We are in Taos!
We had a lovely day today, with not too much driving. We went for a walk this morning around the area behind our motel, and when we walked back, Tarka and Willie stopped at the car and seemed to want to get in. I had planned to feed them, shower and have something to eat myself before leaving, but then it seemed easier to just pop them in the car, grab our stuff from the room and start driving. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were on the road at 8 am. Just after we started out we caught a glimpse of Pike's Peak in the distance. It always makes me happy to catch my first sight of mountains after months of flatland living, not to mention having driven across Kansas yesterday! Tarka enjoyed the trip today and was watching the scenery from the car windows. Bet that boy has never seen mountains before.
We got through Colorado Springs - rather inefficiently thanks to my not reading the directions, thinking that 24 would just run into I-25, but it wasn't quite that simple. Just before Pueblo we found a rest stop where we took a walk and the boys had breakfast. They were very avid sniffers on our walk - apparently Colorado critters leave good smells behind. Pretty driving through mountains after we turned off I-25 at Walsenburg, Coming into the small town of San Luis, I remembered enjoyed the sight of these willow cottonwoods when Muddy and I passed through last year, and stopped to take a photo from the car window. Pity about the prefab buildings in the background, but gorgeous trees.
I kept Tarka on leash as he was looking very much as if he wanted to run around on the ice, and I wasn't sure it would be safe. But Willie did really well following along, and even forged ahead a couple of times to show us the way. Most of the time, Tarka likes being lead sled dog, though.
Lots of plant photos today....the chamisa and sagebrush lining the trail were so pretty that I had to include this shot.
We walked a couple of miles and would have done more except I had a nasty feeling I had forgotten to lock the car (I was wrong, but it would have been very annoying to lose skis, laptop, luggage - or dog toys!). Tarka felt like a real sled dog, and thought he might be in Alaska, looking over the frozen water.
We arrived in Taos at around 2 o'clock. Sandy was out, and the house was being cleaned, so Baggins and Bogart were outside. They were pleased to have visitors and greeted us enthusiastically; we spent a while wandering around together outside so the dogs could all get to know each other, and they all got along fine. Tarka used the car as his safe spot, and hopped back inside a few times when he heard or saw something that made him anxious.
The photo on the right below shows Baggins and Bogart looking on as Willie and Tarka have a wander around the property. We led Willie around the outside of the house to help him learn how to avoid running into the sagebrush, which is everywhere, of course.
Willie helped me unpack the car. What a good boy.
The four dogs and I went for a walk together, though Bogart decided to take a short cut home when we were walking back. But Baggins was very kind and, after a brief detour for a rabbit chase, made sure we knew the way. He is very sensitive and seemed to understand that Willie needed some help. He was very sweet with Tarka too. Bogart makes some strange vocalizations and neither Willie nor Tarka were quite sure what to make of his talking to them. It's mud season in Taos (check out Tarka and Willie's paws in the photos below) and we had to do some rinsing off when we got home.
Tarka has done very well with the humans tonight and even lay in the bedroom watching while Sandy made up the bed. He also seemed to like Beverly, another friend who is here visiting from Alaska, and sat with me quite close to her as we chatted.
After dinner he got a little scared by Bogart barking at something outside (there are coyotes in the area) and has taken up a cosy hiding place under the bed. Speaking of bed, we are ready for it after our day of fun (Willie is snoring already), so we'll say goodnight, with the promise of more fun in Taos tomorrow!
We got through Colorado Springs - rather inefficiently thanks to my not reading the directions, thinking that 24 would just run into I-25, but it wasn't quite that simple. Just before Pueblo we found a rest stop where we took a walk and the boys had breakfast. They were very avid sniffers on our walk - apparently Colorado critters leave good smells behind. Pretty driving through mountains after we turned off I-25 at Walsenburg, Coming into the small town of San Luis, I remembered enjoyed the sight of these willow cottonwoods when Muddy and I passed through last year, and stopped to take a photo from the car window. Pity about the prefab buildings in the background, but gorgeous trees.
Sandy had told us about a good area for a walk a couple of miles south of San Luis. We stopped beside a frozen reservoir covered in snow, and walked on the pretty trails there. Both dogs really seemed to love it. As soon as we got out of the car, Tarka started rolling delightedly in the snow, and Willie joined in with some encouraging woofs.
Lots of plant photos today....the chamisa and sagebrush lining the trail were so pretty that I had to include this shot.
We arrived in Taos at around 2 o'clock. Sandy was out, and the house was being cleaned, so Baggins and Bogart were outside. They were pleased to have visitors and greeted us enthusiastically; we spent a while wandering around together outside so the dogs could all get to know each other, and they all got along fine. Tarka used the car as his safe spot, and hopped back inside a few times when he heard or saw something that made him anxious.
The photo on the right below shows Baggins and Bogart looking on as Willie and Tarka have a wander around the property. We led Willie around the outside of the house to help him learn how to avoid running into the sagebrush, which is everywhere, of course.
The four dogs and I went for a walk together, though Bogart decided to take a short cut home when we were walking back. But Baggins was very kind and, after a brief detour for a rabbit chase, made sure we knew the way. He is very sensitive and seemed to understand that Willie needed some help. He was very sweet with Tarka too. Bogart makes some strange vocalizations and neither Willie nor Tarka were quite sure what to make of his talking to them. It's mud season in Taos (check out Tarka and Willie's paws in the photos below) and we had to do some rinsing off when we got home.
Tarka has done very well with the humans tonight and even lay in the bedroom watching while Sandy made up the bed. He also seemed to like Beverly, another friend who is here visiting from Alaska, and sat with me quite close to her as we chatted.
After dinner he got a little scared by Bogart barking at something outside (there are coyotes in the area) and has taken up a cosy hiding place under the bed. Speaking of bed, we are ready for it after our day of fun (Willie is snoring already), so we'll say goodnight, with the promise of more fun in Taos tomorrow!
Thanks for following our adventures. Taos is a wonderful place!
Reply to this
Thanks for visiting and for your kind remarks!
Reply to this
I'm so glad we've helped you. Please feel free to Contact Us (via the tab on the askmuddy site) if you have any additional questions.
Reply to this