Day 6 ~ Onward to Hayes, Kansas

When we left Taos, we didn't know where we would end up.  The goal was to get in the car and drive until we couldn't drive any longer.  We accomplished that, however, probably could have gotten further had we not stopped along the way.

We weren't even on the road for an hour when we came into San Luis, the Oldest Town in Colorado.  It's tiny and I was surprised to see an Expresso Bar in a rustic building right on the main street.  Scott took Bella for a walk while I went inside for coffee.  There was, indeed, a small coffee bar in there, but there was also a workshop.  I asked the guy serving coffee what the area in the back was used for and he told me a most amazing story.  

The schools in the area were losing funding for the arts, so some people in the community came together to make a place for emerging and established artists.  It is funded by donations, coffee sales and special events.   Run by volunteers, it is an impressive endeavor to say the least.

As we drove into town, we had spotted an interesting building on top of a hill.  I saw a painting of it inside the coffee shop so asked what it was.  It had the look of a temple, but found it was the Sangre de Cristo Catholic Church.  Of course, I was intrigued.  We were given the secret way in, which was the road.  The other option was to park and climb up the steep hill.  Looking down on the town later, I was incredibly thankful for those directions.

So, our day of putting miles on, got slowed a little, but we came away with a feeling of inspiration and peacefulness that lasted throughout the day and into the evening when we stopped along side a country road to photograph the best sunset of the trip so far.  Even with all the stopping we pushed through to Hayes, Kansas, which left about 16 hours to our destination in Michigan.  Almost there!