"VT Artists Retreat and Associated Road... " a Questa Travel Page by AlbuqRay

The First Annual VT Artists Retreat was held at the Takoja Retreat Center near Questa, NM, on 1-4 Sep 06. There were seven charter attendees (see above). Not only were the workshops excellent, the location was wonderful. It had been an unusually wet August, so even the wildflowers were special.

"Tah-Ho-sha" is a structure of two half domes with a connecting building. It was affectionately called the whispering gallery. You could hear any appreciable sound anywhere. This does not "sound" good at first but it actually brings people closer together. One immediately becomes conscious of how one affects others. There were a kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor, as well as areas for sitting, dining and sleeping. In addition, each dome had a sleeping loft with a bathroom. See the accommodation tip below for more pictures.

Takoja is located on the east side of NM-522 about 5 miles north of Questa, NM (which is ~20 miles north of Taos), at the Latir Road turnoff. The Sangre de Christo mountains are immediately to the east. For now, I shall include tips and pictures here from the road trips to and from Albuquerque to Takoja, even though some are really not that close to Questa. The road trip to Questa included a stop at Gabriel's Restaurant and a stop in Dixon to visit La Chiripada Winery and a local artist's studio.

On the way back to Taos, I stopped at the Kagyu Mila Guru Stupa and Red River State Trout Hatchery before taking a side trip to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. From Taos, I went the "back way," i.e., using the historical High Road (NM-518 to NM-75 to NM-76) to get to Espanola. Along the way I traveled through the forests of the Sangre de Christo Mountains, stopped at a small cemetery in the village of Rio Lucio near Penasco, enjoyed a sculpture garden in Chamisal, visited the historical church in Las Trampas, and toured the famous Santuario de Chimayo.