Another cold morning in Santa Fe, but today we decide to head further into the State to the town of Taos, some 75 miles north of Santa Fe , deep in the mountains. One of the things we read to our surprise is that the writer D.H Lawrence and his wife Frieda acquired this ranch near the New Mexico town of San Cristobel in exchange for the manuscript of “Sons & Lovers”. This was the place that they came to escape the world, particularly in the later years of Lawrence’s life when he was suffering from tuberculosis. After he died in 1930 his ashes we supposedly taken back from France to the New Mexico ranch where they were laid in a small chapel near the ranch; some say his ashes were mixed in the concrete block to form a memorial. Frieda continued to live at the ranch until her death in 1956.
The ranch itself was bequeathed to University of New Mexico and today it is used primarily as a retreat. Set in the mountainside the property has splendid views across a vast, wide valley through which the Rio Grande cuts , across to distant mountains. We take the sign to the Lawrence Ranch, which turns out to be a dirt track. As we climb the mountain we get to the
snow line, and the road has not been cleared, so we start to snake across the road. We are not so easily discouraged so we put the Jeep into 4 wheel drive, of course this is the type of conditions these cars were designed for, and we continue on our way. Higher and higher we go, deeper and deeper the snow gets and the worse and worse the road gets – the children are loving this, like being on a theme park ride. Eventually we reach the ranch, but the adventure proves to be more exciting than the result. The younger Hoblets wonder why we are making this trip for they have yet to discover the author. The grown ups are making this pilgrimage! Karen gets out the car to check out the ranch but it is closed up and looking in through the window it looks like someone had ransacked the place and then squatted there for many years– but we guess this is how some people choose to live. Mind you we feel elated from just have made it to here. Coming back down does not seem half so bad.
On the way back from San Cristobel to Taos we take a short detour along Route 64 to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, a cantilever truss bridge which is the second highest in the United States, with a span of 1280 feet across the Rio Grande Gorge which runs 650 feet below. By the time we reach here it is bitterly cold, the wind howls unabated across the open plains having being chilled in its passage over the mountains. It is an impressive site but we don’t waste too much time before leaping back into our nice warm car and setting off for Taos.Taos ,like Santa Fe, is a bit of a posh persons shopping paradise with lots of expensive shops selling local crafts and antiquities. We amble around for a bit looking in a few shops and decide to head back to Santa Fe. A nice day out.
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