Hikes:

• Elliot Barker Trail This is one of my favorite non-peak hikes in the Taos area. The trail goes through a beautiful mountain meadow. This time we hiked a little further than last time, and were treated to some different views of the mountains. Some locals told us that one of the peaks we could see was the Taos Cone, which we didn’t even know about since you can’t see it from town.
• Lobo Peak This peak is back behind where our house was. It was a tough hike to 12,115, but worth it. There are multiple routes to take. We chose Italianos Canyon (off the ski road) to the ridge, and then on to the peak. The canyon was beautiful, with waterfalls and wildflowers and about a dozen creek crossings. The peak itself afforded the best view we’ve had in Taos. We could see all of the major mountains, the town, the ski area, and the Rio Grande Gorge all the way up to where the Red River Gorge meets it, at the Wild Rivers Scenic Area. We didn’t see any bighorn sheep up there, but we could see (and smell) lots of evidence of them.
  
  
• Devisidero Peak This mountain is only 8,304 feet high, but it is a favorite of the locals because the trail is a six mile loop, it is close to town, and is has a longer open season due to the lower altitude. It was a really fun hike, and there were stone chairs at the top. If I lived here I would run this loop a few times a week. We hiked in our trail shoes, which let us run some of the flats and downhills. We met a couple of locals, Tedessa and Peggy, who reminded us of Laverne and Shirley.
• Williams Lake This is probably the most popular hike in Taos. It starts at the ski area and is less than two miles to the lake, which is beautiful and surrounded by the tallest peaks in New Mexico. We have done this hike multiple times and even camped at the lake, but it is our excuse to eat at the Bavarian Lodge at the ski area so it gets repeated every couple of trips. The first time we did this hike it didn’t seem easy, but now it is and we understand why we see toddlers and elderly people with canes doing it.

Runs:

Running is difficult in Taos because of the altitude. I don’t have any problem with altitude until I have to run up a hill. As our house was up a mile long hill, this meant driving to run and we found two great spots where the altitude didn’t affect me (Ed has more of a problem with it).

• West Rim Trail This is a singletrack trail along the Rio Grande Gorge. It’s flat, a little rocky, and beautiful. No shade, so we went early, which meant we were there when the hot air balloons were making their dips in to the gorge. I ran eight miles, and Ed did about six. I would have gone further but there was no one else out past the four mile mark so I turned around for safety. Never felt out of breath.
  
• Ski Road Usually when we drive out we take bikes, and I always ride up the road to the Ski Valley at least once (Ed is too chicken to try this). This time we flew, so no bikes, and I knew I couldn’t run eight miles uphill to 9,000 feet. But I could run down! We took turns dropping each other off and running down. I did the full eight miles, and Ed did four. It was really fun, but as runners know, running downhill makes for some pretty sore leg muscles.

Other outdoor activities:

We have already done many of the outdoorsy things to do in Taos, including fly fishing, rock climbing, backpacking and hiking. The two things we would like to do and haven’t are a balloon ride and horseback riding in the mountains. We keep deferring the balloon ride because it is expensive, and the horseback riding just never happened this trip. So that left us with:

• Bouldering at Tres Piedras This is a fun climbing area with a lot of big boulders to clamber over, so we spent some time doing that and then drove over to Ojo Caliente for lunch.

Restaurants:

Taos has fantastic restaurants for a town its size. Since we hadn’t been there for two years, some restaurants had closed, but more had opened.

• Martyrs Steakhouse (new) This is right on the main drag in a historic adobe building that had been redone. We went twice, once for lunch and once for dinner at the bar. The food was excellent.
• Taos Mesa Brewing (new) As we drove into town from the Albuquerque airport after dark, we ordered a pizza from our favorite place (yes, we have the number and our order stored in our phones). I ran in to pick it up, and noticed they had beer from this place we had never heard of on tap. When we drove out to the Rio Grande to run, we passed a new building on the mesa, a huge quonset hut with sculptures and a disc golf course. It was a brewery! We had lunch there twice. A great addition and while we didn’t make it out when there was live music, it had both an indoor and a stage.
  
