Scenic Road

Mother’s Day was perfection, and I can appreciate it now, because I had some not-so- perfect ones in the past. Interestingly when the kids were little, and I worked so very darn hard, constantly exhausted, I had some disaster Mother’s Days. Now that life is pretty easy they get better and better. Just throwing it out there, in case you are not there YET.

The day started off with me waking up to a sweetly decorated table, the best crepes made by my husband, and of course coffee. And very special earrings, a gift from my son and my husband. So sweet! The girls had gotten up at 2 am to decorate. The silver ware had little notes taped to them: I love you. Melted. my. heart.

For lunch we were joined by our friends for a quick bite to eat at a local diner. I thoroughly threatened my girls not to get ketchup on their dresses, it worked, for once.

Then our friends and our family drove up north to Chimayo, a tiny village on the High Road to Taos. Chimayo is famous for its church and restaurant. We parked in the parking lot and made our way to the church. What I love about Chimayo is that it has the feel of Mexico or Spain. It’s quaintly old world. Built in 1813 the church El Santuario de Chimayo is a very popular pilgrimage and a National Heritage site. It gets very crowded around Easter. PicMonkey Collage-4

Above is my friend’s son taking a break. A rare moment I had to capture…

Below is the church. It seems to be always open to visitors. It is vey small, with a tiny courtyard.

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Here is my friend with her darling baby girl, who wasn’t feeling it at the time, but did great over the course of a very long day.

This was my third visit to the church, but the firs time catching the flowers in full bloom. PicMonkey Collage-4.jpg IMG_6416 (1).jpg

Aren’t the roses lovely?

During our drive the kids kept asking where the playground was. But then they saw this…Here is Tasha playing with my friend’s son.

Nearby the church are more quaint little shops, a coffee shop, and another little chapel.

It was time to go to the Restaurant de Chimayo in time for our reservation. I do recommend making a reservation for Mother’s Day, it was packed.

Rancho de Chimayo restaurantKarsten und Katharina PicMonkey Collage-6 PicMonkey Collage-5

Rancho de Chimayo is a destination in itself. It has a little gift shop next to it, and is associated with the B&B across the street. My friend ordered a delicious prickly pear lemonade (pictured above), and I loved my silver Margherita. The guys drank local beer. And the flan for dessert melted in our mouths…

Another must do in Chimayo is a visit to the weaving store Ortegas. They sell hand woven rugs, purses, wall hangings, and more, made by local artists. Sadly they are closed on Sundays so we didn’t get a chance to shop.

Now you know why Chimayo is one of my favorite destinations in New Mexico.

I do hope you will visit it soon.

-Sofija

Tasha is wearing a blue dress from Old Navy, and a hat from Baby Gap. My top is from Banana Republic.

All pictures taken with a Canon 7D and a 50mm lens. I used PicMonkey for the side by side pictures.

In October my husband and I drove to Taos. You might remember that we have been to Taos quite a few times before in the summer. I was exited to see it in the fall with the leaves changing. Also, usually we drive up using the Low Road to Taos, which goes alongside the Rio Grande river. This time we decided to take the High Road. It is one of New Mexico’s scenic byways. It takes a lot longer and it is quite windy. Since in the past we have always come up with the kids who are prone to car sickness, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it. It was our anniversary and we left the kids at home.

In Pojaque we took the 503 heading north (it is easy to miss this right turn, if you are heading towards Espanola you have missed it). Nambe was our first stop. My main goal was to take pictures of the Catholic Churches (which is kind of an obsession of mine, I love their architecture) and the views along the way.

Here are pictures of the Sacred Heart Church in Nambe. This is not the prettiest of all the churches, keep going, it will get better…

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Sacred heart Church in Nambe, NM

The church is not original, it had to be rebuilt after a botched renovation. There is a pueblo nearby, which we did not drive to. We saw the church and then went on our way to Chimayo.

Chimayo is the highlight of the Road to Taos. Nestled in a beautifully green valley it is a town you want to linger in. There is a well known restaurant Rancho de Chimayo. There are also quaint weaving shops, below is Ortegas. Ortegas Weaving shop Chimayo, NM Ortegas Weaving Shop in Chimayo, NM

Right next to the weaving shop was a little museum with a cute little orchard.

The church Santurio de Chimayo, built between 1811 and 1816, is a pilgrimage site for thousands of visitors each year, especially on Good Friday. They were installing Christmas lights while were there. So cute! Catholic Church Santurio de Chimayo in NM

Santurio de Chimayo, NM Santurio de Chimayo door Catholic Church Santurio de Chimayo in NM

The church is tiny, really, but so quaint and cute. I can see why it is so popular. There are a lot of touristy shops around it, but this Trading Post caught my eye.

trading post in chimayo, nm

Between Chimayo and Cordova the views become quite breathtaking.

High Road to Taos, Cordova

We kept driving and did not stop until Las Trampas, which also has a cute little church San Jose de Garcia, completed in 1776.

San Jose de Garcia Church in Trampas, NM San Jose de Garcia, built 1776.jpg

My ever so patient husband rolled with it, stopping every couple of miles so I could take pictures. He is a keeper! We realized this trip that we both really like road trips. He likes driving and I like to take pictures. We promised ourselves we would do it more often.

After Trampas we headed towards Chamisal, which was quite enchanting with its golden colors. With my telescopic lense I took these pictures, which turned out to be my favorite.

We kept going to Sipapu, but there was only the ski resort there, nothing too spectacular.

The plan was to end this post with pictures from the famous church San Francisco de Asis in Taos. However we got to hungry, had lunch in Taos, and then forgot to go back to it. 😦

I came back the next summer, so these pictures have a different light to them.

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