Remarkable…who? Those ladies in Taos! Part 2

This year Taos Tourism dedicates the entire marketing campaign to the RWOT (Americans love acronyms, only insiders get them though). Let me help you: R for remarkable, W for women, O for of (a small “o” would have been more accurate..) and T for?  Taos!

Susan Shelby Magoffin

My plan to write about my enthusiasm for most of them has changed. Too much is too much. On www.taos.org/women you find all you want to know about them.  But I can’t refrain from offering my five cent tip: if you believe that behind every great man (I’d add: behind great legends) there is a great woman, then go behind the man to discover amazing female characters.

Josefa Carson

When in Taos, check-out Kit Carson’s wife or Lucien Maxwell’s daughter, and read Susan Shelby Magoffin’s diary describing her extra-extra-ordinary experience on the Santa Fe Trail (and in Taos!), also an important feature in the life of the Sisters of Loretto. The poor nuns traveled and suffered everything one could possibly imagine for three months, two just on the Santa Fe Trail, before landing in mid 19^th century Santa Fe. 
What amazes me is how beautiful they were! No make-up, no hair stylist and yet their beauty went hand in hand with their strong personality and intelligence.
The list goes on and on. I found so many wonderful female spirits along my wanderings through the Four Corners area, women with guts, creative spirits, independent mindsets, courage, whether they came on covered wagons, worked on archaeological digs, or went out there looking …looking for something different.