Adventures de Taos by The Taos News

2013 COMPLIMENTARY PUBLICATION OF THE TAOS NEWS

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Courtesy Image

Welcome

A 1992 illustration from The New York Times Magazine featured Taos in the midst of a group of much much larger cities. Stephen Parks references this illustration in his essay on page 10.

to Taos County

Adventures de Taos

and Northern New Mexico!

Inside

I’m proud to represent the people, cultures, history and natural resources that make our neck of the woods so unique. As New Mexico State Representative for District 42, I work hard to ensure the protection of these valuable cultural and natural resources. Whether you’re coming back for more or this is your first visit to our High-Desert Paradise, we’re glad to have you. Stop and take in the views, savor that last drop of green chile and enjoy the shopping!

Welcome… We’re glad to have you. State Representative Roberto “Bobby” J. Gonzales District 42, Democrat Paid Political Advertisement

Paid for by the Committee to Re-Elect Roberto “Bobby” J. Gonzales, Marcos Gonzales Treasurer

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Introduction

Ballooning

Taylor Streit

Mickey Blake

Stephen Parks

David Hahn

Jenny Vincent

Maria Samora

Monique Jacobson

Lyla Johnston

Stuart Wilde

Allesandra Ogren

Photo Contest

Bonnie Lee Black

Rick Romancito

Harwood Museum

Taos County Films

Monique Parker

Joe Cisneros

Cisco Guevara

Staff

Robin Martin, Owner n Chris Baker, Publisher n Joan Livingston, Editor n Chris wood, Advertising Manager ANDY JONES, Special Sections Editor n Marilyn M. Olsen, Designer n virginia l. clark, Copy Editor michelle gutierrez, Production Manager Cover design: Julie Osmanski

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“Adventures de Taos,” by Bill Baron

Adventures de Taos: Three cultures, mostly in tune

dventures de Taos ... admittedly it sounds a bit vague and difficult to grasp with its mish-mash of English and Spanish words, but upon further reflection it means so much more. Adventures is an English word meaning “an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks,” according to Merriam Webster; “de” is the Spanish-language article which typically translates to “of”; and the word Taos is believed to be derived from the Tiwa-language word for village. So here we are ... Adventures de Taos, the 2013 theme for the town of Taos’ visitor outreach efforts, a trilangual phrase for an area that is all about the

balance between our three cultures: the ever-present American Indians, the long-standing Hispanics and the johnny-come-lately gringos. And while the Adventures de Taos theme may be intended to place a foothold in the imaginations of potential visitors to our area, this publication, a product of The Taos News, turns its attention inward, on the stories of some of those who call Taos home. These stories provide a more in-depth look at how a community strives for harmony in a valley far removed from many of the “first-world” problems found in our nation’s more urban areas. Some of this information, may in fact, prove valuable to visitors.

Life in Taos is beautiful but it’s not always a picnic. It’s remote and rugged landscape ensures a juxtaposition of sweeping vistas and dreams swept away. For many though, the stars align and Taos is a magical place to call home. The adventure, many times, is just getting here, or figuring out how to stay. These are the stories of just a few folks who took great risks for the betterment of themselves and their community. Ask around, stories like these are more the norm than the exception. Such are the Adventures de Taos. For the town’s efforts, including more stories, contests and events, visit taos.org.

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Taylor Streit always has adventure on the line

eople come from all over the world to fly fish in Taos. Taylor Streit, a legendary Taos fishing guide, explains why in his “Fly Fishing New Mexico” book:

Asked why there are so many people nuts to fly fish, Streit says, “Not only is it a great excuse to be outside, but how else are you going to find yourself standing in the middle of a river?” Taylor says the act of fly casting is itself pleasant and calls it “a natural and fluid motion that delivers a wisp of feather and fur atop the water. You then watch it float by and await the splash of a trout.” Here’s a tip from Streit if you’re planning on fly fishing this year: “Trout populations fluctuate and due to a number of favorable environmental factors ‘the Río’ has more trout in it right now then I personally have ever seen.” In 2001, Streit was unanimously inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. Taylor grew up in rural New York State, where he waded into the famous waters of Catskills before he was 10 ten years old. After tying flies commercially and guiding, he moved to Northern New Mexico in the late ’60s. He landed at the New Buffalo Commune, where he harvested fish for the residents. Streit says he tried “several other minor careers and lifestyles” and then opened Taos Fly Shop in 1980. Now, 40 years later, Taos Fly Shop (now run by his son Nick) has become the largest fly fishing outlet in Northern New Mexico. After nearly five decades of guiding from New Mexico to Argentina and the Bahamas, Streit spends less time on the water while he directs the shop’s half dozen professional guides. Each spring Streit also directs several fly fishing schools for beginners, those experienced and a guide’s school. When asked about why he chose Taos to be home he says, “My kids and grandkids are here — as is my business. I get to explore the territory from Taos. There are endless quality events to attend in Taos. And creatively Taos has a lot going for it. Old Taos artists and writers have a system of support that mingles with the outdoors: mixing fishing, hunting and photography. John Nichols and I often hike together and we cook up ideas for books and presentations while the ravens sail above, croaking and cronking their opinions.”

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“A third of the trout waters in the state are within a 90-minute drive of Taos. And due to variations in altitude, and water types, we have year-round fishery. Not only are there streams for beginners — places with lots of small trout — but we also have the world-class Río Grande that slices through a dramatic and remote can-

yon just a few miles west of Taos. We are pretty much ‘under the radar’ in the fishing world and so far removed from a big city that we don’t have crowds of fisherman.”

In 2001,

Streit was unanimously inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

A version of this article first appeared on the town of Taos’ website, taos.org, and can be seen there, along with other “Adventures de Taos” stories and spotlights. Tina Larkin

Taylor Streit in 2011.

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We Wax It All

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Tina Larkin

Steve Parks at his Taos gallery.

Beauty and hidden treasures abound but Taos is no Easy Street

S Many have heard

of Taos, some have visited, but few can define just why it is so special.

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ome years ago the New York Times Sunday Magazine ran an article on how money moves around the world. The piece was accompanied by a twopage illustration picturing an octopus/robot-like creature sitting on Manhattan, with tentacles running out to major financial centers around the world. Two-thirds of the way along the tentacle from New York to Los Angeles was a little spigot and under it the word “Taos.” Certainly the illustrator wasn’t including Taos because of its monetary riches (Taos wasn’t mentioned in the article). Rather, I suspect, he regarded it as an interesting, somewhat quirky place, a town that occupied a special niche in his — and I suspect the national — psyche. Many have heard of Taos, some have visited, but few can define just why it is so special. Is it the ancient Taos Pueblo, the great sweep of the high-desert valley, the fabled light? Or maybe the spirit of rebellion, from Po’pay’s leading of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, to the first territorial governor of New Mexico losing his scalp in the revolt of 1847 or the hippie influx of the 1960s? Or the art, from the Taos Founders of the early 1900s to the world renowned con-

temporary artists living here today? My own Taos story began nearly 40 years ago as I packed up my young family in a Volkswagen van, crossed the Hudson and headed west, in search of adventure, identity, and a sense of self-reliance that I’d failed to acquire working for a corporation in New York City. I had about $800 in my pocket. On our way to Northern California, we decided to detour through Taos, which we’d read about in “Be Here Now,” Baba Ram Dass’ seminal book linking mystical themes with counter-culture ethics. Dass was a frequent visitor to the Lama Foundation, a religious commune north of town. As chance would have it, we arrived on San Geronimo Day, 1973. There was dancing at Taos Pueblo and the sunset was glorious. Taos seemed a very long way from the life I knew, and that was appealing. So we decided to stay a while and see if we could make something happen. Our luck held. A friend of a friend of a friend suggested we check out an old remodeled morada in Arroyo Seco as a possible place to live or a place to rent. We tracked down its owner (who lived in San Francisco), made

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See PARKS on page 12

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Courtesy Image/collection of Ed and Trudy Healy

Jim Wagner’s painting, “Virgin of La Cocina.” PARKS continued from page 10

Stephen Parks’ Taos

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or an arrow head that might have been lying there for a 1,000 years since the last person touched it. Recently I was hiking on a rough trail that ran along a deal and spent the winter Taos winter huddled a ridge just north of the village of Rincoñada, along around a wood stove, drenched in Taos culture and Name your top five favorthe Río Grande about 20 miles south of Taos. After 30 mystique (the place is now owned by an A-list Holite Taos artists of all time: or 40 minutes I was drawn, who knows why, to some lywood actress). It had a 100-mile view to the west, Victor Higgins, Andrew Dasburg, Pat Barela, Melissa Zink, rocks among the piñons off to the left of the trail and adobe floors and what was reputed to be blood on Jim Wagner there, suddenly in front of me, was a house-sized the vigas from penitente rituals. As a former bartender, boulder covered with petroglyphs. Many times I’ve “Taos is a tough town,” people said then, and what’s your favorite place to stumbled onto such treasures and every time it’s a still say today. Making it here requires persistence, grab a drink these days?: thrill. Lambert’s some luck, and in my case, learning something The influential art critic Dave Hickey wrote an about self-reliance. I worked a few years as a landWhat’s your favorite place to go on a hike? essay a few years ago that sums up the essential scaper and gardener, strung silver hishi one very Lucero canyon in El Salto nature of the place. “It has resisted gentrification cold winter, did some freelance writing, some light or just bush-whacking up the because, for all its beauty, Taos is not a cozy place,” construction. Then I met Jim Wagner who was then mountain outside my back door. Hickey wrote in 2009 exhibition catalog for the Har— and still is — a leading Taos artist. Jim was tendWhat’s your favorite book wood Museum. “There is not much that architecture about Taos? ing bar at La Cocina, the popular restaurant/bar on “Wah-to-Yah and the Taos or landscaping can do to mitigate the daunting the Plaza where everyone hung out in those days Trail,” by Lewis Garrard, and hegemony of the sky, the sweep of the flat, the loom(it’s now a western wear shop). Jim wanted to quit “Blood and Thunder,” by Hampton Sides. ing scale of the distant mountains, and the perpetual and devote himself to art and offered to train me. inference of D. H. Lawrence’s ghost. Day-in, day-out, Name an up-and-coming From behind that bar I met the town’s movers and local artist who you expect year-round, Taos is hardly even a human place. It is shakers, including the community of artists, young big things from: the Top of the World, more the Wild West than the and old, who congregated at La Cocina. I learned Christina Ristow Southwest — more Tibet, in fact, than Palm Springs. a lot about art from behind that bar, lessons that So if you want a beautiful place to work that bears came in very handy when I opened my gallery in with it the perpetual reminder that all you do will be broken, bur1993. The business has sustained the family ever since. ied, blasted and blown away — a place that makes you brave and There have been plenty of bumps along the road, but my love serious, Taos is the place for you.” for the place remains undiminished. I love the people, the archiTo that I can only add, Amen. tecture, the altitude, this extraordinary landscape. I try and get out once a week to wander across the desert or climb a mountain. Sometimes it’s revisiting secret spots, sometimes exploring new corStephen Parks is the owner/proprietor of Parks Gallery & Art Adviners of what I’ve come to regard as my homeland. I’m also always sory, 110-B Paseo del Pueblo Norte. Call the gallery at (575) 751-0343 on the lookout for links to the past, to the ancient presence of my or visit parksgallery.com for more information, including a writeup fellow Taoseños, and I almost always find something — a pot shard of “Taos Art History” by Parks.

