Rio Grande del Norte, Pilar Campground
We were in this area last year during our summer camping trip. I invite you to see my images and narrative from last year visit to this area on my Vacation 2017 blog Post. In this post I will add images and narrative that are unique to our visit this year. We enjoyed our stay in this area last year so much we decided to come back to do some additional exploring. I hope you are inspired by my post to come visit this beautiful area on your travels through New Mexico.
Located just south of Taos, NM, Rio Grande National Monument this land in the Rio Grande gorge is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The several campgrounds nestled along the river have water, restrooms, showers and a several first come first serve electric sites. We stayed at the first campground, Pilar, which has 8 electric sites. The second campground down the road has four electric sites with showers.
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| Our Campsite at Pilar Campground |
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| View of the Canyon Rim from our campsite |
This area is especially beautiful with towering cliffs and interesting rock formations that the Rio Grande River etched out on its course to the Gulf of Mexico. There is a paved road the parallels the river 5 miles down to the bridge that once crossed leads up a steep and rugged gravel mountain road out of the Canyon to the paved North Rim Road. Both days while we there I took out my mountain bike for a ride along the river road past some of the best scenery that can be found out here in New Mexico.
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| Rio Grande River Gorge |
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| Wild Geese with there babies floating down the Rio Grande River |
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| Rio Grande River |
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| Bridge leading to the North Rim Road, back way out of the canyon |
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| Steep gravel road leading out to the North Rim Road |
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| Big Horn Sheep we saw just after we got on the North Rim Road |
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| Herd numbered a dozen or more |
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| They barely noticed I was there |
We traveled into Taos, NM, a short distance away, to go to the popular Farmers Market on Saturday morning. We enjoyed the unique atmosphere with artists, organic farmers and unique vendors selling interesting products. The holistic nature of the market creates a certain mystic that is fascinating. The southwestern architecture of Toas is also unique giving the town a special look.
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| Wholistic Vendor common at the Toas Farmers Market |
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| Toas Mercantile Company |
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| Poet using an old Smith Corona type writer composing poems based on a topic chosen by his patrons. Never seen this before at any event. |
The last day in the gorge we spent at the bridge enjoying the cool waters of the river.
This year the weather has been especially dry with little snow fall in the
mountains bringing the level of the river down to an unusual level. Many folks
could actually walk across the river. There were several fishermen who were
catching large trout while we were there.
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| Anglers Fishing in the Rio Grande River |
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| Barbara wading in the cool waters of the Rio Grande |
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