Taos Canyon To Philmont

So after two nights we departed Taos (elev. 7200 feet) and ascended up Taos Canyon toward the east. This turned out to be the prettiest scenery of the entire trip. After only about an hour of slow driving we started seeing the property signs of the Philmont Scout Ranch.
For those of you who weren't in the Scouts, visiting Philmont Scout Ranch is like a pilgrimage to Mecca for a 15 year old boy. And I was 15 years old when I got to spend a week there backpacking through the Sangre De Cristo Mountains. Unbelievable scenery and wildlife. Uncle Carey Durham was even chased by a bear while he was camping there many years before I went. Anyway, I was glad to show it to the family and someday in the future I'm sure Jack will be hiking their trails.
We stopped for lunch in Cimarron at the St. James Hotel where a lot of famous gunslingers spent a lot of crazy nights (their last night for about 20 unlucky ones). Jesse James was even a regular. I had been there on my way to Philmont as a kid and was excited to show Hayley and Jack where all the bullet holes were in the ceilings. Cimarron was a stop on the Sante Fe Trail and, back in the 1880's, was a real happening town.