Artsy Taos - the mountains and the people.

Taos
Here we sit, overlooking an alpine lake, in Taos. Actually, it is at the skiing area of Taos, quite different from the town. We did not notice any skiers today but we focused on Lake Williams and the snow-capped mountains. It is a beautiful setting some 12,000 feet above sea level. It was a moderate but very pretty hike of over 6 miles through fabulous clusters of trees surrounded by mountains, a river, streams, snow and jagged rocks. We have a picture of a mountain, completely covered by these beautiful natural specimens. We thought of it as a ‘tree-mountain’. Sometimes we are very original in our thinking, maybe not today though. It does not surprise us that the Jewish calendar has a New Year day for the trees.

Taos gave us something to think about yesterday. However, before we mention that, we discussed a little of our journey. We have been on the road for about 17 or so days, we figured. Yet we have already been in California, Nevada, Arizona (for 30 minutes), Utah, Colorado and now Mexico (New). Six states. This means we have forty-three to go. ‘Not so fast,’ our editor proclaims. ‘That’s only forty-nine.’ ‘I’m not driving to Hawaii, certainly not in the Ford,’ I reply in a cool manner. I think that’s when today’s troubles began.

Whenever we cross state lines, we remember our children. To tell you the truth, we think of them at other times, too. When we arrived in Texas, our first inter-state car trip was to Oklahoma. As we crossed the border, Gavin aged ten and Natalie eight, shouted :“Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!”. Robbie was just an infant then. At the time, we did not think that was particularly enlightening. Nevertheless, it became a family custom. So when we rode into Mexico (New) yesterday, we continued the great tradition. It does fall a little flat and we do feel a little silly but nobody was watching so we felt okay. Nevertheless, it’s a nice way of remembering the children.

Back to Taos. Clearly, we recognize this as an artsy kind of place. We make a decision that we need to fit in with the locals. We think we are as artistic as the next person. Our editor mumbles ‘and quite a lot less, too’. We ignore the comment because we know about her mood. We decide the answer is to stop this “swimming upstream business”. Our editor says it makes life too complicated, too difficult. If we go with the flow, we will have an easier life. ‘We must change, she says, ‘follow the lead of “I, Barrack”, our fearless leader.’ ‘Hmm! Often, when you flow with the stream, you can end up down the drain,’ we conclude.
‘That sounds like Confucius,’ she answers. ‘Some might say confusing.’ We finally come up with a strategy. I will borrow my editor’s earrings, try get my hair into a pony-tail and visit the tattoo parlor. She will buy the biker’s leather outfit with a cravat. This will be a good start. We feel fortunate because our hats are already very stylish. Then we will practise how to look and act cool. Yes, we think we have the potential to be part of the in-crowd. We feel satisfied for we know our children are going to be very proud of their parents. We have a few doubts about our mother’s feelings, though.

Finally, we leave the trail and do some free rock climbing. It is a nice challenge although a little slippery because of the snow patches above the lake. It is the highlight of the day because we are able to eat our lunch while having a unique view of the mountains and lake, in solitude. We are blessed to enjoy another remarkable day in a beautiful environment.