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File Photo

Jenny Vincent in 2006. Vincent will be celebrating her 100th birthday this year.

Mi Ranchito: The impulsive beginnings of Jenny Vincent’s new life

n the summer of 1936 Jenny Vincent and her husband, Dan Wells, boarded the California Limited in Chicago and woke up the next morning at Lamy, the railroad station outside Santa Fe. “It was like being in another world,” Vincent recalls. They took a bus to Taos and then San Cristobal. They were going to Kiowa Ranch, home of Frieda Lawrence, who had invited them to visit because of Wells’ scholarly interest in Frieda’s late husband, the renowned writer D. H. Law-

rence. During the 10 days they spent in New Mexico that summer Vincent and Wells met many members of the Lawrence circle in Taos: writer Witter Bynner; Willard “Spud” Johnson, founder of Laughing Horse magazine; and Lady Dorothy Brett, an English painter; and Mabel Dodge Luhan and her husband Tony Luhan, from Taos Pueblo.

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See VINCENT on page 16

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VINCENT continued from page 14 One day Vincent and Wells went horseback riding in the mountains with Diego Arellano, who worked at Kiowa Ranch. Arellano had told them about an unoccupied ranch at the end of a high, dirt trail. They climbed the steep path higher and higher through aspen groves until they reached the ranch. Below lay the beauty of Taos Valley and the Río Grande Gorge. At their back rose pine forests and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. As she stood there Vincent suddenly felt she had come home. Her response matched Lawrence’s of a decade earlier: “For greatness of beauty I have never experienced anything like New Mexico ... the vast amphitheater of lofty, indomitable desert, sweeping round to the ponderous Sangre de Cristo mountains on the east, and coming flush at the pine-dotted foothills of the Rockies! What splendor!” In 1937 Vincent and Wells bought the San Cristóbal property. It was the depth of the Great Depression and real estate was inexpensive. “We were 24 years old,” she says. “Our families thought we had flipped!” They were now the owners of a derelict property overlooking a tiny hamlet occupied almost exclusively by Spanish-speaking people. One of their new neighbors, Cleofes Vigil, would later recall what life in the valley was like at that time: “Old-timers like my grandfather were very much together, they weren’t divided the way we are now. They believed in helping each other.” Vincent’s ranch had a two-room cabin, several outbuildings, and a corral all in various stages of disrepair. There was no electricity, no telephone, no indoor plumbing, no paved road, and few automobiles. Yet the ruggedness of the place was part of its appeal to her. At first, the villagers of San Cristóbal were a bit skeptical of the newcomers, but they were friendly as well. “Our new neighbors taught us everything,” Vincent says. “It was quite a turnaround for us.” In 1938 Wells and Vincent started a summer camp at their ranch. The following year they met with their neighbors to talk about rebuilding part of the old wagon road that stretched up from the valley to the ranch, and everyone agreed to pitch in. Men loaned their horses and wagons and worked on the project whenever they were home. When the job was completed, Vincent hosted a fiesta at the ranch; more than 200 people gath16

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Courtesy University of New Mexico Press

Jenny Vincent, circa 1948. ered to enjoy food, music, and dancing. In the summer of 1940 the couple again met with their neighbors, this time to discuss the possibility of establishing a school in the valley for grades 9-12. At that time children in San Cristóbal attended a one-room village school with only one teacher through the eighth grade, after which they had go to Taos. While villagers regularly trekked to Taos for provisions they could not provide for themselves, they weren’t particularly comfortable with their children being away for long periods of time. The road project had gone a long way toward creating a bond between the community and the ranch. The school clinched it. In 1940 Vincent and Wells moved permanently to New Mexico. As she readily admits, the decision to buy a rundown ranch may have been impulsive, but Vincent was ready to establish her own life on terms quite different from those of the wealthy Chicago suburb where she had grown up. Determined that her ranch not be an isolated outpost but part of the community, Vincent worked hard to establish relationships with her new neighbors. In the end, she was smitten with the people of Taos Valley. She responded to their warmth and humor, their can-do attitude, and their folk music traditions. Vincent and Wells would divorce, and Jenny would later remarry, to Craig Vincent. But her marriage to Taos County never faltered. “I had landed in a valley of people who were the salt of the earth,” she says. “To me, it all came together here.” Craig Smith is the author of Sing My Whole Life Long: Jenny Vincent’s Life in Folk Music and Activism (UNM Press).

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Courtesy Photo

Monique Jacobson with her husband and two sons, Drew and Reid.

A true daughter of Taos “We are all travelers. We seek what is true and we push past what we know to be false. The question is: Where do we go? What place is true and good and real?”

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I grew up skiing

in the winter, playing tennis and horseback riding in the summers.

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hese are lines from the “New Mexico True” advertising campaign we at the New Mexico Tourism Department launched last year. These words, inspired by our state, resonate deeply inside of me because of my connection to Taos, a connection that started well before I was born — but wasn’t fully appreciated until I left and came back. The Taos adventure began for my family over 50 years ago. My father Jean Mayer, a French immigrant, moved to Taos with little more than a single suitcase, an adventurous spirit, and an incredible drive to live the American dream. My mother Sally Mayer, a Dallas debutante, came to Taos on a ski vacation with her family (in other words, just the type of tourist it is now my job to attract to our state). After my father literally jumped over her on skis during a lesson, she was a goner. She left her high heels, matching purses, and lipstick lifestyle behind, and moved to a town where hippies far outnumbered

debutantes and the only reminder of home was Kentucky Fried Chicken. When I was born we lived at the base of the ski mountain above the bar at the St. Bernard, the hotel my father built and still operates. I grew up skiing in the winter, playing tennis and horseback riding in the summers. When my parents split and we moved to Santa Fe and then Albuquerque, weekends were spent bringing our “big city” friends back home to experience uniquely Taos adventures like cruising the Plaza during the Taos Fiestas, two-stepping to South by Southwest at barn dances, and celebrating New Years Eve in the Ski Valley, watching the torchlight parade, fireworks, and dancing at the St. Bernard. My life was literally an “adventure steeped in culture” — another one of the taglines we now use at the Tourism Department to describe the state’s distinctive travel assets. I went to college in Philadelphia and from there moved to Chicago. Paradoxically, it was being away from Taos that made me fully appreciate its magic. I realized none of the people I was in school with had grown up with a favorite restaurant like the Burrito Wagon (we had

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See JACOBSON on page 20

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JACOBSON continued from page 18

As I watch them

play Foosball in the bar at the St. Bernard, I think this is a life that is true and good and real.

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food trucks before food trucks were all the rage) or having spent their summer Saturdays running wild in the mountains and building forts with no parents in sight. I was a bit homesick and realized that while, of course, I missed my family, there was another void that made my heart hurt. I missed the sky, the massive blue sky that you don’t see anywhere else in the world. I missed the snowcapped mountains, the bright white clouds and the brown adobes, all dramatic and intense looking for the way they contrasted against that amazing blue sky. And then of course I missed those sunsets that literally take your breath away each and every night. The sunsets that bring peace and calm to your soul. Over 15 years of living elsewhere, I never stopped missing that Taos sky. When Gov. Martinez offered me the opportunity come back to my home state we jumped at the opportunity. We moved back with our two boys, Drew and Reid, and then our New Mexico baby, Brody, joined the crew last April. Being back here with my kids, I feel truly at home. I like the little people they are when they are in Taos. They are skiers and hikers, explorers and adventurers. They come alive under that big sky. As I watch them play Foosball in the bar at the St. Bernard, I think this is a life that is true and good and real. They are fostering their own appreciation for authenticity and their adventurous spirits. I am who I am because of Taos, a place where an immigrant entrepreneur marries a Dallas debutante. A place where my seven brothers and sisters have all flourished despite strikingly different approaches to life. A place where rappers, cowboys, skiers, artists, metalheads, architects, professors, and businesspeople all exist not only in one town, but in one family! A place where you can golf, ski, paddleboard on the Río Grande, and soak in a hot springs … all within the same day if you like. A place where the food, the landscapes, the people, and the experiences are all true and good and real. Taos is my home and Taos is “New Mexico True.” Monique Jacobson is the cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Tourism Department.

Courtesy Photo

Jacobson with her father, Jean Mayer, the longtime proprietor of Taos Ski Valley’s St. Bernard Hotel.

Courtesy Photo

Jacobson and baby Brody at Taos Plaza.

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Courtesy Photo

Stuart Wilde above Heart Lake in the Latir Peaks Wilderness Area, with one of his trusty adventure companions, Azul.

Got Llama?

Travels with a New Mexico Wilderness Guide

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de Cristo Mountains and explore the Wheeler Peak, Columbine Hondo, and Latir Peaks Wilderness Areas, in the Carson National Forest. On day trips, we explore lush forests and follow meandering streams, and have lunch in verdant meadows scattered with colorful wildflowers. On multi-day trips, we make our base camps in the heart of the wilderness, in high country basins, nestled below New Mexico’s tallest peaks. From there, we head out on day hikes, to explore hidden valleys and discover crystal clear alpine lakes; or get above treeline summit on the big 12,000- to 13,000-foot peaks, with spectacular panoramic views where we hang out with the bighorn sheep. On our popular “Take a Llama to Lunch!” Day Hikes, we’ll set up a gourmet lunch buffet, complete with hearty sandwiches on artisan breads, fresh salads and spreads, natural sodas and tasty desserts. On multi-day trips we serve things like chicken fajitas, stuffed New Mexico trout, or blue corn piñon nut pancakes. All with

On day trips, we

explore lush forests and follow meandering streams, and have lunch in verdant meadows scattered with colorful Wildflowers.

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here’s really nothing quite like being out in the wilderness, surrounded by nature in its purest and untamed form. Whether it’s the smell of the forest, or the sound of the river, or a magnificent mountain or desert vista, we are transported and inspired by the awesome beauty of the natural world. It’s empowering and humbling. It’s the ultimate “in the moment” experience. Maybe it’s because there’s still someplace wild and free in all of us. On most days, you’ll find me out in the Taos backcountry, accompanied by a team of woolly hiking buddies and a group of adventure travelers, exploring one of the many diverse wilderness environments surrounding Taos. In the spring and fall, I am usually with a group descending “New Mexico’s Grand Canyon” the 800-foot-deep Río Grande Gorge, hiking along the wild river, having lunch near bubbling pools of freshwater springs, or basking in the sun on lava rocks in the river. In the summer months, we hike and camp in the alpine majesty of the Sangre

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See WILDE on page 24

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Why Llamas?

