Day 10: Rest day in Taos, Taos Pueblo tour

June 7, 2019

My original plan for today was to do a 27 mile excursion to Black Rock hot spring northwest of Taos. But I found 3 reasons to abort that excursion. 1. The hot spring is on the bank of the Rio Grande and is probably flooded. 2. I'm still tired and need more rest. 3. I never made it to Taos Pueblo yesterday, and want to go there today.

After a late breakfast I was too late for the morning bus tour to Taos Pueblo, so I will do the afternoon tour. In the morning I spent a lot of time looking around the old Taos County Courthouse. It's not especially old, built in 1934. But it's no longer the functioning courthouse. Upstairs is the courtroom art exhibit and offices of nonprofit agencies.

Old Taos county courthouse, built in 1934.

Downstairs has an art guild gift shop in front. In the back is the original jail. It looks very claustrophobic.

Upstairs in the back of the courthouse is a very big empty room that was once the courtroom. The room has no furniture now. The room is a popular tourist attraction because the walls were painted with unusual frescoes as part of the depression-era Federal Art Project in 1934. The lead artist Emil Bisttram was trained by the famous mural artist Diego Rivera. Emil Bisttram hired the Taos Society of Artists to paint frescoes in the then-new courthouse.

The biggest fresco is on the wall behind the former judge's podium. Today it would probably be judged as too religious for a courtroom.

Fresco behind the judge's podium in the former courtroom.

Other walls have frescoes that neatly fit in 3 groups. Some have very interesting paint designs, but some also have what I would judge to be inappropriate messages or just plain bad advice.

*Respect Creates Harmony* is especially creepy with a dollar sign covered machine about to devour the woman and child.Justice never applied to Indians-the painter surely knew that.Obedience Casts Out Fear seems to promote homoerotic violence and is not necessarily true.Avarice Breeds Crime blames the man hoarding what others need, not the desperate criminals. A common theme during the Depression.

This might be considered too religious to display in a courtroom today.

The courtroom has no interpretive signs, exhibits, or furniture. Just the frescoes in a big empty room.

Lunch was once again at The Gorge Bar and Grill on the deck overlooking the plaza. The waiter remembered me from yesterday. After lunch I started the 2 PM trolley bus tour. The main attraction is Taos Pueblo but the tour also drives around Taos and points out major points of historic interest. The $43 tour is 2.5 hours and spends an hour off the bus at Taos Pueblo.

Narration was very good. The bus driver runs the company. He is from a long-term Hispanic family and has Indian cousins through marriage. He gave a very different perspective on the history of Taos than what I saw at the Kit Carson museum. It's good to hear both sides of the story.

Taos pueblo is much more organized and commercial than it was when I first visited in 1988. Now there is an admission fee, tour guides, and far more gift shops and bakeries. The bus dropped us off for 1 hour and the first 30 minutes was a guided tour with a resident college student who works for tips.

The first stop at Taos Pueblo was the ruins of Old San Geronimo church. It was built in 1619 using Indian slave labor. The church was destroyed in 1847 by U.S. Army cannons as retribution for the murder of Territorial Governor Charles Bent. Most of the Taos Pueblo tribe fled to the hills. 150 elderly women and children took refuge in the church "sanctuary". There were no survivors.

Ruins of Old San Geronimo church, built with Indian slave labor in 1619.

Ruins of Old San Geronimo church. The bell came from Spain.

The new San Geronimo church was built 3 years later in 1850. A restoration was recently completed and the church looks brand-new. The church is very much a focal point of Taos Pueblo. I don't know what portion of tribe members are practicing Catholics. It's not encouraged by tribal elders. Pueblo tribes still have many Catholics even though the church is an obvious symbol of Spanish colonialism. They must think of it as their church, different from the church forced on them by Spanish invaders. Today's church surely respects Indian traditions far more than did the Spanish colonial church.

Some Pueblo tribes still use the Catholic saint name assigned to them by the Spanish invaders. Others have reverted to their traditional name, such as San Juan pueblo reverting to the name Ohkay Owingeh.

New San Geronimo church. Photography is not allowed inside.

Taos Pueblo residents still live in the traditional way as much as possible. There is no electricity or running water, but Red Willow creek flows through the middle of the pueblo and is probably ample water supply. A few residents use propane for cooking or refrigeration. The tribe generates a lot of revenue from the casino and the Taos Pueblo entry fee. So far the revenue has all been spent on development such as roads, public facilities, education, security, environmental improvements, etc. No money has been distributed directly to tribe members yet...

Red Willow creek runs through the middle of Taos Pueblo and is their only water supply. South House in the distance.

I don't know the age of South House but apparently it's not as old as North House. The tour guide explained that doors were imported from the Spanish. Traditional pueblo houses had access via a hole in the roof. Once everybody is inside for the night, you pull up the ladder to keep the family safe from wild animals and invading nomadic tribes.

North House is by far the oldest inhabited building in the United States. More than 1000 years old according to carbon dating of the timbers. Maybe there is an older settlement in Mexico?

North House is more than 1000 years old, the oldest inhabited building in the U.S.

The Taos Pueblo tribe has been here "forever". They did not migrate from cliff cities like most other pueblo tribes did in the 1300's thru 1500's.

North House. I wonder what the first Conquistadors thought when they saw this apartment building.

I enjoyed the Taos Pueblo tour but tour passengers were only given 1 hour there and the first 30 minutes was a guided tour. If I came independently I would spend twice as much time there.

The weather was wonderful today. Mostly sunny, high of 78F (25C).

I felt pretty good in the evening, finally feeling ready for tomorrow's big climbs.

Dinner was at the Gorge Bar and Grill, my 3rd time to eat there. It's a crowded Friday night, so I ate at the bar.

I had a great 2-day stay in Taos. I biked through Taos in 1988 but spent basically no time looking around. Earlier I passed through Taos during ski season but that wasn't a good time to explore the town. Staying at Casa Benavides in the middle of town was the right decision for me. I truly appreciate being near the plaza and not in a motel 3 miles away.

Distance: 0 mi.

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