On Monday, I woke up on the struggle bus again. But I was in Santa Fe for one more day and there was no way I was going to miss going to Taos. So I rallied, and after breakfast I drove to Taos Pueblo. It was a sunny day, and as soon as I got to the pueblo and started walking around, I was off the struggle bus. I should have known that the sun would help.

I walked around the pueblo for a few minutes as I waited for a tour to start at noon. The girl who gave the tour was a member of the tribe who is a college student. The tribe helps put its members through college by allowing them to lead tours. The tours are free, but the guides keep all the tips they earn.

About 15-25 people live in the pueblo permanently and it’s mostly the elders. There is no electricity or running water in the pueblo. The tribe tries to keep it in its original state to preserve the history and culture. Most tribe members live outside the pueblo on tribal land and have electricity and running water, but they live in the pueblo for a few days or weeks at a time so that their kids learn where they came from. There are about 2,700 tribe members in total.

Back in my post about Mesa Verde, I mentioned that a guide there told me that the cliff dwellers eventually moved down to New Mexico and are the ancestors of the Taos Pueblo people. He said that the cliff dwellers were a matriarchal society, but our Pueblo guide told us they are a patriarchal society, so I started getting suspicious. At the end of the tour, I asked our guide if it’s true that her ancestors were the cliff dwellers in Mesa Verde and she said that it’s not. There is evidence that the Pueblo people traded with the cliff dwellers, but they didn’t live there. If I ever go back to Mesa Verde, I need to tell the guide to stop spreading misinformation.

After visiting Taos Pueblo, I went to the Taos Plaza to buy my magnet and then drove a few minutes to see the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Then I went to see the San Francisco de Asís Mission Church in Taos, but it was closed for renovations. I drove the High Road to Taos back to Santa Fe, which is the slightly longer but more scenic route. On the way, I stopped at the Santuario de Chimayo, a small shrine that is known as the “Lourdes of America” because of its healing dirt. The only container I had with me was my tupperware with the remains of my lunch, so I wasn’t able to take any dirt with me.

There is a priest available most of the day at the shrine for anyone who wishes to talk to him or go to confession. As I walked in, I saw him dozing at his desk in his office and continued into the church. Only after I took a bunch of pictures and left the church did I see the sign at the entrance that said that pictures aren’t allowed. So you’re in luck. Since I didn’t see the sign and the priest was asleep and didn’t see me, you get to see my illegal pictures. It’ll be our little secret.

I finally made it back to Santa Fe and drove to Oklahoma the following morning. I’ve decided that New Mexico has the coolest license plates. I saw turquoise ones, yellow ones, and black ones with two chiles on them. It was fun to see them on the road.