Stuart Wilde’s Taos What’s your favorite place in town to stock up on gear for your excursions? When I need to gear up for a wilderness trip, I’ll visit Mudd ‘n’ Flood Mountain Shop or Taos Mountain Outfitters. Sometimes I’ll just stop by, to check out the latest gear tech. What about the llamas, where do you find the supplies and food they need; what do they eat? The llamas that trek in the backcountry with me browse for a healthy balanced diet of native forage. At home, they eat locally grown hay. We work with a great local rancher, who sets aside hay for us, and delivers it year round, even in the dead of winter. Once there was so much snow, our hay guy had to bring a backhoe to plow our road first. What’s your favorite wilderness spot in the Taos area? I have a special place in my heart for the Columbine Hondo WSA. It has more than 75 miles of hiking trails for all levels. It’s a great place for day trips or multi-day wilderness trips. There are lush canyons, beautiful high mountain meadows, and a true alpine tundra ecology above treeline. For the really adventurous, the Lobo Peak Gold Hill Ridge Trail, stays consistently above 11,000 feet for over 13 miles, and has spectacular views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Río Grande rift valley. Don’t forget to look for the bighorn sheep! What do you like to do in Taos when you’re not out in the wild? When I am not out in the backcountry, I like to be at home on our little ranch, hanging out with my awesome and incredibly supportive family. Do you have a favorite local hangout? I am out in the backcountry most of the year, but when I am town, I like to check out live music at the Taos Inn or Solar Center. On the mornings I take Sacha to school, I like to stop at Elevation for an Americano. If I am out on a guided snowshoe tour at TSV, I’ll drop in on our friends at the Bavarian.

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unwanted or abandoned situations. They are all pretty feral when we pick them up, usually not ever handled or groomed. Most of our herd of nearly 40 rescued llamas, are not pack worthy for various behavioral or health reasons, and just hang out in the pasture. We socialize and rehabilitate the friendliest and healthiest, and they get to come on wilderness trips, where it’s essentially a strolling salad bar. I honestly think it’s an adventure for them too, jumping over logs and crossing mountain streams. I even carry a pack, so we are all equals on the trail crew. Some of the perks of being a wilderness guide include getting woken up at 2 a.m. by a stampede of elk through base camp, watching a black bear take a bath in a pond, or surprising a mountain lion during his breakfast. And of course all the Courtesy Photo quality time I get to spend in the most beautiTwo pack animals, Stuart Wilde and a llama, inside the Río Grande Gorge. ful places. Hanging around with a bunch of llamas all WILDE continued from page 22 these years has opened many doors for me. Some of the highlights of my llama trekking career fresh ingredients packed in by the llamas. include being on the receiving team of a bighorn sheep transplant with the New Mexico Game and Fish; and working with the New Mexico Tourism Llamas are high-mountain camels — native Department on their Ecotourism and NM True to the Andes Mountains — and are one of the campaigns. oldest domesticated animals on the planet. For As someone who brings people out into the over 6 millennia, the llama (pronounced yama) wilderness for a living, I feel a certain obligahas been working with humans, to carry wares tion and responsibility to protect and preserve between remote mountain villages in the high the areas that I bring our guests. We employ and Andes. teach “leave no trace” backcountry travel pracLlamas are the perfect high-altitude, lowtices, and subscribe to the principles and values impact pack animal. Their two-toed, leather of sustainable tourism, both on and off the trail. -padded feet leave less of a footprint on fragile I also work with local community members and wilderness trails. Because they are browsers, llaconservation groups to protect our special places mas don’t eat too much of one type of vegetation. for future generations. Llamas are camels, and don’t drink a whole lot of After more than 20 years of in-the-field study water, which is a bonus in the desert Southwest. and leading groups in the wilderness, I have a Llamas tread lightly on the land, and they are very pretty unique skill set and perspective on life, and easy to work with. Our llama-trekking guests have I try to make our wilderness trips highly educaan opportunity to lead these magnificent animals tional. On the trail, I share an extensive knowlon the trail, and see why they have found a new edge of local edible and medicinal plants, ecolhome in the New Mexico wilderness. ogy, and natural history; as well as New Mexico Hiking with llamas adds a really different elefolklore and wilderness skills. My hope is to share ment to the wilderness trips we offer. Their curimy passion for wild places with our guests, and ous and amusing personalities make our time in promote conservation and stewardship of our the wilderness even more memorable. They help treasured public wild lands. to lighten the load for our guests, and they help Stuart Wilde is director and head guide for me to bring folks of all ages and fitness levels on Wild Earth Llama Adventures and Taos Snowshoe single- and multi-day excursions into the New Adventures. He runs his small family business and Mexico backcountry. They also alert us to local llama rescue ranch with his wife, Leah, and their wildlife, and make great camp sentinels on multi14 year old son, Sacha. Visit www.LlamaAdvenday trips. tures.com or www.SnowshoeTaos.com for more All of our llamas are rescued from either information.

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First Place: Ranchos de Taos photographer Steven Bundy found this tranquil scene south of Taos, at Taos Tipi, during a full moonrise right around sunset in 2010. Capturing the lights and the clouds at the right time is always an adventure. See more of Bundyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photos at stevenbundy.com).

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Second Place: Gary N. Miller, of Sisters, Ore., marveled at his luck as he drove into Taos for the very first time. This was the light that greeted Miller in his first Taos Adventure, and this photo, titled “Sangre de Cristos — aptly named” was his greeting in return. (See more of Miller’s photography at sisterscountryphotography.com).

Adventures de Taos photo competition: What is in this light?

here are few places in the world that offer as much to a photographer as Taos. The adventure is in being at the right place at the right time, capturing the right subject in the right

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For the Adventures

de Taos photo contest, we asked photographers from all over the nation (some professional, some not) to submit no more than three entries that show a Taos adventure.

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light. For the Adventures de Taos photo contest, we asked photographers from all over the nation (some professional, some not) to submit no more than three entries that show a Taos adventure — physical, mental, or existential. Some of our entries offer a clear vision of an adventure, with ski shots being among the most popular. The adventure in some other photos, one could see, was in the act itself. So when it came time for Tina Larkin, the staff photographer at

The Taos News, to pick three winners and two honorable mentions, it was no easy task. Larkin judged the entries (more than 30 contestants and more than 70 photos) based on the “adventure” theme, but more closely on the elements of composition, difficulty and lighting — the three things every photographer needs for a special image. The rules included that the photo had to be taken in Taos County and had to not have been published in any other publications (online or print). We want to thank everyone for entering and for doing so in a timely and “by-the-rules” fashion. We hope you enjoy these images as much as we do.

See PHOTOS on page 28

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PHOTOS continued from page 27

Third Place: Amber Vasquez’ depiction of a blooming cholla in the Río Grande Gorge, near John Dunn Bridge, features the cactus, the sky and the basalt walls of the gorge, all in striking contrast. Just finding this shot must’ve been an adventure all its own.

Honorable Mention: Ben Thomas got this shot of Michael “Web” Webster on Feb. 23, 2012. The obvious adventure is the one Webster is taking, airborne along the ridge at Taos Ski Valley, but getting the camera out there and taking the shot shows Thomas’ adventurous side as well. Honorable Mention: Mike Shickell of Wichita, Kan. put his own stamp on the iconic image of the back walls of San Francisco de Asis Church in Ranchos de Taos.

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Adventures on film, and staying calm in the face of an angry John Wayne

ohn Wayne was cranky the day he kicked me. I was so angry that I almost jumped him and shoved him into the river. But I held my temper and played the scene, something Katharine Hepburn would recall to me later on ...

‘The Giant Claw’

The screen test was

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I remember begging my dad to take me to see a crazy science fiction film called “The Giant Claw.” This turned out to be my first public bus ride and first visit to an indoor theater. I think I was around 7 or 8 years old. Years later, I realized what a terrible movie that was, but as a kid it fascinated me. Still, it was a taste of something that would follow me a very long time. My interest in films experienced a leap when I was going to Albuquerque High, back when it was located at Broadway and Central and long before it became upscale condos. As part of the Model Cities program, teachers from the University of New Mexico came downtown to conduct Super-8 film workshops. I loved it and even wound up teaching workshops myself. At about the same time, my mom found out through a friend that some big-time movie makers were in town auditioning young Indian guys for a picture called “When The Legends Die.” My brother Ron and I went to the audition. They liked what I did and soon after, we got a call saying they wanted me to fly out to Los Angeles for a screen test. So, a movie also led me to experience my first plane ride.

Screen test

A screen test is when an actor is given a short scene to play in front of a movie camera. This is to determine what the actor will look and sound like in a filmed performance. I didn’t get that role, but I did get to play a scene with film great Richard Widmark. Plus, the director, Stuart Millar, would remember me for a project later on. The screen test was a big deal, not just for me and my family, but at school I suddenly went from being a nobody to somebody girls started to notice. Also, a talent agent in Albuquerque signed me up right away and soon I was going to other auditions, largely due to then-Gov. Dave Cargo’s support of the state’s fledgling film industry. When I was 20, I got a call from my agent who said Stuart Millar had contacted her. There was a role he thought I might be interested in and wanted me to fly out

a big deal, not just for me and my family, but at school I suddenly went from being a nobody to somebody girls started to notice.

Universal Studios

Richard Romancito co-stars in ‘Rooster Cogburn’ as a young Indian boy ‘Wolf.’ to L.A. So, I did and after several meetings with Stuart and various producers I still wasn’t clear what the movie was about and who was going to be in it. Then, I was asked to visit with a costumer and began getting measured for wardrobe. Finally, a production assistent gave me some answers. It was to be a western, a sequel to “True Grit,” and that it was going to star John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn. I was floored, especially after I asked if I had the part. He said I had it even before I picked up the phone back home.

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‘Rooster Cogburn’

Rick Romancito

Rick Romancito with John Wayne on the set of ‘Rooster Cogburn and The Lady.’