• Old Martina’s Hall (new) We heard this advertised on the radio and saw it in the Best of Taos guide, but it is in Rancho de Taos, which is on the other side of Taos from where we were staying. But on our way out of town the last morning, it was the one breakfast option with somewhere to park, so we took it. It was good, and fun to see another historic adobe building that had been renovated. It is across the street from a historic church that we visited last trip. A funny aside: all week when I heard the ads on the radio, I thought it was Old Martinez Hall, and just now I found out that it was it used to be years ago, it’s just a coincidence that the person who restored it to the new place is named Martina. But I can call the new name ironic, right?
• Love Apple I think this is my favorite restaurant in Taos. It is in an old adobe church on the north side of town (where we usually stay), and the menu changes based on what is available locally. Love it.
• Lambert’s This is Ed’s favorite, and my second favorite. The food is excellent, the service is even better. Since we were here last it moved to a more central location, right near the plaza. As we left, a skunk walked by. Weird.
• Gutiz We drove by this place for years before trying it, because it said it was Latin-French fusion and that sounded ambiguous. It turns out it’s more Spanish, with an in-house bakery. We’ve eaten lunch and breakfast there, and it’s excellent. Breakfast this time.
• Caffe Tazza This is just a coffee shop with food right off the main drag in the historic district. I’d noticed it before but we’d never tried it. This trip we were gallery hopping after a hike and I was thirsty, so we stopped in. It was perfectly fine for a bottle of water and it looked like the coffee and food were good, but what odd clientele. There were a couple of goth girls licking lollipops, and then a really sketchy guy with both a knife and a gun holstered asking if he could start a tab who then walked to an empty lot behind the place where it looked like he was living, and then a really agitated guy who was nervous about us, and hopped everywhere on one foot. We went to sit out back, and it smelled like something died back there and a lot of flies. An odd experience that must involve drugs. Now as I read up on the place, I think it might be better to go back at night when they have music or poetry readings and the “characters” don’t seem so out of place.
• Artesian Restaurant at Ojo Caliente Ojo Caliente is a mineral springs resort south west of Taos. We have been there for the springs once, but this was our third time at the restaurant. It’s really good. It was generally in the way of Tres Piedras where we went bouldering, closer to Ghost Ranch.
• Bavarian Lodge The Bavarian is a German lodge and restaurant near the ski area. It’s at the base of one of the runs, but not owned by the resort. It’s really good when you are hungry from hiking or skiing, and you can usually sit outside year round. That is why we did the Williams Lake hike. The Bavarian is pretty much the trailhead. We usually  get the kaese spatzle and the mixed sausage platter to split. And some German beer. Yum. We have noticed that in the summer this is a regular gathering spot for post-hike local retirees, and this year it was funny because we were discussing the Americas Cup and then noticed that a table of older locals was wearing New Zealand caps. Apparently the New Zealand boat was designed by a local’s kid?
  
• Pizaños Great pizza with a great view of Taos Mountain. When we drive out, we buy a pizza here the night before we leave, and then throw the box into the car right behind the passenger’s seat in the morning. That way we can eat without stopping. Works out great.
• Taos Cow This is an ice cream shop in Arroyo Seco, between Taos and the Ski Valley. The first time we visited Taos, we stayed in a house near here. They have great coffee and sandwiches, plus the ice cream which is what got them started. But holy Taos Cow, gourmet ice cream is expensive. Remember when we used to by it by the gallon?  When they’re charging $7 for a pint it doesn’t seem so bad, but ….

Galleries:

We went to more galleries than this, but these were notable as single artist galleries where we actually got to talk to the artists.

• Greg Moon Art
• Wheeler Studio & Gallery
• Living Light Gallery

House:

• Coyote Mountain