GO FOR THE GOLD ALONG THE ENCHANTED CIRCLE, ONE OF NEW MEXICO’S MOST COLORFUL FALL DRIVES
ENCHANTED CIRCLE
STRIKING GOLD IN HIGH PLACES WHERE THE WEST WAS ONCE REALLY WILD
The enchantment of the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway is a serendipitous combination of nature, high mountain scenery, the Wild West, and mining history, with opportunities to sample fine food and drink for good measure. The height of the road is exhilarating without being dangerous, the history is informative without being overwhelming, and the pace is lively without being exhausting. With two ski areas and a cross-country snow area, it’s a place to celebrate winter sports, and it includes two state parks. The best time to drive the Enchanted Circle is fall, usually the last weekend in September, when aspen forests lining the roadway are at their peak of shimmering gold. However, the road makes a fine excursion regardless of the season, and it is just long and varied enough to provide the fresh perspective and fresh air a quick road trip can bring. When heading out in cold weather, be prepared for winter driving conditions. Roads, particularly through Taos Canyon, can be icy. While the trip can be made comfortably in a day, even with time outs for exploring the sights close-up, if plans include overnighting at any of the hospitable towns along the way, this road trip becomes a mini-vacation. Pack a picnic, binoculars, camera, fishing boots, and multiple layers—the weather can change in a flash. This area was once all part of the 1.7-million-acre Maxwell Land Grant, the largest parcel in the Western Hemisphere, held by mountain man Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell. One advantage here is that the roads are smooth, and even high mountain portions are not difficult to drive.
US 64 was originally an Indian highway traveled by Plains Indians such as Apaches, Comanches, and Kiowas, who followed the Cimarron River. They journeyed through a 9,107-foot pass called Palo Flechado (tree pierced with arrows), named for the Flecha de Palo Indians. Shooting remaining arrows into a tree was a custom marking a successful buffalo hunt. The Elliot Barker Trail, a 7.6-mile loop, is rated moderate and leads to a pond and then a dense spruce-fir forest. It is graced with abundant wildflowers. The La Jara Trail at Forest Road 5 parallels a stream in the Rio Grande Valley. It is also possible to access the trail by parking at the Palo Flechado historic marker at the top of the pass on US 64 and crossing the road to pass through the gate. An alternate approach is to hike from the trailhead through the first meadow and turn left to cross the small creek. This route begins with a moderately steep climb over log steps, until it reaches a flatter section through the forest. At the first major trail intersection, turn left and follow a 0.75-mile loop that returns to the trailhead, for a total hike of just under 1.5 miles.
At the intersection of US 64 and NM 434, go right 2 miles into Angel Fire. The name Angel Fire is associated with the Ute Indians. As one story goes, while making camp here, a group of Ute experienced a lightning-caused fire; just as they were about to evacuate, the wind shifted, and a rainstorm extinguished the fire. Another story says the name comes from the reddish alpenglow on the Angel Fire Mountain Peak at dawn and dusk. Formerly the Monte Verde Ranch, in 1964 the resort of Angel Fire began when the ranch owner laid out a golf course. The town has many second home condominiums and rentals, but it also retains a small, involved community of full-time citizens. There you will find a brewpub, a grocery store, a barbecue restaurant, a couple of cafés, and an RV camp. Angel Fire Resort offers skiing, ski school, Nordic Center, snowshoeing, snowboarding, rentals, and a family snow play hill for sledding, plus a terrain park, considered the best in the state, zipline, tubing, and more. The resort has a high percentage of beginner and intermediate slopes. Snow Bear Camp Child Care tends to children aged 6 weeks to 11 years old, and the Little Chiles program teaches skiing to children age 4 to 6 and more. Plus, there’s the state’s only night skiing. Summertime is gorgeous, with golfing, hiking, and zip line.
Exiting Angel Fire, go right on US 64 and immediately see Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park at 34 Country Club Road. In 4 miles, come to Mountain View Boulevard. Go left up the hill. Established in 1968 and hand-built by Dr. Victor Westphall and his wife, Jeanne, this stark structure honors their son David, killed in Vietnam in 1968. Records of all US military members who gave their lives in Vietnam are assembled here. Be prepared for a deeply moving experience and the realization of this national tragedy on a personal level. On Memorial Day weekend, hundreds of motorcyclists from all over the country assemble here to honor Vietnam Veterans in the annual Run for the Wall as they make their way to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC.