Cranky Duke By this time in his career, Duke was operating on one lung, having lost the other to cancer some years before. Every so often, he’d disappear to his trailer to take oxygen and to rest his toupee. This made him cranky at times, especially with the director, yelling at him after what Duke thought was too many takes for one scene. Then, one day while we were working on a raft, he kicked me because he thought I was late hitting my mark. Duke, Kate and I were on a raft anchored to the middle of the river, ostensibly after our characters had survived dangerous rapids while transporting boxes of nitroglycerin some bad guys wanted to use for a train robbery. The camera was ahead of us and I had a walkie-talkie to let me know when to stand after the director called “action.” We did the scene a few times, which was normal, but Duke was getting impatient. So, during one take he took out his frustration on me. By this time, I too was getting steamed because Duke had a way of ramping up the tension on the set, so, when he kicked me my first impulse was to lash out. This, of course, would have been a huge mistake. Today, I can imagine the headlines. Shudder. I kept my cool and continued to do the scene. Later, the director apologized for Duke, something I never got from the big man himself. I figured it was because, like his character, he never apologized for anything. He just did what he did. Weeks later, at a wrap party in the Burbank Studios, Kate gave me a picture frame on which was stenciled an autograph. There was also a note from her, thanking me for the calm I exhibited “in the midst of storm.” I still have that note.

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From August through October 1974, principal photography took place on “Rooster Cogburn,” a Hal Wallis production directed by Stuart Millar. Although the script was credited to a “Martin Julien,” it was actually written by Wallis and his wife, Martha Hyer, based on the character that won an Oscar for John Wayne. Most of the movie was shot in the wilderness around Grants Pass and Bend, Ore., and along the Deschutes and Rogue Rivers. Later, some interiors were shot on a soundstage in Burbank, Calif. This was my first experience in a major role in a major motion picture and was I scared. My role involved being with Wayne and Hepburn through almost the whole movie and although I would later relish the experience being around two of the biggest movie stars in history, it was intimidating knowing that so much money and expertise was riding on my ability to perform on-screen with them. Actually, I didn’t have that much to worry about since my role mostly consisted of saying “yes, marshall” and “yes, Miss Goodnight.” As I became more comfortable with the big budget production process, I decided to spend as much time as possible on-set even when I wasn’t needed. I wanted to absorb as much as I could, listening to endless stories told by stuntmen, prop guys, camera assistants, and, of course, Duke and Kate. Interestingly, the company hired a stunt double for me who was studious in his process. He would hang out with me just to study my body language so when he was on-screen he could mimic my movements. Kate was the most interesting to be around, peppering her witty, sometimes salty stories with references to Bogart, Spencer Tracy and the like. I turned 21 while filming. That day, I was surprised by a birthday cake and the crew sang “Happy Birthday” to me — including Kate. Duke, though, was like a huge ocean liner: Steady, yet impossible to steer unless you gave him plenty of room. At one point, he showed up onset with a black eye, given to him by a young niece to whom he was teaching a golf swing. The wonders of makeup made it disappear.

I kept my cool and

continued to do the scene. Later, the director apologized for Duke, something I never got from the big man himself.

Megan Bowers

From left, assistant director Lili Smith, writer-director Rick Romancito and producer Lisa Wieneke-Rich go over script details during the filming of “Benito’s Gift” in 2006.

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The following is a list of movies filmed in Taos County.

Manning, Lora Martínez-Cunningham “Tell Them Who You Are” Documentary — 2004 Director: Mark Wexler Cast: Haskell Wexler, Mark Wexler, Billy Crystal, Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, Milos Forman, Dennis Hopper

“All the Pretty Horses” Drama/Romance/Western — 2000 Director: Billy Bob Thornton Cast: Matt Damon, Penélope Cruz, Henry Thomas, Sam Shepard, Rubén Blades

“Terminator Salvation” Action/Drama/Sci-Fi — 2009 Director — McG Cast: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Anton Yelchin, Jadagrace Berry, Common

“American Dreamer” Comedy/Crime/Romance — 1984 Director: Rick Rosenthal Cast: JoBeth Williams, Tom Conti, Giancarlo Giannini

“The American Dreamer” Documentary — 1971 Director: L.M. “Kit” Carson Cast: Dennis Hopper, Lois Ursone, L.M. Kit Carson

“Backtrack,” aka “Catchfire” Action/Drama — 1990 Director: Dennis Hopper Cast: Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, John Turturro, Joe Pesci, Charlie Sheen, Dean Stockwell, Vincent Price, Fred Ward, Bob Dylan “Bite the Bullet” Action/Adventure/Western — 1975 Director: Richard Brooks Cast: Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, James Coburn, Ben Johnson “Blue de Ville” Comedy — 1986 Director: Jim Johnston Cast: Jennifer Runyon, Kimberly Pistone, Mark Thomas Miller, Alan Autry, Robert T. Prescott “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid” Western — 1979 Director: George Roy Hill Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross. “Butch and Sundance: The Early Days” Comedy/Western — 1979 Director: Richard Lester Cast: William Katt, Tom Berenger, Jeff Corey “Carving the White” Action/Sport — 1993 Directors: James Angrove, Jon Long Cast: James Angrove, Gregg Betonte, Martin Bouillon “Challenger: An Exploration of Art and Spirit” Documentary — 2002 Director: James Lujan “Chicken Feed” Short/Drama — 2011 Director: Kevin Craig West Cast: Kathleen Carey, Kevin Craig West “Colors of Courage: Sons of New Mexico, Prisoners of Japan” Documentary — 2002 Directors: Scott Henry, Tony Martínez Cast: Narrated by Gene Hackman “Cycles South” Documentary — 1971 Director: Don Marshall Cast: Don Marshall, Vaughan Everly, Bobby García, Dick Johnson “Descansos” Drama — 2009 Director: Christopher Michael Roybal Cast: Frederick Aragon, Steven Martínez, Sylvia Sarmiento, Alex Cosby, 32

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“The Biggest Story Problem” Documentary — 2012 Directors: Scott Laidlaw, Jennifer Lightwood

Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson in “Easy Rider.” Amelia Ampuero “Easy Rider” Drama/Comedy — 1969 Director: Dennis Hopper Cast: Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Tom Basil, Robert Walker, Jr. “Embrace” Short/Fantasy — 2001 Director: Steve Stortz Cast: Wendy Willis “Every Which Way But Loose” Adventure/Comedy — 1978 Director: James Fargo Cast: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Ruth Gordon, Beverly D’Angelo. “Finding Lee Mullican” Documentary — 2008 Director: John Mullican Cast: Lee Mullican, Don Bachardy, Daniel Del Solar, Carol Eliel “Fools Rush In” Romantic Comedy — 1996 Director: Andrew Tennant Cast: Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek, Jon Tenney, Siobhan Fallon “Garbage” Documentary — 1996 Director: Peter Byck Cast: Billy Bragg, Derich Wittliff “Hollywood or Bust” Comedy — 1956 Director: Frank Tashlin Cast: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Pat Crowley, Max Rosenbloom, Anita Ekberg “Hope” Short — 2005 Directors: Fernando Carmo, Catherin Margerin

Cast: John Armijo, Lawrence Blume, George Burdeau, Bayard Carey, Ursula Coyote, Elise Eberle, Allegre Huston “Make Haste To Live” Drama/Film Noir — 1954 Director: William A. Soiter Cast: Edgar Buchanan, Carolyn Jones, Stephen McNally, Dorothy McGuire, John Howard. “Natural Born Killers” Action/Adventure — 1994 Director: Oliver Stone Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Rodney Dangerfield, Jack Palance, Russell Means, Jeremiah Bitsui, Tommy Lee Jones “Off the Map” Drama — 2003 Director: Campbell Scott Cast: Joan Allen, Sam Elliott, Valentina de Angelis, J.K. Simmons, Jim True-Frost, Amy Brenneman “Old New Mexico” Documentary — 1940 Directory: Unknown Cast: James A. FitzPatrick, Jimmy Begay “One World” Documentary — 2001 Director: Ligiah Villalobos Cast: Sherman Alexie, Nathan Hanamaikai, Michele Serros “Paul” Adventure/Comedy/Sci-Fi — 2011 Director: Greg Mottola Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogan, Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver

“Jean Mayer, Hotel St. Bernard” Short/Documentary — 2009 Director: Tom Fairfield

“Powwow Highway” Drama — 1989 Director: Jonathan Wacks Cast: A. Martinez, Gary Farmer, Joanelle Nadine Romero, Wes Studi, Graham Green, Amanda Wyss, Sam Viahos

“Made in New Mexico” Documentary — 2012 Directors: Brent Morris, David J. Schweitzer

“Road Scholar” Documentary —1993 Director: Roger Welsberg Cast: Andrei Codrescu, Allen Ginsberg

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“Sacred Earth: Makoce Wakan” Documentary/Short — 1993 Director: Robby Romero Cast: Tashina Banks, Richard Moves Camp, Ola Cassadore, Robby Romero, Aubrey Shenandoah “Search For the Gods” TV Adventure/Drama — 1975 Director: Jud Taylor Cast: Stephen McHattie, Kurt Russel, Ralph Bellamy, Victoria Racimo, Pamond St. Jaques. “Seraphim Falls” Action/Drama/Thriller — 2006 Director: David Von Ancken Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Anjelica Huston “Sidewinder 1” Adventure /Romance — 1977 Director: Earl Bellamy Cast: Marjoe Gortner, Micheal Parks, Susan Howard, Alex Cord, Charlotte Rae, Bill Vint “Spoonfed Reality” Documentary/Adventure/Comedy — 2011 Directors: Emmy and Oscar Cast: Chapo Barnett, Emmy, Kelley, Munky Omwei, Oscar “Surviving Columbus” TV/Documentary — 1992 (1993 Peabody Award Winner.) Director: Diane Reyna; Host; Conroy Chino “String Theory” Drama — 2004 Director: Eliam Kraiem Cast: Dylan Carusona, Misha Klein, Arron Shiver, Jessica Wallenfels “Sweet Hostage” TV Drama — 1975 Director: Lee Phillips Cast: Linda Blair, Martin Sheen “Taos” Drama — 2008 Director: Brandon Schmid Cast: Frederick Aragon, Robert Deane, Julie Dorris, Rib Hillis, Aubrey

“The Cry” Horror/Thriller — 2007 Director — Bernadine Santistevan Cast: Roberto Quintana Jr., Jayden Vargas, Adriana Domínguez, Trudy Healy “The Man from Laramie” Western — 1955 Director: Anthony Mann Cast: James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Cathy O’Donnell “The Naked Ape” Drama/Comedy — 2006 Director: Daniel Mellitz Cast: Josh Wise, Chelse Swain, Sean Shanks, Amanda McDonald, Tony LaThanh, Corbin Bernsen “Trailer: The Movie” Independent — 1999 Director: Ian McCrudden Cast: Ian McCrudden, Will Pope, Miranda Hicks, Marjorie Crigler, Bhakti Das, Dylan Stewart, Eric Stewart, Patrick Dooley “Twins” Comedy — 1988 Director: Ivan Reitman Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Nehemiah Persoff, Kelly Preston, Hugh O’Brian, David Caruso “Valley of the Sun” Western — 1942 Director: George Marshall Cast: Lucille Ball, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Dean Jagger, James Craig, Billy Gilbert, Antonio Moreno, Tom Tyler. (Note: Native Americans from Jemez, Santa Clara, San Juan, Taos, and Tesuque Pueblos were used as extras.) “White Sands” Adventure/Mystery — 1992 Director: Roger Donaldson Cast: Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, Mimi Rogers, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Samuel L. Jackson, M. Emmet Walsh, Maura Tierney, Beth Grant “Wild Hogs” Action/Adventure/Comedy — 2007 Director: Walt Becker Cast: Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, John Travolta, William H. Macy, Ray Liotta, Marisa Tomei

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Rick Romancito

Joe Cisneros.

