Rain clouds came early over the mountains and I made sure I was in the valley by late morning before the first drops fell.
France won the World Cup against Croatia, 4:2.
I stopped in the village of Arroyo Seco, which NM150 cuts through. Speed limit is 15mph since the buildings are right off the road and the road curves around the the center of town. It's an odd design. I had a triple cappuccino at the Taos Cow, parked in the shade and drank my caffeine. A sign on the patio said "NO PETS" yet an old dog napped on its bed on the patio. At least the shade kept Sadie and Zeke cool, and I joined them while sipping my coffee. This coffee shop is popular with bikers.
This is a popular place for a variety of people, not just bikers, but I wasn't impressed with my $5.75 coffee.
What to do today? Sadie looked exhausted and I wasn't feeling all that chipper myself. Since rain came over Taos by 11am, I just opted to use today as a history-walking tour of the town. I went to the Taos Pueblo just as the rain and wind picked up, walked around the adobe homes, but left within 30 minutes. Being around this poverty is quite humbling. I kept the dogs in the truck because there were too many stray dogs sauntering around.
I rewarded them with a walk around the Kit Carson Park. It's only a half-mile walk around the trail. The park offers a variety of activities, but there is also a lot of construction going on right now. The dogs did well on leash.
The dog park is a neglected tennis court, but Sadie wasn't very nice to the other dog there so we left to tour the cemetery where the entire Kit Carson family is buried. I tied the dogs to the iron-wrought fence around Carson's grave so that I could walk around freely around the small cemetery without Sadie pulling. They watched me intently. I didn't stay long. I then put the dogs in the truck while I took a quick walk around the hyped-up Plaza and historic district. Kit Carson's home is now a museum ($7 to enter) and the rest of the old homes are now a pleasant artsy walk-way of shops and galleries shaded by mature locust and elm trees. It's catered to tourists.
Just as I was ready to park for some beer, I noticed a man on the side of the main road holding an anti-Trump sign. I just had to talk to him, and he was willing to talk to me. He even gave me his business card. He's Jeff Northrup, the "Most hated man in Taos," according to his business card, but then why did so many cars honk as they drove by?
I finished off this mellow day again at Eske's Brewpub, the first place I stopped in when I first drove into town. The place was quiet at first, but then filled up with families in the outdoor biergarten where Desiree Cannon, a folk-country singer, started singing at 7pm for an hour.
I stayed until 8:45pm. The place had emptied, but then a party of eight came in, all from Germany.
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