This view – sweeping sagebrush mesa with grazing bighorn, snaking deep canyon, and towering snow dusted mountain, all within one glance – is why northern New Mexico has such an intense fan club.

Even though we’re in Taos regularly, we hardly ever have free time to explore, but, lucky us, yesterday we had an entire unscheduled day. We celebrated by taking a walk along the west rim of the Rio Grande Gorge. The clouds that you see piling up in the photo above, were a harbinger of the winter storm that pulled into town overnight. This storm is currently pelting Albuquerque with icy rain, but could provide the Sangre de Cristo mountains with a foot of snow. Guess it’s time to dust off the snow gear!

Oh, and for our visitors who scoff when they see the “wimpy” Rio Grande in Albuquerque, don’t underestimate the power residing in this waterway: