Best Pics from my drive through Northern New Mexico Part 1: Santa Fe to Taos around the Enchanted Circle and West to Tres Piedras

In the past I've just thrown nearly every pic I've taken on a trip on the blog in sequence.

This time I'm gonna be more selective.... I probably took 150 - 200 pics and several 30 second - 1 minute videos but I'm gonna try to condense the visuals down to the 40 best pics and the 3 best videos.

I've tried to select these based on the quality of the photo but also to display the terrain and features I was seeing and passing through.

So sit back and take a visual journey with me through Northern New Mexico.

This first pic is from between Espanol and Taos and shows the high desert sagebrush terrain and ridges predominant in this region.

This is broken by intermittent rock formations like this one.

This was from the river following valley between Espanola and Taos and shows the shady side of the road and the ridge above in a unique "blue light".

This is the road leading into the southern part of Taos with the majestic Wheeler Peak (highest pt in NM at 13161') in the background.

This shot is on 522 on the way to Questa from Taos.

Beautiful rock formations as we climb into higher elevations on the road from Questa to Red River.

This is a pic of the Chevron mine about 5 miles west of Red River on Highway 38.

This is the site where a significant environmental reclamation is going on.

Kinda shooting into the sun here but it's still a nice view of the "Main Street" of Red River.... my favorite town of the 350 mile odyssey.

A nice view of one of the Lodge / Condo complexes in Red River.

On the road from Red River to Eagle Nest.

Eagle Nest is nestled in a high valley which reminds me a lot of Lamar or Hayden Valley in Yellowstone.

Nice view of the mountains surrounding Eagle Nest.

On the road from Eagle Nest back to Taos.

This is more of the valley south of Eagle Nest near the turnoff east to Angel Fire.

You have to make a pretty significant climb out of the valley over a high mountain pass and then follow a narrow winding gorge on the route back to Taos.

Carry on My Wayward Son.... That's kinda what I felt like as I completed the Enchanted Circle Loop back in Taos and then took Hwy 64 west across the Rio Grande Gorge toward Tres Piedra at the intersection of 64 and 285.

Lemme tell ya... I had never been on this 40 mile stretch of road before and honestly don't care if I ever am on it again cause it was desolate.

I mean nothing there but..... nothing...

Kinda late in the day at this point but I made the decision to make the leap of faith west to an area I'd never been through before....

And just as soon as I passed through Tres Piedras, the terrain started changing and I started climbing.

Stay tuned.....