Total KM = 140

It rained very heavily all last evening and during the night but we were greeted with a beautiful sunny day - a bit cool but at least the sun was shining. The hotel clerk had allowed us to leave Raindancer under the covered walkway by the pool so he stayed nice and dry.

We started our morning with another walk up to the Plaza downtown Santa Fe. Surprising the number of people who were out and about that early. We knew our next destination wasn't that far away so had a later start. Did a bit of shopping - pretty limited with the lack of space for carrying things. That can be a good thing.

Nice ride through the New Mexico countryside. Rode for some time along the Rio Grande river (yes, the northern portion - the river still in its infancy). There were large groups of people river rafting/kayaking and having a great time on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

We arrived in Taos, New Mexico, in the early afternoon after a comparatively short but very pleasant ride. After checking into the hotel and unloading the bike we rode to Taos Pueblo village. It is the oldest still inhabited Native Indian village. They live with no power or running water. They do have wood stoves and fireplaces for cooking. There are huge clay ovens (horno) outside most of the adobes. They burn a cedar fire then remove the ashes and use the heat to bake bread and pastries. It was their Santa Cruz festival today so we were not allowed to take any photographs (indeed, cameras and even cell phones were not allowed in the village) and many of the inhabitants were taking part in a traditional dance to bless the upcoming corn crops. All in all it was very interesting.

One thing that has impressed us is the New Mexico adobe architecture. Many of the hotels and homes are of this style built with dirt and straw - the walls being very thick to keep in the heat in the winter and keep it out in the summer. The schools, gas stations and even MacDonalds are of this same style.

Tomorrow we reluctantly leave beautiful New Mexico for Oklahoma and Kansas.