Memorial Day Weekend

We literally headed for the hills this weekend with a getaway to Taos in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. DH booked us a room at Hotel La Fonda de Taos, a historic hotel located right on the Plaza. The rooms were recently renovated, and just charming. Our room was on the second floor on the far right, with 3 working windows to provide plenty of fresh air.

...And some noise. Fortunately, the Plaza wasn't too loud in the evenings since most of the immediate area consists of retail shops that are closed in the evening. But this weekend was the big motorcycle rally in nearby Red River, which meant a lot of bikers around. They were nice but most of their rides were pretty loud. Good thing we were out and about during the days.

Taos is a foodie town, probably more so than Santa Fe, so we spent a lot of our time eating out. A couple of new (to us) places that we tried were Graham's Grill and The Gorge. We liked Graham's so much that we ate breakfast there twice and are looking forward to going back for dinner or lunch another time. The Gorge is more of a bar although the food was pretty good, too. It's located in the space formerly occupied by Oglevie's for many years. Old favorites revisited included Lambert's and Doc Martin's, both of which served us excellent dinners.

We also did a bit of shopping. It's a tourist area after all, so there are plenty of little shops to visit. There were several featuring the fiber arts, including a yarn shop and a weaving place. There were also a couple of fabric stores. One, Common Thread, I knew about already.

It's been in business for many years. Its focus has been garment fabrics, but home dec and quilt fabrics seem to be making inroads, as well as accessories like handbags and such. I realize business is hard in this economy, so you have to carry what'll sell. But still, I was a wee bit disappointed so not much buying there. I picked up a 7/8 yard remnant of Kaffe Fasset fabric that will become a little summer top or trim on a shirt, also an interesting button that will likely become a necklace or brooch:

I also discovered a new-to-me quilt shop called Taos Adobe Quilting.

Tiny shop, but an excellent collection of cottons, including several bolts with designs by a local artist, Terrie Mangat. I realize that I just complained a little bit about quilting fabrics in the last paragraph--I suppose the difference is expectations! Anyway, this store does not carry the stiff, dull looking stuff you find at chain stores. Nope, this is the higher grade, silky soft quilt cotton that you can actually use for clothing. I bought a few yards of a design inspired by the Rio Grande. I hope to use it for a shirt:

Although most of our time was spent relaxing and exploring the Plaza area, we did make a couple of side trips. We drove up to the ski valley yesterday, a beautiful trip through the forest. It's always quiet up there in the off-season, probably now more than in the past.

Yes, there's still a little bit of snow at the top, but the water is running. As we drove home today, we saw several rafters out enjoying the white water while it lasts.

On the way home, we also took a small side trip into Ranchos de Taos to visit Dennis Hopper's grave. We found the cemetery, not the grave, but it was still a moving experience. It's an old Hispanic cemetery, very humble. No photos today out of respect for the families who were visiting their relatives for Memorial Day. After all, that's what the holiday is really about.