June 27, 2021
From Taos we drove to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, about 12 miles. The scenery was spectacular, as usual. I never ceased to be surprised by the color palette of New Mexico.
Once we got to the bridge, we parked on the far side and walked back to the center where we could see the gorge on both sides. This gorge begins near the Colorado border and runs 50 miles through a volcanic basalt field. At this point it is 800 feet deep. This gorge and 242,500 acres around it form the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
Apollo 15, 16, and 17 astronauts trained here in 1971 because of its geologic similarities to the moon landing site.
