I often ask, and sometimes I get a lot of feedback from a guest. A recent visitor took the time to send the following:
Below are answers to your questions about things we enjoyed in Taos.
At The Skies we enjoyed - to name just a few:
- Unique blend of views and the house decor
- Eating breakfast and dinner in the lovely warmth and beauty of the sun room. (The useful yellow cart to roll dishes and food back and forth-very helpful)
- Steam shower
- My daughter loved playing with the dogs from nearby. The dogs enjoyed rolling in the snow!
Activities:
- Skiing at Taos Ski Valley. During our stay at The Skies we were fortunate enough to experience what we have experienced before in Taos which is a core set of friendly and gracious people on the slopes as well as in the supporting community. Skiing was the primary focus for my husband and daughter. There are about half tourists and half locals during such weeks as we chose to come. In case you are not aware of scene at the Taos Ski Valley, the locals who have season passes are typically of three categories (1) school children who are signed up to have a day a week (typically Wednesday) during the ski season for school “enrichment" on the slopes, (2) youth to middle age who have worked their schedules to be there that day, and (3) retired individuals with season passes who are there for the better days of the season. The retired individuals can cherry pick and ski only on the best snow days. This group tends to go during the week for a 3-4 hours a day on those days with the fewest tourists. Each group is unique and tolerant of the other. In summary, we try to target our vacations to maximize ski time during the less popular (less crowded) skiing days which in turns exposes us to the unique blend of locals.
Also, the instructors at the Taos Ski Valley are some of the best available. Many have worked there for years which is a testament to a well run environment to date. The new developments continue to bring change to the valley but, hopefully not to the kind heartedness of the individuals working there.
Shuttle service - Green line to/from the Taos Ski Valley (previously the Chile Line) - Operates from Dec 20-March 30
- Rio Grand Gorge. Walking atop the gorge is a good winter pass time for those not skiing. Also, Wild Rivers is a great place if the snow/ice is not too deep. The hike to see the merge of the Rio Grand and the Red River is challenging but well worth the hike.
- Hacienda de Los Martinez. Visiting the Hacienda de Los Martinez was even more informative this time since the blacksmiths were there giving demonstrations and so was the weaver. I do not know the name of the blacksmiths, but they gave us a personal tour and demos of their craft on the Saturday that we visited. They said they are there about once a month. The blacksmiths sell a few of their wrought iron hooks in the Hacienda gift shop. Also, Annie Wild was also working that Saturday and showed us several looms and weaving techniques. She sells a few items at the gift shop at the Hacienda and also displays her sheep and cards at Las Comadres Gallery off the plaza, http://anniewild.weebly.com/sheep--stuff.html
- My sister really enjoyed meeting and purchased art from Karen Mclurtain-Blair at Las Comadres Gallery, http://www.karenmccurtainblair.com
Eating out at:
La Cueva
Guadalajara Grill
Orlando’s
Taos Cow
ACEQ - wanted to try but have not yet had the chance
Places of interest that we like are:
Hacienda de los Martinez
Harwood Museum
Fechin Home
Milcent Rogers Museum
Blumenschein Home
Hope this is helpful. Again, thank you for allowing us the privilege of staying at The Skies.