There are places I like to drive. Not so much because I like to be behind a steering wheel, but because of the scenery. I like driving around New England in the fall because of the foliage.  I like the road from Rome to Amalfi. I like the drive from LA to San Francisco up the California Coast. There are others. But my favorite drive is the loop from Taos to Questa to Red River to Eagles Nest and back to Taos. I’m making that drive as I write. I made the drive for the first time in the 1970′s and later I came back in the 80′s on a motorcycle to do the drive. While I’ve been in New Mexico dozens of times, I’ve only made the loop a few times in my life. But each time was great. This year the leaves are turning and the mountains are splotched with a variety of colors. We stayed north of Taos last night in a clearing on the side of a mountain right off a logging road. The view was great, the night was peaceful, and there wasn’t any frost on the tent this morning. Making the loop, I remembered why I like this drive so much – the views. It’s also nice to be making the trip with two friends that I’ve known since the mid-1960′s, friends that I ran around with in high school and were my roommates in college.