Río Grande del Norte

The Río Grande del Norte was designated as a National Monument a year ago. It encompasses about a quarter million acres in the north-central portion of the state that includes the deep gorge of the river. We camped over-night beside the river to the southwest of Taos.

The river looked fairly tame near our campground, but there is a lot of fast water further along that draws many river runners.

Margaret got her feet wet in the Rio Grande, but said it was probably a little too cool for swimming.

It was nice to go to sleep with the sound of the river.  I also enjoyed the opportunity to see the stars much more clearly than is possible in the city.  I put out the campfire and sat for about an hour watching Venus until it dipped below the rimrock to the west.

We drove to Taos for breakfast in the morning and then on to the Upper Gorge where the rim is about 850 feet above the river.  The views were spectacular, but we were not much tempted to attempt the hike down to the water given the steepness of the descent.  On the way back, we crossed the river at the little John Dunn Bridge and negotiated the switchbacks up to the top of the west rim.  

The camera I took along on the trip was an Olympus Infinity Mini, which resembles the earlier Infinity Stylus.  The rugged, waterproof construction makes it attractive as a travelling companion, and the capacity to run on standard double-A batteries is a plus.  I didn't think the quality of the pictures were up to the standard of the Stylus, however, and the ten dollars I spent on this camera would likely have covered the cost of the sleeker predecessor.