Kicking back in the most beautiful city in New Mexico

Taos, a southwest mecca for artists, is a place where unexpectedly perfect moments become commonplace. During a trip to Taos, my traveling companion asked me to go horseback riding. I had traveled to this hidden gem in New Mexico relax, to be inspired and soak up the panoramic vistas with my morning latte. A slow and lazy horseback ride up into the mountains sounded perfect...

What to do in New Mexico? A guided horseback tourOur guide, a native American, led us across the Pueblo, a land knotted with sage bushes, cedars and coyote lairs. He explained the living history and delivered it with a healthy dose of humor (we hoped) about bears and coyotes and falling off into cactus. He pointed out the graveyard where his people have been buried for hundreds of years, the church where he married his late wife 40 years ago, the buffalo whose history is as tangled as the history of his people.

Our horses trotted across the sandy, uneven terrain, oblivious to the inept riders on their backs. With a whoop and a hat tossed in the air as a warning to the horses, it was time to move. Unprepared for the sudden lurch, I grabbed the reigns just as my horse galloped headlong up the mountain. I held on with both hands, closing my eyes as we catapulted through the vivid gold's of the changing aspens. The only sounds, other than the thundering of hooves and the blood rushing through my ears was the rider ahead of me yelling, "Oh God" - my signal to watch out for another branch.

my tour with the Taos Indian Horse RanchNearing the first of three clearings, I struggled to catch my breath - alternating between laughing and crying and talking. I looked around and my breath caught. Perched on the side of a mountain, we were hemmed in by a multitude of other mountains vying for space against the intrepid blue sky. To say I've never seen anything more quietly beautiful would be trite - but it would be true. Our guide smiled as we pivoted in our saddles, craning our necks to see it from every angle.

Maybe you get used to this kind of thing when you live in such a place all your life, but from the look on his face, I don't think so.

There's so much I love about Taos, not the least of which is the food (more to come in a later post). Read my review of El Monte Sagrado Resort & Spa.

While not particularly easy to get to Taos, it's accessible via a 3-hour drive from the airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Be sure to visit the Taos Chamber of Commerce or Taos.org for info on activities, restaurants and B&B's - there are more than 40 in a town of less than 6000 people. For a spectacular visit, give Storm a call at the Taos Indian Horse Ranch (1-800-659-3210).

Have you ever traveled to Taos, New Mexico? What did you love most about it? I'd love to hear YOUR Taos discoveries. Shout out to us on Facebook or Twitter and let's start talking!

Taos on Dwellable