Flat is relative
Saturday, 24 December 2016
We creased Santa Fé…
…and drove north—and up—toward Taos.
Here’s a residential back alley in Taos.
And, the luminarias are already out in the plaza, ready for the evening’s celebrations and rituals.
We also drove north to Taos Pueblo, and turned around in the parking lot, so we only have a few shots. Here’s an animal pen by the road. The residents are fiercely protective of their privacy, as is their right, and no cell phones or cameras are allowed in.
We headed east on US64, through the mountains. We knew we’d have a good window after the sun had melted the snow and before it began to refreeze, and we nailed it. Just gorgeous. If my phone is correct, the highest pass was a tad over 9K feet—that’s high!
Here’s a scenic formation in the Cimmaron Canyon…turns out cimarrón is Spanish for bighorn. Amazing what you can learn from Goo_Translate!
The highway eventually spat us out on the upper plains, and we relearned what flat means. We corralled our horsepower to motor farther eastward. When dusk arrived the sky to the north had ROYGBIV colors, but upward from the horizon, the color order was BIVROY (not sure what happened to G), which I don’t remember seeing before. I’m sure prismatic specialists are snorting with “of course,” but I do not know why that order. Pretty, though!
We have been driving for days through terrain that stretches away from the eye at interstate speeds, and appears very horizontal. I’m certain that those on foot find the verticals very present and substantial.