Rio Grande Gorge

Today’s outing was a planned ride out to the Rio Grande Gorge just north of town. Or so I thought. In my head, I was going to cruise out there, check out the bridge and canyon then get back into old Taos by noon.

That’s not what happened. I programmed the destination onto Google maps for bikes and set off. I ended up out on these dirt roads in the boonies. I thought nice, a short cut that avoids the main highway. But in the end following their directions up Camino Culebra kept running me into locked gates entering tribal lands with big no trespassing signs. I must have burned an extra 4 miles before giving up and switching to car directions and braving the narrow shoulder out to the gorge.

Was it worth it, you ask? Oh yes, it was an amazing vista. There were tons of tourists milling about the bridge, kind of like Tarcoles with its crocodiles back home. Long views down the gorge displayed a deeply carved canyon with a green river snaking through the middle.

On the far end is a big rest area but for some reason it was closed. I went to the far end and snuck around some k-rails blocking the driveway and found the dirt track that takes one out to the viewpoint looking north at the bridge. Awesome stuff. Had to set aside the camera for a few minutes and just sit and take it all in.

On the way out, a ranger nabbed me and scolded me for trespassing. I apologized and acted dumb then beat feet back to town. Stopped at the little convenience store I visited on the way out five miles from the bridge to refill my bottle again. The phone ran out of juice and I missed a turn adding even more miles.

Found my way downtown and into the artsy tourist zone. Got an outside table at the Bent Street Grill and chowed down and drank about a gallon of liquids. Wandered the area for a little while after but the legs were threatening to cramp up if I tarried too long.

Took a back road for home getting slightly lost again. In the end, I clocked 41.75 miles in about four hours not including the lunch break. I guess I need all the extra calories burned to negate that packed Reuben sandwich.

Everything was screaming nap, but I’d been putting off the laundry too long and they have primo facilities here at the camp so it was time to get ‘er done. Beautiful Taos sunset and early to bed.