August 7, 2018
Taos, NM
Land of Enchantment
Morning
We stayed up late so we slept in a little bit. We had a lot we wanted to do today so after eating a couple of granola bars we got on our way. First up this morning was the Manby Hot Springs. These are natural and free hot springs that occur next to the Rio Grande and as Jason kept saying they were “a gift from the gods”. We told Bear this was the last tough walk he’d have to do and thankfully he did well. The drive in to Manby was AWESOME!! I finally got to see what the Crosstrek could handle! Jason is a very good driver and he thoroughly enjoyed the bumps and valleys he had to navigate through to get us to the trailhead. (we did it Kevin!!)
I forgot to take more pictures because I was just having too much fun!
Going down is the hardest for Bear right now, and we needed to go a little more than a half mile down. He was a champ and took his time. Luckily there were lots of stone steps so that helped a lot. We also passed by this group of bighorn sheep. Thankfully the dogs didn’t notice! 
When we arrived at the bottom, both hot springs were occupied, so we decided to let the pups play in the Rio Grande until a group left. This place is clothing optional since it’s a little off the typical path and some groups did choose to do that. Another group had their dog swimming in the spring with them. It was definitely a freeing place. We waited our turn and it was perfect.
We were soon accompanied by a man and his dog and he played the flute by the water. It was seriously magical. It felt so calming and relaxing that we almost didn’t want to leave. 
We trekked back out to continue on our adventures, thanking the man who we found out was a native of Taos for the music. So serene.
There used to be a wagon road on this trail to get down to the water. I cannot even believe that a horse could walk down there dragging a wagon! So dangerous and awful.
SHOPPING!
We left here to go to a place I’ve been waiting to go to. This little shop has colorful tiles, jewelry, blankets, and New Mexican art and I love the vibe. Jason brought home some from the last time he was in Taos and I wanted more. We took turns in the store so the dogs could stay in the car with the AC on. We grabbed some items and headed to our next adventure.
Taos Tattoo
No, I didn’t get another tattoo.. but Jason did! We had called while up in Colorado to see if they had any openings today and they said walk-ins were welcome. When we got there Jason spoke to the artist and he said he would be ready in about 30 minutes. We took a quick ride over to Cid’s which is a small grocery store Chris told us we would be able to score vegan items at. I grabbed some noodles, tofu, and snacks for the ride to Dallas and NOLA, and grabbed a vegan “sushi” roll with tofu, kale, avocado, carrots, and cabbage. Delicious! 
Back to Taos Tattoo
Jason went in and the dogs and I sat on the porch outside. He was getting a quick tattoo so I didn’t feel like I needed to leave to go anywhere. He met with the artist, he drew up the design, and Jason kept coming outside to show me placement and such. Once it was perfect he got started. 
This is a picture through the window since we were outside. 😂
This was Patch annoying Bear and I the whole time. She even managed to push open the door once. Can’t. Be. Away. From. Daddy. 🙄
Drumroll please… 
Here is Jason’s new tattoo! It is the Zia symbol. It’s commonly seen and used throughout New Mexico. It represents the 4 seasons, 4 directions, 4 stages of life, and 4 times of day. It also suggests you should work on your mind, body, spirit, and community. He has wanted this symbol for over 20 years since his first time in NM. It looks amazing!
Adobe Bar and Taos Inn
Chris suggested that the Adobe Bar makes an incredible margarita and they had a vegan tequila that I like called El Tesoro. This bar also had Soyrizo tacos on their menu and Daiya cheese so I wanted to go!
Unfortunately, they were out of soyrizo, so I settled for chips and salsa and green chili with Daiya on top. I was so hungry I forgot to take the picture…. oops! 😜
Home Base
We stopped at a few more thrift shops on the way home. We decided not to go to the Pueblos this time around because we couldn’t bring the pups with us and they proved they can probably escape from the camper if they wanted to. When we got back to Judd we packed up the car for the next leg of our adventure. We had to be up the next morning EARLY for an 11 HOUR DRIVE so we didn’t want to get up early to pack too. After getting that secured, we headed over to the Taos Mesa Brewery, which was a few hundred feet away! It was in the same compound, which was so exciting. Tuesday night is Trivia and two dollar tacos, so how could we say no?
We signed up for trivia as the Rhode Scholars (from Rhode Island) and had some lovely conversations with people traveling and sitting around us. This place is dog friendly so the pups settled in on the ground, soaking up the attention from passers by.
They had tofu tacos (for $2!!!) and I grabbed some fries as well.
This trivia was HARD! We were doing well but were having so much fun! They had a “physical challenge” portion where Jason went up and had to make an origami animal. He succeeded and made a penguin! 
He now guides us on our way across the country.
When the last round came around and it was almost 10pm, and they announced “golf” was the final round, I suggested we settled up our bill and headed out.
We tried to grab a fun picture but my camera ran out of batteries during the shoot.
I stared for a few minutes up at the Milky Way and thanked it before heading to bed. We will be back, Taos. 💜
Vegan On the Rhode 