Arcenio J. Trujillo

As the Saturday morning sun started to climb the backside of the towering points of Wheeler Peak, Taos Ski Valley came alive with a flurry of activity June 29. And, as the gray morning light became direct, yellow sunlight, visitors began streaming in. Carloads of people and dogs emptied into the far-reaching parking lots below the base of the mountain village, where a bevy of free activities offered through TSV's Summer Community Day awaited them.

For much of the year, Fred Baca Park in Taos is a bustling hub of activity. But the volume of visitors grows vastly during the summer months, when people bring their dogs to enjoy the various walking paths, families bring their kids to spend time on the playground, and basketball players gather to shoot hoops.

The Valle Escondido July 4th Golf Tournament was held July 6, with 44 individuals pulling out their clubs and taking over the mountain course for the annual 9-hole event. The Saturday morning golf competition was just one of the many activities happening in the high-altitude enclave on the day, as several visitors took advantage of the perfect weather to hike, bike, fish and ride motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles in the areas surrounding the course.

With the Rio Hondo flowing at a lower-than-normal volume and setting a moderate pace, spectators attending the 23rd Annual Duck race held at Taos Ski Valley were able to get right up on the riverbanks and into the Hondo's cool currents to witness hundreds of yellow rubber ducks compete in one of Taos County's quirkiest (or quackiest) Fourth of July traditions last week.

When the Taos Municipal Schools announced the hire of Johnny Olguin as the next head football coach for Taos High School April 24, it was inevitable that changes would follow. Usually, coaching philosophies differ from one coach to another, leading to differences in style and approach; meaning it could take some time for players to get used to those changes.

Taos Country Club played host to a very special event Saturday (July 13) as 83 golfers showed up to take part in the first-ever Taos Tiger Classic Golf Tournament supporting Taos High School Athletics.

Taos will play host to multiple running events this summer, beginning with the Enchanted Forest Trail Race in Red River this weekend (July 27), followed by multiple tough runs at Taos Ski Valley in August and September.

For the second year in a row, Taos Tennis at Quail Ridge played host to the annual Taos versus Angel Fire Challenge, which should have equated to a vital home court advantage for the Taos crew as they sought to defend their latest conquest in 2023. It was Team Angel Fire, however, who found the right rhythm and eked out a road victory — snatching a symbolic reward in a decade's old grudge match from their Taos counterparts July 27.

One day, not long ago, a very determined man from Denver started out on a lengthy journey. With a small backpack — filled with a singular item — slung on

Todd Gravelle is a Taos icon, but he doesn't see it. His body of work parallels many Taoseños who have lived here most (if not all) their lives, have held