New Mexico

Gasoline Alley

The "Low Road" from Santa Fe to Taos, New Mexico

When Daughter lived in Taos, New Mexico, we visited her there often.  This photo of charming  junk cars and an antique gas station was shot just outside of  Taos on the “Low Road” headed towards Santa Fe.  Pressing into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains past 13,000-foot  peaks, this route is the most scenic between Santa Fe and Taos. The small, isolated mountain towns sprinkled along the way retain the flavor of the early Spanish settlers who came here four centuries ago.

You can stop, take a picture or two, buy a soda or snack, and then move on. What a charming bit of memorabilia!

Now, this is the sort of thing that makes New Mexico so charming!

 Because every square inch of real estate does not need to earn its keep in New Mexico , stuff can grow old in place for decades pretty much untouched. This old junk car and antique gas station in Taos, New Mexico is a great example. The fellow who owns this property kept the old gas station (his home is in the background) and turned it into a personal museum.

We normally travelled the "Low Road," from Santa Fe to Taos,  driving through Española where Spanish explorer Don Juan de Oñate staked his claim 400 years ago.

 

  Velarde is also a fruit-growing community, and roadside stands offer the season's freshest produce.  Beautiful ristras, arrangements of drying chili pepper pods, were displayed along the road. Although their main purpose is to preserve chilis for later consumption, ristras are commonly used decoratively in chili-producing areas like New Mexico.

For information about the artists and studio tours, one can stop at Dixon's Casa de Piedra Cooperative and the Pilar Yacht Club.

Passing through the nearby village of La Mesilla, we admired the simple beauty of San Ysidro, built in 1918, and the village of Velarde where Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe was built in 1817.

We followed alongside the fertile valley of the Rio Grande as it winded through a narrow canyon to the villages of Embudo, Dixon, Rinconada and Pilar.

We could view the beautiful Taos valley from the "Horseshoe Curve."

The landscapes of New Mexico are among some of the most beautiful in the country. Wide, rose-colored deserts to broken mesas to high, snow-capped peaks, color abounds at every time of the day and at every season.  It was a treat for our eyes and senses every time we visited there.

Photos are mine and from google.com

Some information from google.com