DR. VICTOR WESTPHALL’S MEMORIAL TO HIS SON DAVID, WHO WAS KILLED IN THE VIETNAM WAR, GIVES VISITORS A DEEPLY MOVING EXPERIENCE OF GRIEF AND HEALING
Leave Angel Fire and arrive at the Moreno (“dark”) Valley, a glorious expanse of wild grasses studded with wildflower meadows. Wheeler Peak, the state’s tallest peak, is visible on the west side of the Moreno Valley. Located 21.4 miles from Taos on NM 150, Wheeler Peak, at 13,161 feet, is the state’s highest mountain. It is composed of Precambrian granite and metamorphic rocks. The trail to the summit (Trail #67) may be reached via the Williams Lake Trail from the Bavarian Lodge in Taos Ski Valley.
The Moreno Valley was created with the uplift of the Rocky Mountains between 70 and 40 million years ago. The Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range is just as old. The Range is 130 miles long and 32 miles wide between Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico. After the Rocky Mountain uplift, the earth’s crust in New Mexico began to spread, causing faults along the base of the Sangre de Cristo Range.
Starting in 1866, a gold rush on Baldy transformed this area into a population center. By 1907, over $6 million in gold was mined from these mountains. Eagle Nest Dam, constructed 1916–18, in its day, was the largest privately-owned dam in the country. It preserved Cimarron River water, providing a stable source of water for agriculture while fostering farming and ranching.
Although wild iris are not favored by ranchers, for practical reasons, this area has one of the most beautiful displays of this flower in the state, peaking around Memorial Day Weekend.
Eagle Nest, at 8,200 feet, ringed by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (named the Blood of Christ Mountains because they would turn red at sunset when capped with snow), is as cute a mountain town as you will find. With a boardwalk on Main Street, fly shops, knick-knack shops, and burger and ice cream emporiums, it exudes a small-town vibe as it invites fishers, hunters, and vacationers in search of a peaceful escape. Its past as a wild party town during the 1920s, when it was named Therma (after the daughter of the postal inspector) has vanished, along with the slot machines reputedly tossed in the lake to get them out of sight of The Law. Fourth of July fireworks over the lake are worth the trip. Enchanted Circle Gateway Museum on the north end of the Drive gives a good introduction to the area, offering exhibits on local Moreno Valley history, arranging tours, and providing information.
WHEELER PEAK, THE STATE’S HIGHEST POINT, STANDS WITHIN THE SANGRE DE CRISTO RANGE
Eagle Nest Lake State Park, located in the Moreno Valley 2.7 miles east on US 64 from Eagle Nest, has a crystal blue 2,400-square-foot lake stocked with kokanee salmon and trout. Boating, wildlife viewing, walking along the lake, and camping are all fine at this cool alpine refuge ringed by mountains.
At the summit of Bobcat Pass, 9,820 feet up, 14 miles from Eagle Nest, 13 miles east to Red River on NM 38, is the Enchanted Forest, 10 miles of groomed and rough trails on 600 acres of alpine forest. The place is pet-friendly, with dog-friendly trails where you can ski with your dog, and prime ski terrain for classical, freestyle, and Telemark, with warming huts, instructors, rentals, yurt rental, snowshoeing on 15 kilometers of runs, and special events. Overall, this is NM’s prime XC ski spot.
Red River is 17.4 miles up Bobcat Pass, named for the wild cats that inhabit this area, if you go north from Eagle Nest on NM 38. This friendly, lively resort town is made for fun, especially the family kind. The ski area is super family-friendly, and there’s plenty of lodging, cafés, and shopping to make a it a four-season escape. Red River has been working on upping its summer resort game. At 8,750 feet, it is the highest town in the state. It was founded in 1892 by homesteaders. Gold, silver, and copper prospectors followed shortly, bringing the population to 5,000. When the mines played out, the town began its self-renovation as a tourist destination. The river runs red after rains due to high mineral content, hence the name. Bull ‘o’ the Woods Saloon is the social and entertainment center of town, with live entertainment nightly and an immense selection of brews. Mallette Park, at the west end of town, three blocks from Main Street, is a climbing area of a granite face with six bolted routes. The park also has a disc golf course. Shotgun Willie’s is the place for barbecue and burritos.
