We arrived in Farmington, New Mexico late in the afternoon. A pretty, good-sized town at 5395 feet elevation. After checking into a hotel, we headed out to find Pinon Hills Golf Course. Peter had read about it; it was ranked the best public golf course in the U.S. Unfortunately, there were no tee times for the next morning. I convinced Peter to get out right then, play as many holes as he could before dark. The course looked beautiful, it wrapped around canyons and hills 1000 feet above the town. I wasn't in the mood, but definitely needed some exercise.
So I left him there, headed back to the hotel and changed into running clothes. Just in back of the hotel was a beautiful riverwalk/trail along the Animas River. Such a nice scenic place to work out, with many turnoffs onto nature trails.
The next morning we used the hotel exercise room and did some laundry; it was good to relax and recharge before setting off again. We had just spent eight straight days seeing some of the most spectacular places in the world. An overwhelming, exhausting experience! (But someone had to do it …) A little boredom was a relief.
This
part of Northern New Mexico was the most "civilization" we'd been around
since the start of the trip. As we headed east on Route 64, the scenery
became much greener and more mountainous. It was an entirely different
landscape than the Navajo sandstone world we'd been in.
We drove through the Jicarilla Apache reservation, then stopped in a neat little town, Chama. Here was one of New Mexico's great chain of Visitor Centers — lots of information, great maps and books, and it's all free. And nearby was a one-employee Dairy Queen. The wait was a bit long, but the yummy vanilla malt was worth it.
From here we did some serious mountain climbing. The Tusas Mountains, Brazos Cliffs and San Juan Mountains are all around. We were near 10,000 feet before heading down to the more typical 6000 feet. We had spectacular views, some very cold temperatures, and saw snow at the higher elevations.
As
we got close to Taos, we went over the Rio Grande River at the Gorge Bridge,
where the roadway crosses the river, 600 feet below. Quite a drop. The
river has carved a deep, narrow gorge through rock. The view down is scary.
Then,
suddenly, Taos! Against the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Oooh, ooh, ooh.
It's golden, beautiful, soft, curved. Wonderful adobe architecture everywhere.
It's pristine, soothing, enchanting, colorful. It's artistic, eclectic,
inspiring. Oh yeah, I could live here.
Our inn,
just a mile from the town center was all of the adjectives above. Inn
on the Rio. A glorious one-level pink 
adobe
cluster with less than 20 rooms. Owned and lovingly operated by a couple,
formerly of Framingham, MA (how smart were they?). Each room had its own
theme and
décor — ours was the "cowboy room" — and there were hand-painted
pictures and designs inside and out. What a treat to stay here.
As we walked into town, I did a double take when we passed a group of birds. They were big — black (with a green sheen) and white, with a long tail feather. I'd never seen birds like these. They were bold, and making strange sounds. Birds with an attitude: cool, beautiful and knowing it. I looked them up when I got home: magpies!
Walking
around Taos was wonderful — so many of my favorite things were going
on here. Beautiful art galleries, great shops and wonderful adobe architecture.
We found some nice clay pottery items (on sale, end of season) for our
deck, and Christmas gifts for the family. Let the shipping begin. We took
it all in, as the sun was getting lower in the sky. I don't know if it's
a town statute or what, but all of the shops, galleries, restaurants,
hotels, town offices — even the gas stations — are adobe structures.
It created the most comfortable, welcoming environment. I loved this town.
We ate at a highly recommended Mexican restaurant. But try as I might, I just haven't figured out the appeal of this food. Everyone I know, Peter, my immediate family, love it. Oh well, it kept me from overeating …
That night we used the hot tub just outside of our room. Sitting in steamy, whirling water on a clear, starry night in Taos, gosh. The next morning we had a nice breakfast prepared by the Inn owner. She was an excellent cook, as well as being a talented decorator. I walked around the inn's exterior, taking in all the decorative, special touches. We had picked a great place to stay.
Before leaving
the area Peter wanted to drive up to the Taos Ski Valley. It was a pretty
ascent with beautiful views, but as we climbed to about 10,000 feet, we
both felt a bit funny, queasy in my case. 
This
is a serious ski area — the slopes looked very intimidating.
As we headed south out of town, an interesting sign caught my attention: Taos Drums. With teepees at the entrance, this was a definite "stop!" It turned out to be an amazing store/workshop selling Southwestern wares, most notably drums. As you enter, you're handed a drumstick and encouraged to beat on everything. Beautiful Indian drums of all shapes and sizes, some with intricate paintings on the skins. They all had different resonant tones, deep and rich. Well, we have to have one of these — not only are they drums, but beautiful works of art. We spent quite a while deciding on the perfect drum. And found a few other special items also. Ship away. And I believe the bathrooms were the most exquisite I'd ever been in. Beautifully decorated, one-at-a-time rooms.
Now the weather would take a permanent turn for the worse. It was overcast skies and a little rain in our path as we headed out, towards Santa Fe. We'd only get a few more brief glimpses of the sun on this trip, but we did see a lot of the Rio Grande as we followed it south.
Santa
Fe is much larger and more sprawling than Taos. Again, the beautiful adobe
architecture is everywhere. We parked and walked into the Plaza area.
We
had the sun for a moment, then it was gone for good. The area was overflowing
with beautiful shops, art galleries, and museums. And I haven't mentioned
the silver jewelry yet. It's in all the shops, but beyond that, you see
Indian artisans selling it everywhere. Here in the Plaza, they sat outside,
with their goods displayed on the sidewalk. Beautiful things, but there
is so much you get numbed by it after a while. However, I did manage to
overcome that problem and find a few things.
I
also went into the Georgia O'Keefe museum. It's fairly new and is still
building its collection, but there were a lot of great paintings on display.
She loved New Mexico and lived and worked nearby for many years. Peter
had gone for the car while I was in the museum. While I waited outside,
the temperature was dropping quickly. It was a very gray, raw day in Santa
Fe — not as I had envisioned ...
Our
hotel here was wonderful also — the El Rey Inn. It was beautifully
landscaped and uniquely decorated inside and out. Unfortunately the bad
weather sort of put a damper on the mood.
Alas,
more gray skies the next morning as we toured around town a bit more.
We drove down famous, ritzy Canyon Road. 
Fabulously
expensive adobe homes, shops and galleries are along this beautiful, intimate
winding road. It was impressive, and would have been even more inviting
in the sunshine. Oh well, that's just another excuse to come back again,
to see Santa Fe at its best …