Joe Cisneros: The persistent activist

New Mexico Game

& Fish Department stocked the “lake” with 2,000 trout, and all was in place for a classic grip-and-grin public celebration. Except for one thing: The fish died.

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andmarks in American political history have paralleled milestones in Joe Cisneros’ life. The Questa native was born the day after President Franklin Roosevelt was elected to his second term. He hired onto the Molycorp molybdenum mine on Nov. 22, 1963 — the day President John F. Kennedy was shot. And, one of his personal moments of truth, an instant when an injustice became too much and Cisneros became a true political being, came on the Fourth of July in 1968. On Independence Day, Molycorp officials, politicians and dignitaries all gathered in Questa to officially open the first molybdenum tailings pond above the village. The mining company had topped off the waste pond with water and dubbed it “Turquoise Lake” — supposedly a fishing and recreation boon for Questa. New Mexico Game & Fish Department stocked the “lake” with 2,000 trout, and all was in place for a classic gripand-grin public celebration.

Except for one thing: The fish died. Molycorp closed the pond and hastily sent Cisneros’ crew up to remove the fish: “Some of them were jumping right out of the water. They couldn’t live in that stuff.” Cisneros made a futile appeal to the governor, asking for the state to take a close look at what Molycorp was doing to pollute Questa’s surface and ground waters. Nothing came of it, and soon he was let go from the mine on what he believes to be a trumped-up charge. “When I was fired is when I got political,” he says. Since then, the man known as Little Joe has never stopped speaking up — loud and long — against injustices in his hometown and Northern New Mexico. The roots of Cisneros’ activism extend back to the early 20th century. His father, Frank Cisco Antonio Cisneros, grew up in Questa on a homestead in Cabresto Canyon. Frank’s German parents taught him the values of religion, discipline and hard work. Cisneros’ mother, Corinne Gonzales, spent her early years on a homestead on Bobcat Pass as the descendant of French-Canadian fur trappers along the Río Grande.

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Courtesy Photo

A still image from the University of New Mexico documentary film “Just Call Me Joe,” which details Cisneros’ ongoing struggles with the molybdenum mine in Questa, now owned by Chevron. CISNEROS continued from page 34

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“My father and

mother were very religious,” Cisneros says. “My father was a farmer, a good provider who believed in hard work.

”

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After their marriage, Frank and Corinne began a family. Joe was born on Nov. 4, 1936, in the middle of eight boys. “My father and mother were very religious,” Cisneros says. “My father was a farmer, a good provider who believed in hard work. We harvested all our food and raised livestock, except for goats. They eat the fruit trees.” Early on, Frank Cisneros showed his son how important it was to help your community. He was the first in Questa to have a threshing machine, and one of the first to own a hay baler. From Questa to Costilla, he hired out his machinery so that others could harvest their crops. “There’s was lots of bartering going on during the harvest,” Cisneros says. During the fall, Joe and his brothers got a chance to earn their first paychecks through, naturally, hard work. They all traveled to the San Luis Valley, to the potato fields of Monte Vista, Center and Hooper, where they picked potatoes for $8 a day. “Picking potatoes was a helluva hard job,” he said. “Your back took a beating.” After work, they bathed in the irrigation ditch, went to movies in Center and soaked in the Hooper hot springs. Under his parents’ edict, their hard-

earned money wasn’t to be spent frivolously. It went to buy the year’s school clothes at the J.C. Penney in Alamosa. In school, Cisneros experienced his earliest sense of injustice. Though he was good in math, he dropped out in the 11th grade. “I saw that people who excelled in school were treated better than others,” Cisneros recalls. “If you had parents that were doing well, there was jealousy. I wasn’t going to take it from any one. So I guess I probably got a little political at that point, too.” In 1955, he hired on with a Swedish carpenter, Sonny Howard Johnson, who taught him what is was like to learn outside the classroom. Johnson taught precision: He would cut all the lumber for a house to size before he put any of it together. He showed young Cisneros how to mill lumber, how to make fine cuts with a hand saw. “I loved the guy because he taught me,” says Cisneros, who fashions fine pieces of woodworking in his shop to this day. “When he taught me, I learned. I still have the first hammer he gave me.” Cisneros likes to say that he, too, is a teacher. For anyone who will listen — and a whole bunch who don’t want to hear it — Little Joe will be there to let them know the truth. To teach them never to give up the fight. Over and over. Louder and louder. Longer and longer. “I ain’t going anywhere,” he says with a laugh. “They can’t get rid of me.”

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the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Splash and Dash,â&#x20AC;? which is a balloon basket touchdown on the RĂo Grande, weather and conditions permitting. Each company offers their own unique twists on the Taos hot-air balloon experience, but both have champagne for their guests afterward (a ballooning tradition). Dress in layers; the early mornings in Taos are the coldest time, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll want to shed a jacket or two as the day warms up. The rides usually last about four hours. If watching balloons from the ground is more your speed, The Taos Mountain Balloon Rally takes place every fall on the last full weekend in October. The crisp, clear autumn skies create a stunning backdrop to the colorful balloons that fill the sky (not to mention the colors of the mountains as the trees change that time of year). Local businesses donate thousands of dollars in sponsorships and lodging for pilots and crews to participate in the rally, while other businesses, artists, and crafts people donate prizes, auction items and more. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Staff Report

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Courtesy Taos Ski Valley

A young Mickey Blake, center, helps Chilton Anderson unload the crates that contain the Poma lift.

In the beginning:

Remembering the early days of Taos Ski Valley with Mickey Blake Editor’s Note: We asked Taos Ski Valley’s Adriana Blake to interview her father, Mickey Blake about sharing his formative years with the fledgling ski area. Q. What did the Valley look like when you came here? How old were you? A. I was 10 when my parents first came to Taos Ski Valley. There were obvious ruins of the copper mining operation, and you could clearly see where the mine ore-hauling lift had been. All that remained of the old lodge was the foundation, which you can still see today at the base of the Bull of the Woods trail. There were two completed structures standing: the Pattison cabin, the “cabin” between Terry Sports and the

Powderhorn Condos and a very small stone house that is part of the Tony Bryan house now. The Hondo Lodge was just an empty shell. Actually, there was a third structure hidden in the woods near what is now tower 2 of Chair 1, but we didn’t discover it until the second year we were there. After we purchased it, it became the Chalet Alpina, TSV’s only employee housing. We took it down in 1989 to build the current Lift 1. Obviously, there were no ski slopes at the time. Q. You and your family lived in in the Valley when you first started TSV; can you tell me about that? See BLAKES on page 40

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Tina Larkin

Adriana, Alejandro (Hano) and Mickey Blake represent the second and third generations of Taos Ski Valley. BLAKES continued from page 38

A. We lived in the “Green Trailer,” a 16-foot, late 1940s thing shaped like a canned ham, which we brought from the Santa Fe ski basin. My parents shared a bed — over which Rhoda [Mickey’s mother] built a bed for me. The table and benches converted to a small bed for [brother and sister] Peter and Wendy. The occasional guest would have to wait until we were each snug in our beds before coming in with their cot or whatever. No one could move until the guest picked up their cot and left. We shared an outhouse with the Hondo Lodge. The dirt road from the old cattle guard to the ski valley was cleared only intermittently. In winter, even with my dad’s World War II Jeep, we could drive only as far as the Civilian Conservation Corp’s Forest Service Cabin. I had to walk in my dad’s footsteps from there to what we now call the base area in deep snow carrying groceries and whatever else we needed to survive. My mom made a weekly trek to town for the mail and provisions. The nearest phone was in Arroyo Seco. There were absolutely no luxuries, but for a kid my age, it was great fun. Every day was an adventure. Of course, I had none of the headaches my parents did. My “school,” also located in the Green Trailer, consisted of mail-order lessons from the Calvert System. Georgia Hotton, my father’s secretary, monitored my homework when she wasn’t teaching skiing, doing payroll and accounting, and goodness knows what else. Q. What was the first job you remember doing at TSV? A. The first job I remember was helping to install the Pomalift up Al’s Run in the fall of 1957. I helped out

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however I could by carrying parts and stringing cable. I also loved driving the old Tucker Sno-Cat up the narrow, winding Burroughs Trail with skiers desperately clinging to the tow rope behind me. I had to stand while I drove in order to see over the dashboard. The Tucker was difficult to maneuver because it had giant heavy skis (not tracks) on the front. The skiing was another part of the goofball adventure, what with the primitive equipment and ridiculously limited terrain. We had just one surface lift, used by all levels of skiers, running up a narrow path on what is now Al’s, to the skyline. If you managed that, there was only one trail down: Snakedance. The sense of accomplishment came as much from surviving the terrifying ride up as from getting down in one piece. Skiing that was one thing for my dad and Pete Totemoff and an entirely different matter for the novice skiers. I still don’t know how they did it, or why they returned for more. Q. Skiing has gotten much cushier since 1954? What “adventure” do you think Taos still offers to its guests? A. I think the adventure of skiing is still about pushing our personal envelope, overcoming fear. The equipment and clothing, ease of ascent, (except for hiking the ridge, which offers a sense of accomplishment as the J-bar surface lift running up Al’s did), grooming, and expanded terrain are great advantages, but pushing oneself to the limits is still the key to the exhilaration, especially when one succeeds! Whether you’re plunging down one of the K chutes or negotiating Whitefeather for the first time, the “I did it!” thing is absolutely thrilling. And this doesn’t even take into account the breath-taking scenery, which is so much better than a bowling alley.

Experience the Thrill of the World Famous Taos Box Dave Hahn peers down the face of the Kachina Peak trail at Taos Ski Valley. Tina Larkin

David Hahn: The sky’s no limit

aos is such an adventurous place to live that a man who has climbed Mount Everest more than a dozen times calls

it home. That’s right, all-star mountaineering guide David Hahn hangs his crampons and ice axes in Northern New Mexico when he’s not leading clients to the summits of the highest peaks in the world. Hahn, 51, is a 25-year-old veteran of the ski patrol at Taos Ski Valley, which helps keep him in shape for the next climbing adventure. “Ski patrolling, for me, is a great mix,” Hahn said in a 2011 interview with The Taos News. “I’m at altitude, outside in the cold, but it’s also good mental training. It’s the perfect fitness plan for the things I do in the mountains the rest of the year, and it keeps me ready for things to go wrong.” Hahn says it’s his passion for the outdoors that keeps him climbing and skiing. “There’s a natural assumption that I have three lungs and two hearts — that I was born for this,” Hahn said in the 2011 interview. “I succeed at it, not by some freakish gift, but because I’ve really wanted to be in these places.”

