enchanted circle

A couple of days ago we decided to drive north to the John Dunn Bridge.

Around 1893 John Dunn bought a bridge that crossed the Rio Grande River. He established a business taking passengers and freight from the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad at Tres Piedras to Taos.

The bridge burned down and he rebuilt it in 1908.

He built a hotel near the bridge for travelers. The hotel provided fresh fish from the Rio Grande and fresh milk from his milk cow. It was a toll bridge for which he charged $1 per person and less for livestock.

He operated the bridge until 1912 when he sold it to the the Territory of New Mexico who made it a free bridge.

Closed in 2007 after a rockslide, the John Dunn Bridge reopened in April 2024.

It was a large day to be out and about. The temperature never rose above freezing. Still, the John Dunn Bridge is such a beautiful space to wander.

We then headed northeast to drive the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway. It’s an 84 mile circle around Wheeler Peak, the highpoint of New Mexico. Not long after we turned on to NM Highway 38, we encountered this:

We could have reached out the window to touch them as we drove by.

They grazed on something in the middle of the road, paying little attention to the cars passing by.

The Enchanted Circle was glorious!

Thirty minutes along the circle, the road ahead was covered in snow as it led uphill. That was it for us. We turned back.

Retracing our steps,

then stopping at a favorite place,

La Queva. Plates of blue corn enchiladas.

It was a most excellent day of Enchantment.