The scenic byway along US-64 south of Wheeler Peak was a great drive, and Taos is an interesting town but due to all the road work it wasn’t ideal to stop and walk around. So I kept driving a bit further northwest to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. There is a parking area but it was full today so I parked along the sandy shoulder and walked a couple hundred yards to take a look.
The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is a huge steel arch bridge that spans across the Rio Grande Gorge which is part of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. The bridge spans 1,280 across and roughly 600 feet above the gorge. Along the sides of the road are walkways and sidewalks for pedestrians to cross.
A sign can be found while crossing that states this is the “Most Beautiful Steel Bridge” of the long span variety as claimed by the American Institute of Steel Construction in 1966.
The gorge starts to reveal itself as you walk across, and from a distance what looks like a small dip in the rocks opens to a full blown canyon of epic proportions.
Standing at the center of the rift you get a much clearer view of the Rio Grande River that carved the volcanic rock into this chasm over the past several million years.
Looking straight downwards to the river there is a large rapids just below. I’m not always the biggest fan of heights and will admit even with tall guard railings this view gave me a bit of the shakes once the scale of it all really sunk in.
Here is a zoomed view of the rapids. To me this imagery reminded me of drone footage or the Apple TV screensavers – breathtaking and peaceful, yet almost looks fake.
Views in the other direction are a bit washed out by the sun but on the plus side are a bit less hidden by shadows. Lots of haze or smoke on the horizon which are obscuring the distant mountains.
Another top-down view of the river below, again almost does not seem real (but are some of my favorite shots).
On the west side of the gorge is the rest area and you can find the National Monument entrance sign at the intersection.
Additionally there is a stone marker with some plaques as erected by the State of New Mexico for it’s dedication in 1965.
Time to walk back across the bridge and gorge. Did I mention there is some great mountain scenery here? Not 100% positive but I think Wheeler Peak, the state high point is there on the left side of this image. Someday I’ll make it up there but that will take a bit more planning (and maybe a bit of fitness training). For now I’ll be content just soaking it in with my eyes.
