"One step up and two steps back..."

Day 27

Santa Fe, NM

With "real feel" temperatures in the low 20s, we were not inclined to meaningfully venture out in Santa Fe. Okay, fine. I was not inclined and Jon went along with it because he knows how unpleasant I can be when cold.

And so, rather than taking a hike along the mesa, we drove downtown to patronize some of the boutiques along the main stretch of this second oldest continuously inhabited city in the country (following only St. Augustine). One Pendleton blanket and two custom-made cowboy hats (that neither of us will ever wear when we finally receive them in nine months) later, we were back in the rig and traveling along the so-called High Road to Taos. We stopped off at some of the small towns along the way, having lunch in Chimayo at a place that's been serving the most excellent tacos and enchiladas since the '60s.

An hour and a half further along the road, and several depressingly run-down shanty-towns later, we arrived at Taos where we were eager to see the pueblos - some of the longest continuously inhabited dwellings in the world. We made it to the gates where we were greeted by a flashing sign informing us that, unless we could evidence that we were tribal, we could not go further. With Covid running rampant through New Mexico and the virus hitting indigenous people particularly hard, the pueblo and all reservation lands have been shuttered to outsiders. Though Jon argued that he should be let in as a member of the The Tribe (insert eye roll here), we were turned away and had to start the ninety minute drive back to Santa Fe having failed in our mission. This time we took the Low Road which, to be honest, was a much more comfortable route for me to travel.

The day looked to be ending on a high note following a truly exceptional dinner at Sazon downtown...right up until we backed into a parking meter and ripped the arm of the retractable awning out. And wiped out our passenger side blind spot detection sensor. Oops. 

The good news? We don't have to stop at yet another RV repair place to get this fixed. The bad news? The reason that's the case is that the requisite parts take four to six weeks to arrive from overseas. Guess who's serving as the passenger side blind spot detector now?

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