Hahn is also an author, in addition to being a ski patroller, emergency medical technician and professional climber (since 1986). He has been published in Outside Magazine and has contributed to numerous climbing books. In the climbing world, he is known as a man who has summitted Everest more than any non-sherpa or Nepalese native, and he has guided numerous ascents of Mount McKinley (Alaska) and Mount Rainer (where he regularly guides in the summertime). And if you really want to know about an adventure, Hahn can tell you about the 1999 expedition on Mt. Everest when he and his team discovered the perfectly preserved body of legendary mountaineer George Mallory (the first man to climb Everest), who had dissappeared 75 years earlier. That complete story was captured in a book titled “Ghosts of Everest.” For more about Hahn, including his own writings, visit www.mountainguides.com/hahn.shtml.

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professional photographer, helps with ike many born-and-bred Taoseproduction of jewelry as well as marketños, jeweler Maria Samora has ing while Maria continues to spearhead a worldly outlook on life, with the design process. a love of travel and a passion for discovering new cultures, but she is Ideas for design come naturally to never happier than when she returns Maria. Her mixed Pueblo-Midwest herihome to her beloved Taos. tage has served as inspiration, for who Her adventurous spirit may have she is as a person and as a jeweler. She come from her parents. Her Indianaloves the community of Taos and says born mother Chien moved to Taos 40 years ago after seeing an ad by the Llama Foundation that read: “be here now.” Maria’s father Frank was a charismatic Taos Pueblo figure known for his friendly attitude to all Taos residents. It was on a horse ride that he met Maria’s mother, whom he would later marry. The couple had two children, Yellowbird and Maria. After graduating in 1993, Maria studied in California, traveled in South America with her good friend — and Love Apple owner — Jen Hart, then returned to Taos Kevin Rebholtz where she took a jewelry class Maria Samora with her children, Quentin and Neve. at UNM Taos, while working at Lambert’s of Taos. It was as apprentice to master jeweler Phil Poirier friends are what make it so special. that her career path began to reveal It’s no surprise then that Maria’s itself. Under his tutelage, she developed favorite Taos adventures involve getting her own unique designs and soon she outside with family or friends. In the was literally selling her work off her winter, she enjoys hiking the ridge and body to customers at Lambert’s. Exhibit- tries to take one of the Taos Ski Valley’s ing at Blue Rain Gallery proved to be the Snow Sport weeks, which she suggests stepping-stone she needed and led her are a great opportunity to ski with to Indian Market, nine months pregnant friends, be guided around the mountain with her first child, Quentin. She recalls by an instructor and gain invaluable being “so nervous that I might not fit in, tips, even for a lifetime skier like herself. as my work was so different and conIn summer, she loves spending lazy temporary, but I got such positive feeddays anywhere along the river in Taos back and my fellow exhibitors were so Canyon with husband, son Quentin and generous of their knowledge and treated daughter Neve. With so many idyllic me like extended family.” This gave her places to enjoy with family and friends, the confidence to realize she could conit’s easy to see why Maria has no probtinue to produce her own very unique lem returning home from her exotic style of jewelry. In 2009, she became the trips abroad. first jeweler and only the third woman to be asked to be the poster artist for A version of this article first appeared Indian market. on the town of Taos’ website, taos.org, Today, Maria and her husband Kevin and can be seen there, along with other Rebholtz are very much a team behind “Adventures de Taos” stories and spotthe Maria Samora brand. Rebholtz, a lights.

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Courtesy Photo

Lyla Johnston plays with Tono Andrew Moore near Taos.

Finding a home for healing: a young poet’s journey

Ponce de Leon hot springs.

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y adventures began in Taos in 1989, when I was born. In the late 1960s, my father fled Dallas in search of refuge in the arms of Mother Earth. My mother was a full-blood Navajo girl seeking refuge from generations of colonialism. They ended up finding each other, falling in love and living in a tipi on the outskirts of Taos. With his bare hands and a few thousand dollars my father built a home in the hills of Llano Quemado. I was raised in this simple home with an outhouse, a fireplace and three bedrooms. My mother often jokes that she had to bake my birthday cakes in a toaster oven and cook dinners on a hot plate. Despite our material simplicity, we were wealthy in love; wealthy in family; wealthy in the sacred vibration of the espite our material juniper-dappled hills just below the Ponce de simplicity, we were Leon hot springs. I remember those years as imbued with a wealthy in love; wealthy golden hue. I loved the sweet sound of vinyl records that filled the air, the smell of the fruit in family; wealthy orchards and the snowy winters that bundled us inside. It was in these years that my father in the sacred vibration instilled in me a sense of responsibility to of the juniper-dappled mother earth, to humanity and to my own liberation. In my formative years he engenhills just below the dered a blazing impetus within me to work

hard for the greatest good of all. Who knew that this little girl, with six brothers and one sister, would burst out of that little cocoon and fly? Who knew she would attend one of the most prestigious universities in the country, become renowned for her poetry and travel the world over preaching a human revolution? At age 5, after the divorce, I began my education in Lakota philosophy with my mother by attending sweatlodges and sundances. Taos’ wonderful sweatlodge community taught me sacred songs, sacred ceremony and a sacred outlook on life based on the principle of Mitakue Oyas’in — we are all relatives. This spiritual training would prove to be instrumental to my survival as a Native American woman in a difficult world. My Western education began at Anansi Day School in what is now the KTAO radio station. I excelled in Western educational institutions. First and foremost, however, school taught me how to resist oppression. As a child, your opinions and intuitions are often belittled and discouraged. Popularity contests, academic hierarchy, social stratification, punishment and detention made me feel trapped in a system I desperately wanted to change. This is when I found poetry. Anne MacNaughton’s legendary spoken-word classes at

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JOHNSTON continued from page 44

to Taos to heal in my mother’s home.

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I returned

Taos High School gave me a soapbox to stand on. Finally, I could let loose. Everything I had never had an opportunity to speak, scream and dream poured forth as a luscious and irresistible poetic force. I won regional, state and national contests and traveled to Indonesia, India, Chile, Peru and all around the country sharing my truths through the medium of spoken word. The community graciously received and encouraged me at this very pivotal point in my life. Without Taos, I would not be the poet I am today. High school was at once adventurous and destructive. I was quickly ushered into the omnipresent drug culture amongst Taos teens — a culture very few are able to resist. It was how we fulfilled our natural need for community and camaraderie. We jumped from the John Dunn Bridge into the Río Grande, we attended clandestine raves in the woods and I would pack all my friends into my used Nissan NX 1600 and head to the house parties. We were living the high life and we were happy. We didn’t realize we were playing with fire or if we did, we didn’t care. All the while, I never ceased my escapades in social justice and community organizing. At age 16, I was organizing peace rallies in the Plaza during the height of the Iraq War. I was organizing “peace readings” with local writers like Coral Bernal and John Nichols. I was opening for “Democracy Now’s” Amy Goodman at the TCA. I was reciting poetry at DJ Chrystalline Concha’s progressive monthly dance party called “Garden” in Ranchos de Taos. I was recording revolutionary music in a studio in Arroyo Hondo with Juan Bosco, an amazing friend and muralist who painted the Guadalajara Grills and many other places in Taos. I was ready for global change and fought for it every day of my life in what little ways a teenage girl from Taos could. In April 2007 I learned I’d been accepted to both Columbia and Stanford universities. The sunny weather of California made the choice of Stanford an easy one. My addiction to drugs and alcohol was exacerbated in college where alcohol flowed like an untamable river. In my junior year, while studying abroad in Chile, I got caught in an 8.8 earthquake and broke my pelvis and my spine. After jumping from a third-story balcony to escape a crumbling building and standing toe-to-toe with death, I was ready for a complete makeover in the way I treated my body and the way I approached life. I returned to Taos to heal in my mother’s home. I attended a healing circle that summer that changed my life. A direct encounter with the Archangel Michael helped me break my addictions and step into my true self. I returned to Stanford a changed woman, ready to complete my degree. Meanwhile, back at home, many of my friends were sinking deeper and deeper into addiction. Several good friends had fallen to heroine and either overdosed or committed suicide because of it. In the summer of 2011, while pursuing anthropology research in Northern California, my mother told me that four young people in Taos had attempted

taosn e w s . c o m / a d ve n t u re s

suicide in just two months. I was sick of watching my people die. What started as a simple Lakota pipe ceremony for Taos youth, snowballed into a four-day, townwide ceremony and celebration in the name of the next generation. The entire town united in such a beautiful way. It is now an annual event called “Regeneration Festival,” which happens every Labor Day weekend. I learned later that New Mexico has the highest rate of teen alcoholism in the country and that Taos Courtesy Photo County has the highLyla Johnston being interviewed during an indigenous people’s est rate within New conference in India, where she read poetry. Mexico. Apparently we were guided to do this work in the perfect place. This is not to say that my community is sick or weak. Au contraire. My community is one of the strongest things I know. Taos constantly reminds me of the resilience of the human spirit. It’s like René Pérez Joglar wrote in his song, “Latinoamerica”: Es un pueblo sin piernas pero que camina. A town without legs but still walks ... Many of us have nothing. We are born into such deep hardship but we rise above the obstacles and fight every day when the sun rises to taste the sweet nectar of life. Working with my young contemporaries and with the elders of the community to dream a new world into being has been such an honor. Like wild fire, this simple idea of regeneration caught us all by surprise and made us feel alive. Like a contagion, love burns and spreads through our families and brightens our eyes. Thank you to all my people. I will love you forever. As a Stanford graduate, everyone tells me I should get a job and make lots of money. But right now, there is no better job than to love and be loved by my community, even if I make no money doing it at all. Taos Mountain presides above us and rings out a song from her crystalline insides. It is a song of triumph over darkness. It is a song of 6,000 phoenixes rising from the ashes. It is a song of fighting through the illusion to find the truth of love. It is a song that unites our people in the name of the next seven generations. It is the song of Taos and it will never stop. As Lauryn Hill once said, “I wrote these words for everyone who struggles in their youth, who won’t accept deception instead of what is truth. Tomorrow, our seeds will grow. All we need is dedication.” So I’m going to keep singing with the mountain. I’m going to keep dreaming.

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Georgia Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Keeffe in New Mexico:

Georgia Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Keeffe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land was organized by the Georgia Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Keeffe museum. this exhibition and related programming were made possible in part by a generous grant from the burnett Foundation. Additional support was provided by American express, the healy Foundation, shiprock Gallery, hotel santa Fe, the city of santa Fe Arts commission 1% Lodgerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tax Funding.

partially funded by the city of santa Fe Arts commission and the 1% Lodgersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tax.

