Taos and the Enchanted Circle Byway

New Mexico is known as the Land of Enchantment, so it is appropriate that the state has an Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway. The 84—mile circular route crosses the Sangre de Cristo Mountains twice and is anchored in Taos. While the creation of the byway is a modern—day tourist development, the history of the area goes back at least 1,000 years to the creation of Taos Pueblo. The ancient Puebloans built a five—story adobe structure on the banks of the Rio Pueblo, still standing today just north of the present town of Taos. The village of Taos hosted trade fairs in the early 1800s with attendance by the Puebloans, fur traders, and other native tribes of the area. The 1900s witnessed the arrival of artists drawn by the beautiful scenery and native culture. Other historic towns of the Enchanted Circle grew up around short—lived gold and silver mines.

Mike Butler has sourced images from the Library of Congress, the Huntington Library, and local collections. He is also the author of High Road to Taos, Around the Spanish Peaks, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Southern Colorado: O.T. Davis Collection, and Littleton.