Remember how in the last post we mentioned that Española, and the casino we were parked at, seemed sketchy? Not long after we woke up, there was a loud knock on our side door, and Sheila immediately started barking. Lisette slowly lifted the back window curtain to see a sketchy looking man (waiting outside. He eventually walked away, and we took that as our sign to also move on, and get ready for the day elsewhere.
El Santuario de Chimayo
We drove straight to El Santuario de Chimayo, a Roman Catholic church in the town of Chimayo. Built in 1816, there’s an adobe church, twin bell towers, a walled courtyard, and the pretty and peaceful grounds are adorned with a grotto, small amphitheater, various folk art and Catholic monuments. The church is a pilgrimage site as the dirt clay is alleged to have healing powers, and there’s a room that shows the pit of holy dirt, with a room next to it that has testimonials, photographs, and discarded crutches from people who have come here seeking to be cured.
El Potrero Trading Post
Friends of ours who live in Florida recommended that we check out the El Potrero Trading Post nearby, which is famous for its crushed and dried chiles, and they will also ship these around the country. The store warns you on the outside that they sell hot chile, so you should take medium! Lisette doesn’t have a high spice tolerance, but it turns out that she could handle the hot level, so after sampling a few chile powders we left with the sundried red hot chile, as well as the flavorful smelling taco mix, which has chiles, oregano, onion, and garlic, and can be used as a seasoning or a rub for meats. Apparently these will last in the freezer for a year, but we’re aiming to go through it all well before then!
Also nearby is the Santo Nino chapel, which we thought was a lovely little adobe chapel, with pretty wood-carved pews, stone flooring, and beautiful paintings inside. There’s a small prayer room inside next to the main chapel, which has hundreds of baby and children’s shoes in the room, and photos of families all over the walls. One belief is that Santo Niño (translated from Spanish: “Holy Child”) wanders through Chimayo at night to bring healing and comfort to those who need it most. Since he walks so much, people bring children’s shoes to the shrine as a gift.
Johnnie Meier Classical Gas Museum
On the way to Taos, we dropped by the Johnnie Meier Classical Gas Museum, expecting that it would be closed and we’d take photos from the side of the road. What a joyous surprise to show up and see that Johnnie was home and we were able to wander around! The Museum is from Johnnie’s personal collection and passion in collecting all kinds of travel and gas station memorabilia over 30 years. Here, you’ll find old gas pumps, motor oil cans, soda machines, Native American wooden statues (the kind you’d find outside cigar stores back in the day), old Ginger Beer bottles, neon signs, and so much more. Johnnie continues to buy old items and add to his collection to this day.
We loved chatting to Johnnie and learning about his collection, and noticed that he had a section with currency from countries around the world. So Michael was able to dig up an old Australian $2 bill that’s green and made of paper. It stopped being in circulation in 1988 (Australia now has a $2 gold coin), and our money is now plastic, not paper, which Johnnie really appreciated! If you stop by his home, go toward the back of the museum inside, and hopefully you’ll see it!
La Terraza de Taos Cocina
By this time we were starving, so we picked the first restaurant that seemed to be decent on our way up to Taos, called La Terraza de Taos Cocina, a Mexican restaurant that served delicious looking meals, including tacos, enchiladas, burgers, and more. Michael got the pulled pork burger and Lisette got the blue corn fried fish tacos, and we shared a tres leches cake for dessert. While the food was delicious, we have to admit that we were a bit let down at the end when we received our bill and noticed additional “taxes” added to each item, which didn’t add up to the actual tax at the bottom of the check. Apparently it was due to a “new system” they were using that was confusing, which wasn’t a satisfactory response for the discrepancy. While we ended up paying the bill, it left a negative lasting experience–if they want to increase their prices, then the restaurant owners should be upfront about it on the menu, rather than having customers ask about this or hoping that customers won’t notice.
After yet another quick grocery stop (we have a small fridge, and we eat in more than we eat out, so we have to top on staples often!), we checked into an RV park in Taos for the night. Time flies in the evenings–it seems that after doing errands and making dinner, there’s not much time before we head to bed. Days and nights seem to fly by in RV life!
Route Map
