This is STOP 10 the 27th, 28th, and 29th days of our ten week cross country fall adventure in 2021! Here is a link to our previous stop in Carlsbad, NM
The Drive from Carlsbad, NM to Taos, NM
We head out of Carlsbad on US 285 north and go through Roswell again. We had only travelled as north as the touristy area, but further north, the town proves to be quite large and rather nice. At Vaughn, US 285 joins with NM 54 and 20 miles later we turn north onto State Rt 219 north – which turn into US 84 north at the intersection with I-40. We pass the 5000 mile driving mark. Just south of Las Vegas, NM, we get on I-24 for a mere 5.5 miles, then we do a little route jiggling until we finally reach NM 518 to Taos. The initial section of the road as we travel north is mostly flat desert. We finally start to climb the mountains outside of Taos and then descend into the town. Even though Taos sits at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Range where a number of mountain peaks reach over 14,000 ft., Taos at the base of the mountains is about 7,000 feet in elevation. A few days ago we where in Big Bend Texas and experiencing 100 degree days. The air here is crisp, in the 60’s and the aspens are in full fall yellow glory and there is snow on the higher mountain peaks. . As we reach Taos, we both notice how much new development there is in town since we last visited in 2009.
Casa Benavides
We are staying in the heart of Taos at a 37 room bed and breakfast inn called Casa Benavides. For over 30 years, Tom & Barbara (Benavides) McCarthy have been operating this place. Born and raised in Taos, childhood neighbors, then high school sweethearts and now Inn proprietors, they created Casa Benavides re-purposing several adjacent businesses and homes (including the original McCarthy home). We are staying in “Iglesias”, a stand-alone cottage with a full kitchen (not typical of a B&B). It is quaint – for example the stove & oven are gas that you light with a match. It is beautifully decorated and we settle in.
Dinner – The Gorge Bar & Grill
We walk across the street and easily find the Gorge Bar & Grill. Bartender Toby takes good care of us as we order some fried green beans (y’know, you have to each your vegetables). Harrison chats with Mark who is the owner of the Sweet and Salty shop in town while Nancy chats with John, Gil & Steve. John and Steve are brothers – Steve the oldest of 16 kids and John the youngest. We’re both getting the scoop on Taos for future restaurants and such. We learn there are no sports bars in town (oh, honey, this is an arts town, not a sports town) but we learn of one or two bars with one TV. This place has 3 TVs, but they aren’t open on Sunday’s for NFL game watching. We had hoped to enjoy Manby Hot Springs just north of here, but Steve tells us they are no longer accessible to the public. We order the Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos as all our bar buddies leave, but new bar buddies John & Bill easily slide into our conversations. All of us are chatting about the cold front that is starting to blanket the west coast. John & Bill are camping and were supposed to head to Yellowstone from here, but they are going to change course and head south.
Day 2 in Taos – The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
The next morning we head to breakfast and the B&B staff was knocking themselves out providing exceptional service. Each morning you start off with either a fresh baked muffin or a bowl of fresh granola, fruit & yogurt. Then you choose from one of four main plates – either waffles, French toast, a baked egg dish (a crustless quiche) or what they call the family breakfast (a tortilla topped with 2 eggs any style on top – plus chopped tomatoes) The latter two come with your choice of green or red chili sauce. Over the course of our stay, we try everything and enjoy it all.
We have an hour and fifteen minute drive to the railroad depot in Antonito, CO. The first part of the drive is a repeat from our 2009 stay here, and this part hasn’t changed much. We cross the Rio Grande Gorge and pass a community of underground houses. Beyond that, it is new territory and we enjoy the scenery.
The train runs from Chama to Antonito with a lunch stop in Osier. Back in 2009, we did the route from Chama, NM to Osier and back. This time we are doing the Antonito, CO to Osier route and back. You can’t do the full 64 mile run without an overnight in the other location. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was originally constructed in 1880 as part of the Rio Grande’s narrow gauge San Juan Extension. It served the silver mining district of the San Juan mountains in southwestern Colorado. Like all of the Rio Grande at the time, it was built to a gauge of 3 feet between the rails, instead of the more common 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches that became standard in the United States. The inability to interchange cars with other railroads led the Rio Grande to begin converting its tracks to standard gauge in 1890. When silver mining went bust, the usage of the railroad declined and it ran out of funds to convert the rest of its tracks. The portions running today, are what remains of the unconverted narrow gauge. While the railroad has been running for over 140 years, they are celebrating their 50th anniversary of joint management by Colorado and New Mexico.
