Comments on: Powerful Urges: Remembering San Cristobal [Updated]

By: John H. Farr

John H. Farr — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:19:23 +0000

Well, it was five or six years ago, and I’ll bet it still is. You quickly learn who your neighbors are and see them a lot at the P.O., there are various community events and meetings, and even “THE cows.” I’ll have to dredge up my earlier writing on the subject and do a post…

By: David

David — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:39:55 +0000

It is a real community out there? That’s refreshing, might have to consider looking there next time we need a new place. Would be nice to be part of something, rather than just floating on our own.

By: John H. Farr

John H. Farr — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:08:37 +0000

Sunshine Valley! Most people don’t know that the water table is really high there…but it’s so far away… The thing about San Cristobal is that it’s a real community, something one hardly ever experiences any more.

By: Jaya

Jaya — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:54:07 +0000

I rented a place in San Cristobal about 8 years ago. It had internet connection that was OK, though I think back then it was still dial up… I don’t recall which service it was with, though. I really enjoyed living up there. Although, for solitude and peace, my ultimate was when I lived up in Sunshine Valley. I also lived down in Ojo Sarco for a couple of years, back in the early 1990s, and that was very sweet and peaceful.

By: John H. Farr

John H. Farr — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:40:36 +0000

I don’t think you have the distance down right, but maybe you do! The actual driving time is something else, however, and remember that we made the drive back and forth to Taos almost every day for a couple of years:

1. Time to navigate the rocky dirt road from a typical San Cristobal house to the highway: 2-10 minutes, depending on location.

2. San Cristobal to the north end of Taos on the highway: 20 minutes or a little less, depending on traffic.

3. Time to drive from the north end of Taos to the south end: 20-30 minutes under normal traffic conditions, sometimes longer.

So there it is. We live on the south side now. San Cristobal is roughly an hour away, regardless of what the actual mileage is. From San Cristobal to Santa Fe and back takes 90-120 minutes longer than from our present location on the south side of town. The broadband options would be local wireless via TaosNet or satellite. Either of these top out at 1.5 MBps, which is never really that fast, with much slower upload speeds. Half of what I do is uploading, so this would be a concern. Either of these costs at twice as much as in-town DSL.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:45:23 +0000

San Cristobal is exactly 9 miles to the plaza. An extra 2 hrs RT to Sta Fe? Would you have to use satellite broadband?

By: John H. Farr

John H. Farr — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:18:47 +0000

There’s only one road. When I was last up there (about seven years ago), it was VERY rough. It does go past the ranch, all the way to an official Forest Service trailhead, but it ain’t easy to locate, and before you get there, you’ll swear there can’t possibly be anything up that way.

That’s why I’d park at the P.O. and just tack the extra three or four miles onto the hike.

By: David

David — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:13:00 +0000

Is that the road that has all the No Trespassing signs as you get closer to the ranch? I think I turned around at one point, at a gate that was open but had NT signs. And yea, not sure about leaving the car alone in such a desolate place. I don’t really need to go car shopping anytime soon.

By: John H. Farr

John H. Farr — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:06:07 +0000

That’s the one my friends rented. They’re used to having someone sharing a wall with them, but we could never do that: two musicians making noise all the time? Wouldn’t work!

If you follow the road that goes by the ranch (Camino del Medio, turn left just past the P.O.) all the way to the end, it leads to a parking area for the Lobo Peak Trail. Verrrrry lonely up there, not sure about how a vehicle would fare left alone. Anyway, that trail goes all the way to the origin spring and connects to trails going to the peak and a wide circle in that wilderness area. You can also hike all the way to the Ski Valley, as I indicated. Looks like the Lobo Peak circle hike would take a couple of days. I’ve never done it, but maybe this year. I might leave my car at the post office and hike all the rest of the way, though. That could make it a THREE-day jaunt.