BOBCAT PASS IS KNOWN FOR CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING AND SNOWMOBILING
Red River Ski Area specializes in family fun, starting with Buckaroo Day Care for children aged six months to four years. The Youth Ski Center has group and private lessons for ages 3 to 12 and snowboarders ages 7 to 12. Red River boasts of being the best value Rocky Mountain ski area, with 4,500 beds available. The mountain is 10,350 feet. Red River started in 1969 when Texas oilman John Bolton built the first lift using derricks and cables imported from Texas oil fields. The big annual event is Mardi Gras on the Mountain. There’s a moonlight ski and snowshoe event, a spring break torchlight and fireworks show, and a calendar packed with events.
From Red River to Questa, it’s approximately 12 miles through the Carson National Forest on NM 38. If you look to your right and are lucky, you may see the elusive, sure-footed Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep on the ridge above; I was fortunate recently and found the herd down on the road, grazing on early spring greens. The males have massive, curling horns, and their ability to navigate the narrow ridges and forage is even more impressive when you realize they weigh 300 pounds or more!
Questa means “slope,” or “ridge,” and it is here the missionary Don Francisco Laforet settled when he was driven from settling on the Red River by Indians in 1829. The village, established in 1883, is a tight-knit traditional farming and trading spot; many of its residents took jobs with the Chevron molybdenum mine, and the fortunes of land, water, and people have risen and fallen with the mine, now closed. The isolated history of Questa made for many self-taught craftsmen. and the town has a tradition of carving, weaving, and painting. Questa honey is a delicacy; there are beekeepers on the road just north of town where you may purchase this local treat. As the Gateway to the Rio Grande del Norte Monument, visitors can drive to an overlook where the Red River meets the Rio Grande in the depth of the Gorge. Drive north through town to find a sign 4 miles up. Turn left and drive slowly through the village to the entry of the Rio Grande del Norte Monument, one of the nation’s newer national monuments. In March 2013, President Barack Obama declared these 27 million acres of Rio Grande Rift and Taos Plateau a significant landscape to be preserved. Encompassing several Native American pueblos, rock art, wildlife, native grasslands, and geologic features formed over 70 million years ago and much more, this cultural and natural treasure is a haven for all who love the outdoors.
From Questa, it is about 20 miles to Costilla and 36 miles to the Latir Lakes. It is 55 miles to Ft. Garland, at the Colorado border.
ACCESS TO THE VAST RIO GRANDE DEL NORTE NATIONAL MONUMENT MAY BE FOUND NORTH OF QUESTA
From Questa, head back to Taos on NM 522. The road is not long, only 24 miles, but there are plenty of swooping hills en route. On the way, pass Lama Mountain at 8.5 miles, site of the ecumenical Lama Foundation, a half-century-old spiritual retreat center where Ram Dass originally created the New Age mantra: “Be Here Now.” The community continues, with visiting spiritual teachers and workshops on permaculture, gender, and other contemporary issues, as well as providing hermitage, or private retreats high on the mountain. All are invited to Visitor Day Sundays during the summer, to experience a vegetarian feast and the Sufi Dances of Universal Peace in the Lama dome. It is said the Kiowa peace path travels up Lama Mountain. Anyone traveling this path was said to be protected from attack and without enemies.
Just below Lama on NM 522, pass the marker for San Cristobal, the location of the D. H. Lawrence Ranch. Here in 1934, British author Lawrence’s widow Frieda built a shrine for his ashes. Aldous Huxley was a guest here. The property, known as Kiowa Ranch, was given to the Lawrences in 1925 by Taos salonista Mabel Dodge Luhan. It is a 4.2-mile drive from the historic marker and turnoff on route NM 522 to the gate of the ranch. Originally a guest of Mabel Dodge Luhan in Taos, Lawrence, who challenged Victorian mores with novels such as Sons and Lovers and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, lived and wrote on this ranch during the 1920s. Although he died and was cremated in Venice, Frieda Lawrence buried his ashes on the property; the room where his ashes are entombed definitely does have the aura of a shrine. “I think New Mexico was the greatest experience I ever had from the outside world. It certainly changed me forever,” Lawrence said of his time in New Mexico.
Twenty miles south of Questa, see the village of Arroyo Hondo. This was the location of Turley’s Mill, known for its Taos Lightning brew, 188 proof and flavored with gunpowder, chile, and tobacco. Turley’s Mill was burned, and Turley killed, in the Taos Uprising of 1947.
