“...Led The Big Parade...”
So last time I had us just leaving the Taos Pueblo. We then returned to the Taos the Town. We had to drive through the middle of it to get to the highway.
We had forgotten something, though. It was No Kings Day. The minute we got to the town limits, the sides of the road were lined by protestors. There were signs and cheers and chants everywhere. And while it wasn’t official, the traffic moving down the road between the demonstrators had become a sort of impromptu parade. Everybody in the cars and trucks had rolled down their windows and were cheering and waving or giving peace signs.
About the photos: First, Martha at dinner in Taos. I love adobe architecture. Second, speaking of which, here’s an adobe wall at the Pueblo. And, finally, a shop interior in Taos the town.
I know it was political. And it was liberal. Which means that I have some friends reading this column who won’t be pleased (Sorry Beth! Sorry David H.! Sorry Jane C.! Sorry everyone else!) But, well, two things.
First, I am, after all, a lifelong Democrat and a liberal by nature. That’s just who I am. Maybe my conservative friends can forgive me that fact...as they might any other example of moral turpitude and/or temporary insanity. (Or not so temporary.)
Besides, second, there was something about the parade that day. It didn’t *feel* strident or bitter. People were laughing and cheering. Occasionally you saw counterprotestors, yet they were clearly mingling on a friendly basis with their rivals. It felt more like a celebration, a town fete. I gather, from those people I’ve spoken to people who addended similar gatherings in other places and they told me that the feeling in those places was similar.
Which is good, I think. I hope it means that, soon, we can return to a less heated political discourse, in which people can disagree and still be friends, without detesting one another.
Though, I’m afraid that won’t happen until the current administration is gone, and the issues which brought it to power have been addressed.
Anyway...
We had a grand time, waving and cheering back to the people on the street. I was a little sad when we came to the end of town and left the celebration. I had enjoyed being...albeit briefly, and only as a tourist... able to participate with the town in this way.
In fact, mind a small confession. I think that afternoon with us in the informal parade with all the people around us may rank among my best memories of Taos. It is second to the story of our son meeting the volunteer in the gift shop of the Fechin Museum (now the Taos Art Museum), which was amazing on so many levels. But, still right up there. It isn’t often that you feel, just for a moment, part of a community which is otherwise wholly unknown to you.
But...that’s a meditation for another day. We hit the highway and headed off. We were now on our way to Santa Fe, for the last full day of our time in New Mexico. Caution: spoiler alert ahead. We would have great time. But then, we usually do in Santa Fe.
And after that...more spoiler...we’re off for a brief stop again in Albuquerque.
Where we’ll get our Kicks on Route 66.(*)
More to come.
*Footnote:
For more on this famous Bobby Troup tune, see “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(Get_Your_Kicks_on)_Route_66
To hear it performed by Nat King Cole and the King Cole Trio, go here: https://youtu.be/9nuDE1SJlPo?si=NPAw3k4hJd1Im6Mm
Copyright©2026 Michael Jay Tucker
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