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217 Johnson street, santa Fe, nM 5o5.946.1ooo okeeFFeMuseuM.org

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Courtesy Photo

Allesandra Ogren during a 2007 tour to India with a show called “Escape Artist; with Cohdi Harrell and :Laura Stokes.”

In Peñasco, life really can be a circus

love the thrill of a new experience. Going somewhere I’ve never been, meeting someone new, even eating at a new restaurant delights me. It’s the beauty of unexpected surprises that inspires me to live life in the circus. Ever since I was a young child I wanted to be a traveling performer. The lure of the circus tent moving from town to town entranced me. I have created my own version of this several times in my life. In 1997 I created my own traveling circus show that toured Chiapas, Mexico performing for small communities. There are so many incredible stories to remember from that adventure like performing for children who just experienced the most horrific event in their lifetime, the Acteal massacre.

Yet they were so inquisitive about who we were, peeking in the window as we were getting on our costumes before the show. “Mira, los gringos,” said one. “No son gringos, son Payasos!” said the other. Despite their tragedy they held on to their humanity and their humor. After many years of traveling, I now enjoy the inverse — bringing the travelers to me at the Peñasco Theatre! It’s almost as exciting as traveling myself, meeting new performers, being exposed to new types of artistic works and hearing tales of their journeys. I love to help create a chapter of someone else’s travel adventure. Over the last 13 years in Taos County, I can’t even count

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incredible stories to remember from that adventure like performing for children who just experienced the most horrific event in their lifetime, the Acteal massacre.

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There are so many

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Allesandra Ogren’s Taos

What are some other hidden gems in Peñasco? Art of the Heart is an amazing and inspirational place in Peñasco.

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how many artists have come to Peñasco to perform in this special theatre. Individuals who went on to Courtesy Photo work for Cirque Du Soleil, Ringling, and other established touring companies, or travAllesandra Ogren, eled the globe as solo performers. In starting the summer peforming at the residency and performance season, we invite performers Peñasco Theatre. to come enjoy the quiet and focus that a rural environment provides, to fine-tune or develop a theatrical project world premier at the Peñasco Theare. We also invite local performers; musicians, poets, circus performers to present their work. Last summer we hosted 35 performances. This summer we are hosting an international line up with performers coming from Colombia, Ireland, Australia and from around the U.S. and New Mexico. Circus is a New Mexico tradition I am grateful to be a part of. Not surprisingly I found people in Northern New Mexico to share in this love of mine, as students or as audience. I love to teach circus and aerial arts because it makes the ordinary extraordinary. I teach because I never get tired of seeing the amazed look on a child’s face when they do something that they never thought they could do, like walk on stilts or do a trick on the trapeze. I teach because I see the confidence building power of this art, and even if a child or adult never does aerial fabric again, they have done something that they never thought they What have been some could, and that will inspire them to try new of your favorite non-circus things again and again in their lives. events at Peñasco Theater? My adventures here wouldn’t be possible I love the community events, movies for the scouts, local without the dreams, visions, ideas and work of metal music show ... so many fellow adventurers. I am not a soloWhat other kind of enterist. So many artists, local community workers, tainment do you like to see young people, co-teachers, performers and in Taos County? I appreciate any type of theaudience have made the Peñasco Theatre a atre, dance and music! place of great adventure. Most of all I couldn’t Do you have a favorite do it with out the love and support and advenrestaurant in the area? turous spirits of my wonderful partner and I have to say Sugar Nymphs, children. and also Zulys in Dixon. Allesandra Ogren is a circus performer and owner of the Peñasco Theatre.

Boots on the Ground

Since 1995

Rocky Mountain Youth Corps is the local youth corps that makes your outdoor adventures possible. It is likely that the trail you’re enjoying was built or maintained by RMYC, as we’ve made a difference in over 1,000 miles of trail utilizing nearly 200,000 volunteer hours. Check out our projects at www.youthcorps.org.

1203 King Drive #3, Taos 575-751-1420 www.youthcorps.org taosne ws.com/adventures

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Courtesy Photo/Lenny Foster

Bonnie Lee Black found Taos to be a place of unique beauty and third-world pace, after living years abroad in Mali.

A Rainbow Made Me Do It

hen people ask what brought me to Northern New Mexico early in this new millennium, after years spent in Africa, I sometimes launch into a long answer. At the other extreme, when time is tight, I simply quip, “A rainbow made me do it.” In between, there’s the Goldilocks response, which goes something like this:

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I borrowed my sister’s Subaru and drove alone, due south, on an exploratory trip to the Land of Enchantment.

I was living and working happily in Ségou, Mali, West Africa, doing an economic development project of my own creation called the Patchwork Project, which I loved. To do this work I’d received a government permit that allowed me to stay in Mali for a certain length of time. As the time passed, though, and that permit’s expiration date drew near, I thrashed about in my mind wondering what to do and where to go next. Something inside me screamed “Mediterranean!” — somewhere along the coast of Morocco or the South of France, maybe. I felt pulled by the sunny food, the azure waters, the year-round dazzling summer weather. Plus, in either Morocco or France I would surely improve my spoken French.

But what I soon discovered in my quest is that the country of your passport has an undeniable hold on you. To become a legal resident of another country is not as easy as you’d think. France, for example, puts up almost insurmountable barriers to aspiring residents: piles of paperwork, miles of red tape. You need promises of French friends who’ll sponsor you, and vouchers proving you’re so financially independent you’ll never, ever become a drain on their national health. The fact that I was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and not in Tangier or Nice, made me feel like I’d be an unwelcome alien in these countries. I gave up trying. I came to the conclusion, finally, that I had to return to my own country. But where? Certainly not New Jersey — nor anywhere near it. Been there …. the rat race didn’t beckon. My sister in Denver, writing to me in Ségou, suggested a solution. “Have you considered New Mexico?” she wrote. “You seem to like third world countries, and New Mexico is just like a third world country.” So on a visit from Mali to see my sister in Denver in the summer of 2000 to celebrate her 50th birthday, I borrowed her Subaru and drove alone, due south, on an exploratory trip to the Land of Enchantment.

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Bonnie Lee Black, a resident of Taos, is a writer and teacher. Her third memoir, “How to Make an African Quilt: The Story of the Patchwork Project of Ségou, Mali,” will soon be published by Nighthawk Press.

Hair, Make-Up and Photo by Marjorie

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Bonnie Lee Black’sTaos

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The big sky was magnificent, just like Mali’s. The earthy adobe architecture, right down to the outdoor horno ovens, was identical to what one sees in Ségou. I saw fields of sagebrush and clumps of cacti (surely cactus is proof of yearround warm weather, I reasoned, wrongly). In my experience, so-called third-world countries were appealingly down to earth, and what I was seeing in Northern New Mexico was like that. Yes, I was enchanted. I ventured as far south as Española, where I spent the night at a cheap motel. The young desk clerk was chatty. “Hey, so what brings you down here?” “I’m on an adventure.” “Really? Where’re you from?” “Africa.” “No way!” He studied my pale skin. “You?” That was the problem, I thought. I’d grown so accustomed to the slow, genial, noncompetitive, noncommercial, nonmaterialistic way of life in Mali that I felt more African than American. I doubted I could live anywhere in the First-andFast world again. On the way back up to Denver, approaching Taos, it began to rain, fat dollops that slapped my sister’s windshield and challenged her car’s wipers. It was the kind of rain that makes the hot and thirsty earth smell Favorite nonprofit: talcum-powdered, like a freshly SOMOS — “the literary heart of Taos” fed and bathed baby. I opened Favorite spot to hole up the driver’s side window and and read a book: breathed deeply. My own, cozy bed Best place to see the sky And then suddenly the (and the mountains): rain stopped. In New Jersey, I Kit Carson Park, “where I remembered well, it rains for walk most mornings” days and days, until you just Most similar parts of Northern New Mexico to West Africa: want to weep. Here in NorthThe openness of the ern New Mexico, it seemed landscape, the largeness of to me, the rain lasts for only the sky and the adobe archiminutes. And there it was: the tecture. rainbow, like the opening to a bright tunnel on the highway straight ahead of me. The French word for rainbow is arc-enciel, arch in the sky. I saw this one as a sign, the archway to my new life. I returned to Ségou, Mali, soon after this trip to complete my project there and say long goodbyes to the women and children I worked with. Then, in early 2001 I moved here, where I’ve since felt embraced by sacred Taos Mountain. Now there is nowhere else on earth where I would rather live.

Prepping before and repairing after your great adventures, we will keep you looking good

H a i r - S ki n - N a i l s - Wa x

575-751-7246 t 237 Ledoux St. Taos, NM t salonmarjorie.com taosne ws.com/adventures

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The Excellent Adventures of Burt and Lucy Harwood: The Harwood Museum of Art

The Harwood

Foundation, first created as a private nonprofit organization, would later go public and become part of the University of New Mexico.

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n 1916 Burt and Lucy Harwood, both natives of Charles City, Iowa, moved from their adopted country of France to the nascent art colony of Taos. That year the Harwoods bought land and buildings on Ledoux Street, purchasing additional adjacent parcels of land in 1917, 1918 and 1925. During that period the Harwoods extensively developed and remodeled the buildings, asking contractor Abe Browning to use traditional techniques. The resulting complex was called “El Pueblito” because its design was so strongly influenced by Taos Pueblo. In November 1923 Bert G. Phillips, T.P. Martin, Victor Higgins, William M. Frayne, and B.G. Randall joined Lucy Harwood in creating what would become one of New Mexico’s most enduring institutions. The Harwood Foundation, first created as a private nonprofit organization, would later go public and become part of the University of New Mexico. The Harwood Foundation is today known as the Harwood Museum of Art, engaging 24,000 visitors and community members each year with a vision to “Bring Taos Arts to the World, and World Arts to Taos.” On the occasion of the Museum’s 90th anniversary, we look back at the history of an institution that began with the adventurous spirit of Burt and Lucy Harwood. Courtesy the Harwood Museum

Portrait of Lucy Harwood Coates, oil on canvas.

