One of my favorite things about this whole trip if finding so many unexpected, wonderful places.  This cartoon (and many others like it) was hanging in the hallway of the old courthouse building, right off the main Taos plaza.  We had tried to get in another door because I had read that it had some historic murals inside, but it was locked, so I was disappointed.  As we walked around the plaza, Dan found this hallway, with quirky stairs leading up to the old courthouse itself. They’ve even preserved the old jail inside.

It was hot and dark and stinky inside. So sad.

Taos, and most of New Mexico, are very proud of their ancestors and Taos is particularly eco friendly, solar run and water conscious.  My favorite cartoon was of an extremely green Colorado, watering their lawns, filling their pools, and then the Colorado-New Mexico border, and the drought stricken New Mexico – brown and dying underneath.  From what we’ve seen and read about the last 6 weeks, it’s too true.

This is the actual old courthouse with the incredible murals all over.  Hand painted years ago, they’ve recently been re-done.  They are law and order and religious themes and are priceless artwork.  I would recommend finding them when you visit!  And we would all recommend visiting Taos.  We didn’t get the spiritual vibe, or go to dinner with any ex-hippies, but we met a lot of really, really nice people and it’s a great, livable sized town.  I’m so glad we added to our adventure and will go back to stay in Red River someday!