It Does Rain In Taos

For the last three weeks I have been going into Taos on Saturdays to reconnect with some faces from the past. I have a few places where I am almost certain to meet up with some acquaintances or chat with total strangers, they include the Rooster Coffee Cart on Bent Street, Caffee Tazza on Kit Carson, Mondos Kulture Cafe and Wired Cafe these last two being located to the south of Taos main business district. So yesterday while at the Rooster, it started to rain filling my computer bag and getting my computer a bit soggy as well.

So I packed up and headed to the Tazza and visited with Mercedes and her bro Joe before moving on to the Kulture Cafe where I noticed Geraint (FB) but he was in what appeared to be a meeting so I did not get to talk with him. I ordered my java picked up the latest Forsefly (a local freeby about the political and social happenings of Taos), said hello to Walt Gonske (a long time Taos artist whose work I admire) and settled at a table by the windows and set up shop. Meaning that I pulled out my soggy Mac and dried it off before firing it up. While there, I ran got to visit with two other artist Abigail (FB) and her sister Gretchen whom I have known for years. Than Marcy, whom I haven't been in touch with for sometime stopped by. So all in all it was a very good day in Taos in spite of the rain. In fact, the rain didn't seem to slow down the arrival of hundreds of Harley's on their yearly pilgrimage to Red River to the north of Taos. ( Each year, about 14,000 Veitnam Vets on their Harleys arrive over the Memorial Day weekend for the gathering.

Lady (my dog) and I finally left Taos and headed home as the rains were building. We stopped at the Pilar Yacht Cub where I treated Lady to a hot dog and visited with Eva (FB) before heading through the BLM and up out of the gorge to get home. For those of you who may not be familiar with this part of my journey, this is normally a really beautiful ride. You are driving up into the Rio Grande Gorge. Joel Whitehead had previously posted some video of this area. Anyway it was all socked in, kind of like one of those northwest endless misty sort of days. As I drove up out of the gorge on the west side the clouds got very black and the rain started coming down in sheets.

As we hit the last homeward stretch the heavens really let loose with the force of a flash flood, lots of lightning and thunder. Visibility dropped to almost zero and as I slowed down to stop it happened.

Lady who hates the thunder was already a mess from the barrage of Lightning and thunder when in an instant the antennae and the Jeep Wrangler (Steed) flashed white, along with an ear piercing explosion and the Jeep sounded as though we were in one of those vehicle crushers used by Tony Soprano. Everything and I mean everything went totally white, I couldn't see anything. Shortly there after things started to reappear, the Steed kept running and I could see more lightning bolts but there was no sound what so ever. I believe, that we were struck by lightning or damn close to it. As I think back on this, I cannot imagine how anyone could ever walk away from a direct lightning strict just based on what I witnessed alone. I certainly have a hell of a lot more respect for mother nature and I don't think I wll be so brave in the future about staying out in the open during a lightning storm.

Well we made it home and we had more rain again today. This makes the sixth day straight that it has rained but not as bad today.

Terry R. Wolff