We hiked the Vista Verde trail on Sunday, October 18.

Although relatively short, the views of the river, gorge, rock formations, and skies are vast and inspiring.

The trail begins a bit north of the Taos Crossing Bridge near Pilar, and traverses an area with wide vistas. It has many open spaces with grasses, shrubs, rocks, and a few trees, and is quite different from the narrower river gorge further north.

Sightings included a small flock of Desert Bighorn Sheep near the bridge on our way in, and a few Canada Geese on the river on our way out.

Nearer the town, the river flows gently and peacefully, and the fall colors made for interesting photographs.