Taos, Part 2: Biking, Friends, and More Good Food

Whenever we visit a town, we try our best to pass as locals. Because we prefer low-key travel experiences, we avoid the obvious tourist areas and instead, wander the side streets, poking around in bookstores, small galleries of local artists, and coffee shops and cafés filled with local folks.

We search out local festivals and farmer’s markets and ask locals for tips on interesting things to do and their favorite restaurants. And we’re always on the lookout for opportunities for hiking, biking, or kayaking.

A Biking Adventure On The Rio Grande

That’s how we discovered the West Rim Trail of the Rio Grande Gorge, a BLM trail that parallels the rim of the steep canyon that plunges 650 feet to the river below. It was a beautiful 10-mile ride; pretty mellow except for the few crazy rocky stretches that require technical skills beyond the ability of my girly bike or me.

I love my bike—it’s a hybrid between a mountain bike and a road bike, which means it’s not the best for either but it’s perfect for my favorite kind of in-between biking. Much to Eric’s dismay, my bike has a nice cushy seat, a bell, and a kickstand. It’s pretty funny when I saddle up on my bike and the only other people on the trail are serious mountain biker dudes. (I know they’re thinking—she’s gonna ride this trail?? On that bike??) But I do!! I just walk some of the really rocky places where I’m likely to bite the dust if I’m riding.

The Earthship Community

Following our bike ride, we drove a few more miles to the Earthship community. These interesting and artistically fanciful homes are made of recycled and sustainable materials (old tires, bottles, and cans), are completely off the grid and self-sustaining, and are designed to be within the ability of anyone to build. We’re thinking to start saving our beer and wine bottles.

Arroyo Seco

A woman we met at the farmer’s market told us that we shouldn’t miss Arroyo Seco, a small village just a few miles from Taos. (The header photo of this post is from Arroyo Seco.) We were close by, so we stopped to wander around for a bit, and enjoyed a tasty lunch at Aceq, a small café that creates their menu from ingredients sourced from local farms and ranches.

An Evening With Friends

One of the highlights of our time in Taos was spending an evening with Kim and Rick, friends we met in Ashland while they were traveling full-time in their RV a couple of years ago. We enjoyed a delicious meal of New Mexican green chile chowder and cornbread, accompanied by wine and good conversation. We ended up the evening cozy around their fireplace, with apple pie made with apples from their backyard tree. It was delightful.

We always love our visits to Taos.