a bar inside of the oldest building in Taos.

The inside of the Alley Cantina, supposedly haunted.

Hiking, day 38: Taos, NM

I decided to do a web detox and go mostly off the grid for a bit. I headed on a solo trip to Taos, NM for a few days today. Great drive! I didn't get too many photos today, but I did get in town early enough to do a quick brewery crawl and a dip in the pool. Since I was injured at work a few weeks ago AND am at roughly 2K feet higher than normal, I'm calling today my first hiking day back.