Fall
It feels like fall here in New Mexico's mountains. The RV Park has emptied out and very few people on the trails.
Questa has been a great stopping off point. The town looks like it has seen its better days on the surface. The Molybdenum Mine closed down. Many people walked away from their homes to build a new life. You have to take a closer look to find the businesses. Once you walk inside, there are some great places and people. The contractors that are reclaiming the mine make up for some of the lost business. Chevron has purchased a large portion of the land overlooking the town. Hopefully, they plan to make an open space.
Pescado Trail
One of the less-traveled paths in the Rio Grande del Norte is the Pescado Trail that connects the Red River Fish Hatchery with the Wild Rivers Visitor Center. This trail gains about 800 feet the first mile and is considered a moderate trail.
Funky homes on our drive in the national forest.
The caboose house
Our morning view
We started at the Red River Fish Hatchery. I prefer uphill first and it is a short 3 miles up the road.
The elk came out into the field behind us in the morning and evening a few times. One night, we could hear the elk bugling. It is September. Later, the bobcat started snarling as he walked along the pond next to us. No, we didn't try to see him. I google the sound to see if we were right. I thought about playing the sound next to the window and see what he would do. That just seemed wrong.
\Once we arrived at the rim, it was a nice easy walk with great views. We continued on to make our hike a little longer stopping at the visitors center for a snack.
I walked right over to the edge and looked down after taking this picture. What is wrong with me?
We found two groups of bighorn along the Arroyo Hondo River that were nice enough to pose for us on the way to Taos.
St Anthony Church
It took five years and the devotion and effort of the people to repair a divide in the community and resurrect St. Anthony’s Church. In 2008, the 170-year old walls of St. Anthony’s Church in Questa collapsed. This created a divide in the community, those who felt it wasn’t worth saving and those who felt it was worth saving.
Demolishing the church was not an option for a group of volunteers who began the project to save the Church. After the restoration started, it became apparent, to all of the people of Questa, that the importance of keeping the structure was about more than adobe bricks. It began to attract more and more volunteers, lessening the divide and re-connecting the community.
Demolishing the church was not an option for a group of volunteers who began the project to save the Church. After the restoration started, it became apparent, to all of the people of Questa, that the importance of keeping the structure was about more than adobe bricks. It began to attract more and more volunteers, lessening the divide and re-connecting the community.
We found some roasted Hatch green chile!
The people we meet along the way make each experience even more special. The neighbors came to enjoy Taos's music festival. They planned to return half way through the day to check on their dog. We offered to dog sit Cassie so they would not have to drive the 40 mile round trip. He marched out with the keys and said thanks. They were so happy. Six month old Cassie reminded us why we don't have a dog. She has more energy than grandkids. We did enjoy spending the afternoon with her.
We also met Gregory, a photographer, who has some amazing pictures. Every time we saw him, his camera was in his hands and a story to tell. Check out his pictures at God's Country Gallery .
The two weeks flew by. We need to return to northern New Mexico in the future to visit Ville Vidal, Chama and the Bisti Wilderness Area which are still on the "list".