Below it is the one-lane John Dunn Bridge across the Rio Grande, built in 1908. Turn off NM 522 at the bar, Midtown Market, in Arroyo Hondo and go 3 miles west on CR B-007, a dirt and gravel rough road down to the bridge. This will take you to the bridge at the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Rio Hondo. The Black Rock Hot Springs are nearby. Taos was connected with the outside world to the west in 1965 with the construction of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, at 600 feet, the second-highest suspension bridge in the US highway system.
IN THE AREA
Accommodations
ALPINE LODGE, 417 West Main Street, Red River. Call 575-754-2952. Email info@alpinelodgeredriver.com. $$.
ANGEL FIRE RESORT, 10 Miller Lane, Angel Fire. Call 575-377-6401 or 855-990-0194. Website: angelfireresort.com. $$–$$$.
ARROWHEAD LODGE, 405 Pioneer Road, Red River. Call 575-754-2255. Email arrowhead@newmex.com. $$.
EXPRESS ST. JAMES HOTEL, 617 South Collinson, Cimarron. Call 575-376-2664. $$–$$$.
GOLDEN EAGLE PARK CAMPGROUND, 540 West Therma Drive, Eagle Nest. Call 575-377-3188. $.
Attractions and Recreation
ANGEL FIRE CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU, 3365 Mountain View Boulevard, Angel Fire. Call 575-377-6555. Website: www.angelfirefun.com.
ARTESANOS DE QUESTA, 41 NM 38. Call 575-586-9302.
BOBCAT PASS WILDERNESS ADVENTURES, 1670 NM 38, Red River. Call 575-754-2769. Website: bobcatpass.com.
D. H. LAWRENCE RANCH, San Cristobal. Call 505-277-5572.
EAGLE NEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, 284 East Therma Drive, Eagle Nest. Call 575-377-2420.
EAGLE NEST LAKE STATE PARK, 42 Marina Lane, Eagle Nest. Call 575-377-1594.
ENCHANTED CIRCLE GATEWAY MUSEUM & VISITOR CENTER, 580 East Therma Drive, Eagle Nest. Call 575-613-3468.
ENCHANTED FOREST XC SKI AND SNOWSHOE AREA, 29 Sangre de Cristo Drive, Red River. Call 575-754-6112. Website: enchantedforestxc.com.
E-TOWN TOURS, Eagle Nest. Call 575-377-2286.
NANCY BURCH’S ROADRUNNER TOURS. Call 575-377-6416. Website: nancyburch.com.
RED RIVER SKI AND SUMMER AREA, 400 Pioneer Road, Red River. Call 575-754-2223. Website: redriverskiarea.com.
RED RIVER STABLES, 800 East Main, Red River. Call 575-754-1700. Website: redriverstables.com.
RED RIVER VISITOR CENTER, 101 River Street, Red River. Call 575-754-3030. Website: www.redriver.org.
RIO GRANDE DEL NORTE NATIONAL MONUMENT. The Del Norte Visitor Center is located at 1120 Cerro Road. Go north from Questa on NM 522 and turn left on State Road 378; the visitor center is about 17 miles from the turnoff. The Río Grande Gorge Visitor Center is in Pilar at the intersection of NM 570 and US 68. Call 575-751-4899 or 575-758-8851 (the Taos Field Office).
VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL STATE PARK, 34 Country Club Road, Angel Fire. Call 575-377-2293. Website: www.angelfirememorial.com.
Dining and Drinks
BRETT’S BISTRO, 201 West Main, Red River. Call 575-754-9959. $$–$$$.
BULL-O’ THE WOODS SALOON, 401 East Main Street, Red River. Call 575-754-2593. $$.
COMANCHE CREEK BREWERY, County Road B-24, Eagle Nest. Call 575-377-2337. $$.
ENCHANTED CIRCLE BREWING CO., 20 Sage Lane, Angel Fire. Call 505-507-8687. $$.
HAIL’S HOLY SMOKED BBQ, 3400 Highway 434, Suite F, Angel Fire. Call 575-377-9938. $.
PAT’S PLACE, 2422 NM-522, Questa. Call 575-586-0111. $.
RED RIVER BREWING CO., 217 West Main, Red River. Call 575-754-4422. $$.
SHOTGUN WILLIE’S, 403 West Main Street, Red River. Call 575-754-6505. $.
Events
MARDI GRAS IN THE MOUNTAIN, Red River, February.
MEMORIAL DAY MOTORCYCLE RALLY, Red River, May.