A brief History 1861 Smith H. Simpson, a clerk for Kit Carson, acquires buildings and land on Ledoux Street. 1915 Taos Society of Artists is formed. 1916 Burt and Lucy Harwood move from France to Taos and purchase the property on Ledoux Street for $1,200 from the family of Smith H. Simpson. 1922 Burt Harwood dies. 1923 Lucy Harwood forms the Harwood Foundation with a group including Taos Society of Artists members Victor Higgins

and Bert Phillips. The Articles of Incorporation state that the Foundation’s goals are “To establish and maintain, in said town of Taos, New Mexico, a public library, a museum, and other educational agencies.” 1924 The Harwood Foundation hosts its first art exhibition. 1926 The town’s library is established at the Harwood Foundation, and is kept well stocked by gifts from Mabel Dodge Luhan. 1929 The University of New Mexico opens the Field School of Art at the Harwood Foundation. 1935 The Harwood Foundation becomes part of the University of New Mexico through

a gift from Lucy Harwood. The “Deed of Conveyance” states that the property will “be utilized as an educational, cultural, and art center in connection with the work of the University.” Lucy Harwood continues to live in the property. 1937 The Harwood undergoes major renovation and expansion, designed by John Gaw Meem and constructed in cooperation with the Works Progress Administration. 1938 Lucy Harwood dies December 11. 1984 The library housed at the Harwood Foundation comes under the jurisdiction of the Town of Taos and later moves to its own building.

1997 A major renovation and expansion project transforms 11,000 square feet of the building into seven new galleries, including the internationally renowned Agnes Martin Gallery. 2010 Another major expansion project adds a three-level, 10,700 square-foot wing. The $6.3 million expansion adds the Mandelman-Ribak Gallery, the Arthur Bell Audi torium, a new collection storage area, an archive storage area, a collection work-study room, and a loading and receiving area for works of art. 2013 The Harwood Museum of Art celebrates its 90th anniversary.

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Hours Through Oct. 31: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m; Sunday, 12–5 p.m. Closed Monday after Nov. 1

General Admission $10 adults, $8 seniors (65+) and students; Free to children age 12 and under, members of the Harwood Museum Alliance, University of New Mexico students and staff,

and Taos County residents on Sundays. Where: The Harwood Museum of Art of UNM, 238 Ledoux Street, Taos, NM Info: 575-758-9826 The Harwood Museum of Art, located in

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Taos, founded in 1923, is the second-oldest museum in New Mexico. In 2010, the Harwood Museum inaugurated its expansion which includes an auditorium, library, additional exhibition space, and a state-of-the-art collection.

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Courtesy Photo

Monique Parker poses with her teachers, Indra and A.G. Mohan, in Mamallapuram, India last year shortly after they gave their blessing to her to start the first U.S.-based affiliate Svastha Yoga school in Taos.

From The Land of Entrapment to the Land of Enchantment: the tale of a Silicon Valley expat

few short weeks ago, while rummaging though boxes from a previous life I keep stored in the shed, I came across a journal in which I had scribbled the following bucket list: move to a small rural town close to nature, become a yoga teacher, be of service, develop community, learn to play the piano, write a book. The date of the journal entry: April 13, 1997. The place: San Jose, Calif., the capital of Silicon Valley. I was 28 years old and had just started contracting at Cisco Systems, the company that built the Internet backbone, where I would for the next five years manage multi-million dollar campaigns and regularly fly to various parts of the U.S. and Europe to direct industrial videos. While studying at San Jose State, I worked full-time. At night I moonlighted for startup companies from Korea and Taiwan, who couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford a real advertising agency.

I learned the trade by jumping in and making mistakes as I went: photo shoots, lithography, graphic design, copywriting, buying media. By 20, my first full-page ad appeared in a national magazine, PC Week. This was the start of the career that led me to work for Cisco and its meritocracy-ideal. Imagine traveling to Italy (Italy!) or Switzerland (Switzerland!) on business, and feeling empty inside. Here I was working for the first company in history to achieve a market capitalization of $100 billion in 14 years, and all I could think about was an abiding incongruence between stock prices and the true value of everything. The impersonal environment, the products and acquisitions, the return on investment, etc. etc., did not align with my core values. By contrast, I was the person who introduced stressed-

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See PARKER on page 56

AuguST 16 - SepTeMBeR 1

ANGEL FIRE TAOS LAS VEGAS RATON

ChAMBeR MuSIC FeSTIvAl Ida Kavafian, Artistic Director Chick Corea, Composer-in-Residence

TICKeTS & INFO (575) 377-3233 Toll Free (888) 377-3300 musicfromangelfire.org

This project funded in part by public funds from Angel Fire, Las Vegas, San Miguel County and Raton Lodgersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Tax, Town of Taos, New Mexico Arts, a division of the Dept. of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts

degree programs to take you where you want to go

TAOS Bachelor & Graduate Programs

taosbgp.unm.edu For advisement call

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Great Collections are Made at the Millicent Rogers Museum.

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PARKER continued from page 54

As if to quell my

concerns, one of the men extended his hand and said, “This is the sacred land of my people. You are welcome here.”

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out co-workers to the benefits of yoga at the corporate gym. I acted as a sounding board for those with marital or extramarital problems. I counseled colleagues conflicted between motherhood and professional aspirations, as we watched their toddlers live in the corporate daycare via IPTV computer surveillance, and once, after observing a division manager whip out a sphygmomanometer from his desk drawer to measure his blood pressure after the company’s stock plummeted, I festooned his white board with a pictograph of the respiratory system and extolled the virtues of long, deep breathing. Many of my colleagues were laid off in the dot com bust in the spring of 2001. I was offered a promotion — which I declined — before I was let go. This was my chance to leave: Cisco, California, copywriting, everything. I arrived in Taos July 4, 2003; the day lightning struck the Encebado Canyon, igniting a fire that would eventually grow to a 5,400-acre forest fire in 11 days. More than once I considered turning the U-Haul around and heading back toward Santa Fe. Arriving in Taos on Independence Day was an apt metaphor for my new life, but moving to a town whose sacred lands were on fire gave me serious pause. Days later, three men from the Taos Pueblo who were having lunch at the Questa Café stopped me on my way out of the restaurant. They had volunteered to fight the blaze that was now spreading east into the Río Pueblo watershed. Noticing my California plates, they were curious as to why I was in New Mexico. I told them: To live closer to nature, to be of service, to teach and write. As if to quell my concerns, one of the men extended his hand and said, “This is the sacred land of my people. You are welcome here.” I considered this man’s words a blessing, then and now. Whenever I’ve been faced with a challenge, lacked faith, had doubts, or needed guidance, I recall this experience and how important it is to have reverence for this land and its people. Not a day begins that I don’t feel immense gratitude. From the land of entrapment to the land of enchantment, this Silicon Valley expat has fulfilled many of her heart’s desires: editing the SOMOS anthology, Chokecherries; teaching freshman and sophomore English Composition at UNM-Taos and Questa High School, meeting my yoga teachers A.G. and Indra Mohan, founding and

Courtesy Photo

Last year, Monique Parker produced her first CD, “The Yoga of Mantra,” a call-and-response Sanskrit chanting tool with the help of the Bhagavan Patanjali Goddess Choir (from top, left to right, Debby Halpern of Angel Fire, Raquela Moncada-Cowen of Taos, Martha Flanders of Taos, Monique Parker of El Rito, Whitney Lake of Taos, Elisabeth Martin of El Rito, and Julie Cortopassi of Taos). directing the yoga teacher certification program at UNMTaos, studying jazz piano with Danny Hall of Hall School of Music in Taos, and now, directing Svastha Yoga Institute, where I, along with a growing community of yoga teachers, are educating and bringing yoga to underserved communities throughout New Mexico. We’ve already raised $65,000 this year and are in the process of becoming a nonprofit institution. If I could consolidate some of the core values that have helped to shape my Taos adventure, they would include: the pristine landscape that encourages a more authentic life, unplugged from the modern world of convenience and noise; the Taos community’s acceptance of the eccentricities and differences that make each of us unique; and the relationships I’ve nurtured with students, friends, neighbors, and mentors, all of who represent the bedrock of this community. It is through relationships, not products, that we experience the true value of everything. Monique Parker is a writer, educator and director of Svastha Yoga Institute. She lives in a beautiful rural community north of Taos. Contact her at monique@svasthayogainstitute.com

Cisco Guevara: A river’s worth of stories

Terry Thompson

Taos youTh & Family cenTer

to be who I am. Taos embraces the wild side of me — the mountains, the wild scenic river. I prosper and thrive here.”

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“Taos allows me

michael deyoung

aos is ground zero for multiple outfitters in the whitewater rafting trade. With the legendary Río Grande at their doorstep and the scenic Chama River just a couple of hours away, these skilled nature-loving athletes are only too happy to showcase the rivers’ distinct seasonal personalities to all — from families to extreme athletes and everyone in between. Of all the personalities who make the rivers their home, few are as colorful as Cisco Guevara, a 23rd-generation Taoseño with deep family roots in both the Hispanic and Tiwa communities and owner of Los Ríos River Runners, Taos’ oldest rafting company. Guevara not only knows every nuance of the river, he’s also a passionate conservationist and advocate, recognizing full well the enduring importance of clean and protected water sources for the high-desert country his family has called home since the 1540s. He has been involved in efforts to promote the El Río Grande del Norte Water File Photo Conservation Act. Cisco Guevara addresses the Taos County “There are two kinds of rafting experiChamber of Commerce membership ences on the Río Grande: churning fast after his Los Ríos River Runners earned whitewater in March and April when Business of the Year honors in 2008. the water from the snow melting in the mountains fills the river, and a quieter more reflective ride floating down the river in the summer,” Guevara says. “Both recharge the human spirit, balance the psyche, and renew you beyond words. The adrenalin-pumping rapids in the spring truly gives one the connection with the pulse of the planet, and in the summer, the act of floating calms the human psyche and connects one with nature. To see this in people’s faces every day is why I do this.” Guevara’s connection to Taos is visceral and enduring. “Taos allows me to be who I am. Taos embraces the wild side of me — the mountains, the wild scenic river. I prosper and thrive here,” he says. “Taos offers me the opportunity to make a living in connection with the land and the water, and the energy of all creation.” Some of Guevara’s favorite Taos experiences include, the Sunset Dinner Float Los Ríos offers, saying “The beauty of the canyon at sunset, along with a gourmet meal served along the banks of the river, makes for a stellar evening. I’d also suggest getting out on the dance floor and dancing Texas two-step, Taos-style — at the newly restored Old Martina’s Hall. The first time I danced in that hall, I wasn’t old enough to drink. And today, it’s just as wonderful as it was then.” A version of this article first appeared on the town of Taos’ website, taos.org, and can be seen there, along with other “Adventures de Taos” stories and spotlights.

Stop by the Taos Visitor Center, and plan your stay with us 1139 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos 575-758-3873 Maps & brochures; advice & recommendations Local events and attractions Summer recreation & activities Art, jewelry, pottery & gifts from the Taos area

Taos Youth & Family Center

407 Paseo del Canon East, Taos 575-758-4160 Swimming pools & water slides Roller-blading & skate park Youth-friendly summer events

Taos Public Library

402 Camino de la Placita, Taos 575-758-3063 Summer Adventure Lecture Series (see taoslibrary.org for dates and times)

Free Wireless at all three facilities.

TAOS.org 800-348-0696

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