Taos, New Mexico – Day 7

 

After one of the best nights sleep I’ve had in a very long time I woke up with one thing on my mind….M. 7am meant making breakfast and killing time until the vets office opened at 8am. I still couldn’t call then because yesterday she told me to hold off until 8:30am so the vet could give her a full check up.

We had some new birds near the back window with some neat coloring on them.

M was doing better by lunch time, she still had diahreaha this morning but no longer bleeding so that's god news. She did eat and drink without vomiting. She has liver damage and hopes to release her by Monday. He's supposed to call me back this afternoon to let me know how she's doing from eating.

Since D only had to work a half a day we headed in to Taos for lunch at Graham’s Grille.

This place had some interesting wine infused cocktails so we had to give it a try. Since the weather was so nice out we opted to sit outside on the back patio. We ordered the Graham’s Grande Margaritas with wine tequila. traditional, mango & strawberry $6 (We chose traditional) It had a different taste to it, and D didn’t really care for it. To me it tasted like a weak margarita and I couldn’t tell there was wine in it. I ordered the Graham’s Piña Colada pineapple juice, creme de coco. lime & wine rum $6. Again no taste of wine in it and it tasted like a Pina Colada on the rocks. I also got a prickly pear ice tea, not worth it, you could hardly taste it. 

As for entrees D went with the El Miramon Combination Plate (The Miramon was a bar in this location in the 1910’s.) chile relleno, cheese enchilada, green chile tamale with black beans, rice, garnish & guacamole $12.50. We both really enjoyed this dish and the flavors where really good.

We also chose the Spicy Passionfruit BBQ Pork Sandwich on a housemade bun with melted cheddar, sautéed onions & pickles $11 which comes with choice of Cajun Fries, New Mexican Slaw, House Greens, Caesar Salad or Soup. I picked the Crab, Corn, Bacon & Potato Chowder. I really enjoyed this dish! The BBQ pork had a nice sweetness and spice balance. Although it’s messy and best eaten with a knife and fork I gobbled it up. The chowder was nice and thick and really warmed you up when the cool wind blew.

After lunch we went to St. Francis de Assisi in Rancho de Taos.

This is supposed to be one of the most photographed and painted church. You are not allowed to take pictures inside the church, but it’s beautiful inside.

Inside the parish hall you can visit the painting heard around the world. There’s a video with the history of the church along with the restoration and history of the painting. After the video you can admire the painting and then the woman turns the light off and the most incredible thing happens. It appears to glow and becomes 3D. Jesus holds a cross his hallo becomes more visible and it appears to be a night time shot with a boat in the background. Truly mesmerizing! When the lights are one you can walk from one side of the painting to another and the eyes follow you.

After visiting the church we stopped by the Taos Pueblo. Ok first off I’m all about visiting historic sites preserved and it’s even neater to visit people who are still living that way, but this is a little touristy. I don’t recommend stopping here unless you have to have a picture. Just know it’s $10 per person to go in then another $6 per camera or phone to take pictures. Thank goodness I still have my college id on hand it only cost me $5 for being a student!

Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark. The multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years.

I managed to get a couple of good pictures of the cemetery and of the doors. It seems like all of the homes doors are open for you to go in and SHOP. It was kind of a turn off for us, even though I’m sure they are trying to earn money, but I didn’t like being yelled at “hey we’re open come on in”. I had flash backs of the venders in Mexico. 

These drying racks are for hanging meat and various items needed to be dried.

I’m gonna sound dumb but I thought these things where dog houses. They are not! They are outdoor ovens called Horno.

I also learned that these ladders you see all over are not decoration they where used to get in the houses. Long time ago they didn’t have front doors, you had to climb up the ladder and enter through the roof. This provided a sky light into your home and also kept intruders out of your home.

They still don’t have running water so they use the creek that runs through their area.

The church in the center of the area is really pretty. No photos are allowed inside here either.

Basically you get a pamphlet that explains different things and here’s what you walk around.

After we left the Pueblos the vet called and said M was doing better overall, but still has high levels of yellow jaundice from the blood test so we have to go day by day to get that level down and keep her on an iv. She ate a little this afternoon but not all of it and she seems to be more alert sitting up. No more vomiting thank goodness.

We headed home and rested up before heading out to Ojo Caliente.

For dinner we headed down to Ojo Caliente Resort and Spa to eat and then soak our bones in the mineral springs.

I gave the Prickly Pear Lemonade $2.75 a try and it was really good. My only complaint is I wish I got refills.

They bring you complimentary mini cornbread loaves. Super yummy just make sure you ask for more because the service is a little slow and everything takes a while.

We started out with 2 appetizers.  Green Chile “Fries” potato crusted Poblano chiles with Hot ‘n Sweet Chile Vinegar $8 Holy moly these things are GOOD! I could have eaten a huge plate of them.

The other thing we shared was the Tortilla Soup $4.75. This was really good as well!

We should have just stopped there because by the time our entrees came out we where already filling up. The Chile Cured Beef Ribeye, grilled & served with garlic cream potatoes $24 This wasn’t really worth it. The meat with chewy and the only thing that helped you eat the meat was dipping it in the garlic cream sauce from the potatoes.

Yucatan Barbecued Salmon with corn & black bean salsa $24 was another story this was really good!

After filling our tummy we changed into our swimsuits and headed to the spa to soak our bones. They have a good discounted price which came to $25 for the 2 of us after 6pm. They are open until 10pm so trust me that’s plenty of time to test out all of the pools. It was hard to get pictures of the pools since it was dark, but I thought it was really cool being cliff side and staring up at the stars at night. Each pool had a sign with what the minerals in them where and how they help you.