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Day 2: Exploring Taos Pueblo


This is Taos Pueblo.
Today’s adventure led me to a historic landmark and a present-day living community, Taos Pueblo. What some may consider a cool tourist stop others consider home. Native Americans have inhabited Taos Pueblo for more than one thousand years and still today keep the adobe dwellings in mint condition. Seeing these multi-storied dwellings, I couldn’t help but think, “If walls could talk, these would have a lot to say.” These occupied residences could be the oldest survivable historic landmark in all of history.

Visiting the Taos Pueblo, I also could not help but ponder on our gross consumerism in our everyday American lives. The comparison to want versus need here in Taos Pueblo to want versus need in our daily lives is striking. The people are humble here, content with what they have, honoring their community. In fact, it is the young adults, possibly no older than twenty, who proudly serve as tour guides, beginning their dialogue with the sentence “I was born and raised here in the Taos Pueblo.” It is evident the people are proud of their community. We can hear it in their speech and we can see it by their impeccably maintained housing, still holding sturdy even after a thousand years.

This is me standing in front of San Geronimo de Taos church.
Many Native American merchants sell jewelry and souvenirs right out of their homes, welcoming guests to view their property and purchase tokens to later remember the sights they had seen and the homes they had visited. I bought a handmade necklace and earrings from a kind gentleman who spoke fondly of his pet dog to those who would listen. Many dogs run freely here; they don’t need a leash or a gate to know this is their home.

It is true, there are many places a tourist can go to see the sights and learn the history, but this is the only place I have ever visited that I can do that while simultaneously being welcomed into someone’s home.








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Location: Taos Pueblo, NM, USA

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