New Mexico Road Trip Days 4 and 5

 Day 4 we drove just 243 miles from Truth or Consequences to Los Alamos, and most of it was on the interstate.  We made a couple of side trips.  First to Petroglyph National Monument on the outskirts of Albuquerque. This has a visitor center where there are no petroglyphs, but you can pick up a map to the three dispersed units of the park that do have petroglyphs.  We went to Boca Negra Canyon which seemed to be the easiest to access.

The macaw seems to have been an important symbol

Then as we were driving north along I-25 we spotted a roadsign for a Mormon Battalion Monument, so we took a quick diversion off the road. It was erected in 1947 and is really out in the middle of nowhere.

We arived in Los Alamos with time to explore the town.  It was a nice town to stroll through, but the city was on stage 2 evacuation alert from the wildfires burning in nearby forests. There are lots of interesting museums and more ruins to explore, but everything was closed because of the wildfires so we only stayed one night.

Day 5 we drove a leisurely 184 miles looping Taos and ending up in Santa Fe. We first headed to Taos ski resort, which was in full spring bloom with no snow in sight. Then back to the city of Taos.  We hoped to see the ancient Taos Pueblo, but it was closed to the public. 

Taos Ski Reosrt

We ate lunch in the Alley Cafe, in a building originally built in the 16th century as atrading post. It had mostly been rebuilt in the 17th to 19th centuries, but the back wall was original.

Traditional New Mexican food.  The New Mexico State Question is "Red or Green?"

The smoke from the fires was visible everywhere north of Santa Fe

This impressive gorge contains the Rio Grande River, the most prominent feature of the Rio Grand Rift Valley, one of only 4 rift valleys in the world, formed when tectonic plates move apart.