The Taos Unlimited Blog

Definition: “A group of houses and associated buildings, larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town, situated in a rural area; a self-con...

Definition: “Pompous or pretentious speech, writing, or ideas.” Origin: “mid-19th century, during the period of the populating of the Old W...

Horno is Spanish for “oven.” In the Southwest, a horno generally refers to a wood-fired oven made of adobe mud, often in the shape of a beeh...

Located in Abiquiu, New Mexico, Ghost Ranch was the home of artist Georgia O'Keeffe from 1949 until her death in 1986. Located in an are...

A tamale (in Spanish, “tamal”) is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of steam-cooked corn dough (masa) with or without a filling. The mo...

Definition: “A kind of clay used as a building material, typically in the form of sun-dried bricks; a brick of such a type or a building co...

A domesticated member of the horse family, the donkey’s wild ancestor is the African Wild Ass. Males are called jacks and females jennies. O...

  The first luminarias in North America were bonfires of crisscrossed pinon boughs arranged in 3-foot high squares. The Pueblo Indians in N...

Definition: “A type of bread made from cornmeal and typically leavened without yeast.” Native Americans were using ground corn for cooking ...

Clothing made from the soft leather of deer or elk, with the underside (or the suede side) turned to the outside. Usually consisting of a ja...

A long blanket-like shawl, often brightly colored and fringed at the ends, worn especially by Mexican and Southwest Indian men. ~Aimee Rea...

Definition: “An ornamental border of threads left loose or formed into tassels or twists, used to edge clothing or material.” Fringe origin...

  A method of hanging chiles, garlic and other foodstuffs on a string for drying and storage. They are commonly used for decoration inside ...

Chamisa (also known as Rabbitbush) is a member of the Asteraceae family. It is a deciduous shrub, similar to sagebrush with a native range ...

Definition: “A large handkerchief or neckerchief, typically of cotton, often having a colorful pattern; a red paisley bandana kerchief, neck...

Definition: “A steep-sided gully cut by running water in an arid or semi-arid region.” An arroyo is a nearly vertically walled, flat floore...

A large, widespread group of reptiles with nearly 5,000 species, lizards range across all continents except Antarctica. Lizards typically h...

An extremely popular Native American food, found throughout the United States, fry bread is a flat dough pan- or deep-fried in oil, shorteni...

Definition: “a close-fitting waist-length garment, typically having no sleeves or collar and buttoning down the front.” Origin: King Charles...

An Old West term, meaning “getting married.” It was derived from the practice of horses being hitched to a wagon. Used as slang even today, ...