Felt and the Grasslands; Taos NM

The Felt, OK picnic area on the south side of the town was a good place to rest for the night.  Overnighters are allowed to camp here one night.  The sky at night was full of stars and I was away from traffic on US56.

I missed the sunrise this morning.  At 7:20am my phone alerted me to a "Message received from Eric."  He texted me from Ramstein AFB telling me he had arrived in Germany and was now eating off base at a German restaurant.  I'm surprised the SIMS card works. He will be there ten more days for training before continuing on to his final deployment.

I was tired.  The nearby engine noise that ran all night was a water pump from the nearby cornfield.  It sounded like the engine of a semi-tractor trailer.

I was the only car in the parking area.  There really wasn't much to see or do here.  A notice by the USDA warned people of plague in the fleas found on rats and prairie dogs in the area, dated February 2017. We saw neither.   How encouraging! We walked a mowed section of the parking area, around some young trees but within a fenced off area dedicated to the parking area.  The farming community of 97 was quiet except for a dog barking at us.  That dog convinced me to stop the walk and move on.

I was now slowly gaining elevation again as I was driving westward.  Winds were cooler.  I stopped briefly at the Otto cemetery 20 miles west of Clayton.  Graves here were from the 1910s through 1980s, although some of the tombstones looked new. Weeds were growing over the graves and a cove of burned trees towered over most of the graves.  An abandoned house and windmill stood nearby.  Cows grazed in the distance.  Wonder what the history of this place is.
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The national grasslands looked more cultivated to me than grasslands.  Fields of corn and grazing cattle dotted the land off US412, and it didn't change once I entered New Mexico.  The Rabbit Ear mountain was visible along the horizon, but I didn't see any frontage range to the Rockies until I hit Point of Rocks turn off, an original stop along the Santa Fe trail that is now on private land.

I stopped in Clayton just to have breakfast at the Love's gas station.  I should have gassed up because prices went up the farther north I drove.  I rested for an hour in Springer,  parked under shade by the old court house.  This was the first town on this trip with a public recycling center.

And then it dawned on me: why not drive toward Taos?  It was only another 100 miles and the town had been on my bucket list.  So off I went, driving on US64.  The recent wildfires from the Sardinas Canyon Fire, which started Sunday, June 24th and burned approximately 2,337 acres, west of Cimarron were still fresh, and all the state parks and trails going uphill into Angel's Fire were closed due to flooding fears.  Clouds were getting darker as I meandered uphill.  The towns in the high meadows were all resort towns similar to what I've seen in Colorado.  Once past Angel's Fire, it was downhill into the Taos valley and here trails were open again.

I got into town at 4pm, and soon thereafter the rain came down hard. I stopped at the Eske's Brewpub just in time for a light meal and two very good beers.  This place brews green chile ale!  Dogs were not allowed inside and were only allowed on the small patio if no one else was there.  I had to park the truck just outside the pub's boundary so that I could keep an eye on the dogs.  Zeke kept an eye on me.  This is a brewpub favored by the locals as I met several older locals here.  The more hip brewpub, Taos Mesa Brewing, is a half-mile uphill toward old town.

With two hours to spare before sunset, I decided to hike the Devisadero trail outside of town.  Alltrails.com lists this as the #1 favorite for locals.  The loop is 5.6 miles long and is at an elevation of 7000' to 8300', with vistas into the Taos Valley.  We did this hike in 2:20 hours.  The exercise felt invigorating.  I love hiking at altitude.

I was now hungry and drove back into town smelling of salty sweat (a real turn on...not!) The town had cooled off after the rain but I was too tired to walk around town.  What I saw was mostly shops geared toward tourists.  Since the town is based on old Spanish plans from the 16th century, roads into the historic district are narrow and winding and driving through requires patience and concentration.

I stopped at the Taos Mesa Brewing company by 9pm.  The dogs were napping soundly as I went inside.  Most of the crowd that I saw earlier while driving by were now gone.  The outdoor patio was empty.  I learned that the main restaurant closes at 9pm and for the next two hours only serves appetizers.  Twenty of the 24 beers offered are brewed at the main brewery near the Taos airport.  I tried two weizen beers and tasted a few more.   The young man next to me hailed from Bloomington, Indiana, where I attended college.  What brought him here?  "Diversity!"  He had spent a few years in Colorado but found it "too white."  New Mexico, he added, is also more laid back.  Now that I can agree with.

I had planned on camping in the forest four miles east of US64  (the site was listed among the free dispersed campsites) but then I saw a small Walmart on the south side of town with several small RVs and SUVs parked off the parking lot and on a dirt lot.  That is where I spent the night. I'm not a fan of Walmart parking lots but this was a quiet area.  The store closes at midnight and opens again at 6:30am.

This entire road trip has been spontaneous.  I have some time before I have to head back to AZ.  I may just stay here a few days and hike a few more trails.  The highest peak in NM is 13164' Mount Wheeler and is in the Taos Ski Valley north of town.That is tempting!

more later