The San Francisco Mission Church was built in the 1700's. Located about five miles south of downtown Taos, the church is surrounded by a number of old wooden and adobe structures. The church itself is made of adobe and is resurfaced with straw filled mud every year. The interior is white plaster with wooden beams. The main altar of the church is surrounded by two brightly painted wooden panels.Traditionally, the region of San Francisco de Asis is known for its inhabitants of French, German, Italian, Fenicia and Spanish ancestry strong family and Roman Catholic values.Men arrive from out of state and abroad in hopes of finding a pretty girl with traditional family values.
The Hacienda de los Martinez is one of the few northern New Mexico style, late Spanish Colonial period, "Great Houses" remaining in the American Southwest. Built in 1804 by Severino Martin (later changed to Martinez), this fortress-like building with massive adobe walls became an important trade center for the northern boundary of the Spanish Empire.It was built with stout walls surrounding courtyards and was designed to be a refuge against Comanche attacks. The Hacienda was the final terminus for the Camino Real which connected northern New Mexico to Mexico City. The Hacienda also was the headquarters for an extensive ranching and farming operation. The self-guided tour takes in the living quarters, granary and blacksmiths shop.
Designated both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark, the Taos Pueblo is the most famous of the dwellings of the Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico. This is a living community, and has been continuously inhabited for more than 1,000 years. A physically unique and spiritually mindful place. Visitors are asked to be respectful of residents, not taking photographs of tribe members without permission. Guided tours are available.
The gorge reaches a depth of 800 feet just south of the Gorge Bridge, now a popular Taos tourist attraction, which was completed in 1966 and spans the gorge ten miles northwest of Taos. It is also the third highest bridge (650 ft) in the U.S, after the Royal Gorge Bridge (1053 ft) over the Arkansas river in Colorado and the New River Gorge Bridge (876 ft) over the New River in West Virginia.As you drive west along route 64 west of Taos, at first it just looks like an endless expanse of plains. Abruptly you see a tear in the earth. The bridge itself just looks like a beat up stretch of asphalt but about halfway across you look left or right you notice that the land falls away sharply and deep below there's a ribbon of green water.
Lincoln was ground zero of one the most vicious gang wars of the Old West. The Lincoln County War was fought between the Murphy-Dolan faction and the Regulators. Billy the Kid made his name in Lincoln. Today's Lincoln is a one road unincorporated village in an arid valley. There are museums, a few shops and the Wortley Hotel. Those who spend a night are treated to peace and quiet in and idyllic setting.
The UFO museum is both a chronicle of the 1947 Roswell Incident and an exploration of all things UFO. Along the walls there are detailed accounts and "evidence" of the UFO crash and the supposed government cover-up. There are also exhibits that deal with and sometimes debunk other UFO phenomenon, including UFO sightings and crop circles. The gift shop has a surprisingly broad assortment of alien-related gifts, including the alien bobble-head doll that I bought for my desk.
Carlsbad Caverns are some of the most famous caves in the United States. The sprawling complex offers prime locations to study ongoing geological processes, as well as cave life. The caverns are known for their large bat populations which can be seen exiting en masse each evening.