We get our tickets and board within 10 minutes or so. We in Car A, one of the 21 and over private cars. We end up switching seats with another couple so they can sit next to each other. The 20 seat car has a private bathroom, a delightful guide & hostess (Myra) and our seats each have a souvenir bag, a 50th Anniversary dessert plate with a blueberry muffin on top and a map of the route. The 50th Anniversary was in 2020 – but with the COVID pandemic, they weren’t running last year. We drink hot apple cider and eat our muffins as we depart the station.
The first quarter of the trip is mostly flat land with sagebrush, but once we start our ascent, we are treated to beautiful scenery. The aspens are bright yellow with a tinge of orange from time to time and it is just past peak color time, but still beautiful. We wind and snake uphill for a total of 2.5 hours, and hear stories of a hanging from Ferguson’s Trestle that we cross and of a tragic head on collision in the 1930’s. We see evidence of the volcanic history in the area and pass through 2 tunnels, each over 340′ long. We cross a 137′ tall trestle, the highest on this line right before reaching Cumbres Pass. At 10,015 feet elevation, it is the highest pass reached by rail in the United States.
Lunch is in Osier where we meet the train coming from Chama. Normally there is a hot service cafeteria here that serves all passengers a complimentary meal. Unfortunately, they had a kitchen fire 2 weeks ago and it is closed for the season. We are given a box lunch with a turkey sandwich, chips and a cookie. Now we switch trains and get on the one that originated in Chama (so neither train has to turn around). Another 2.5 hours later and we are back in Antonito.
Dinner in the Room – Broccoli/Beef
We are surprisingly worn out so we decide to just cook dinner in our room and catch up on some of our Netflix shows.
Day 3 in Taos – A Day Off in the Room – Football, Spaghetti, Blogging
Since it is Sunday, and Taos lacks anything resembling a sports bar, we decide to eat lunch in, watch football and work on our blogs.
Walking Taos & Dinner
One thing to remember, is that here in Mountain Time, football starts at 11am, so the first game is over around 2:30pm. We decide to get some fresh air and walk this section of Taos. We may not find a sports bar with a TV to watch more football, but hopefully we can at least find some bar stools. There are plenty of food trucks, coffee shops, art studios and high end merchandise stores. In the main plaza, a car show featuring muscle cars is just ending.
We scout out restaurants and walk the main downtown section of Taos. Some places don’t open on Sundays and some don’t open until 4pm or 5pm. A busload of tourists is dropped off so anything that is open, fills quickly. We walk from one end to the other and back again, then to the other end and back again. So few places have bar stools and when they do, sometimes it is just 2 or 3 which isn’t the experience we are looking for.
Around 5pm, we stick our heads in the Alpine Cantina (and this is the third time sticking our heads in), finally finding 2 empty bar seats (tables require a 30 minute wait). It is a fairly small place (sign says maximum occupancy is 60) that is located in the oldest adobe building in Taos. Built in the 16th century by the Pueblo Indians, it served as an outpost along the Chihuahua Trail. Alpine Cantina has been here since 1997 and they have live music 365 days of the year. Our bartender, Nick, is quick to serve us and we get introduced to our bar buddy, Chris. We talk with a few of his friends as the come to greet him while listening to piped in classic rock. There is one TV with a football game on. We order quesadillas with their special beef – good choice. After a few hours of fun conversation, the crowds dwindle, football is over, the jazz musician starts to play (not our type of music) and the sun is setting. We head back to our place to pack up and be ready to leave first thing in the morning after what we know will be another great breakfast.
Our Verdict
Having been here before in 2009, this is a twice and done place for us. The Cumbres & Toltec Railroad is worth the ride if you’ve never done it, however, Taos just doesn’t have the restaurant infrastructure we seek and we’ve pretty much now done everything this area has to offer.
Next Up
We are off to Durango, CO for our fourth scenic railroad and other adventures. This is another “re-visit” location for us.
Here is a link to our previous stop in Carlsbad, NM.
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