Taos On The Cheap

We’re moving!  Taos on the Cheap is growing into a bigger site at New Mexico on the Cheap, where you’ll not only find Taos deals (today we’ve posted one about free hockey for kids) but also deals and events in Santa Fe, top picks for Albuquerque, and other cities and towns around our beautiful state of New Mexico.

Please subscribe at NewMexicoOnTheCheap.com to receive updates on Taos deals, events, and freebies, as well as a whole bunch more to help you save when you travel in New Mexico. Plus ideas for free and cheap day trips and events, the word on air fare sales, restaurant coupons and discounts, spa specials, ski savings, and lodging deals… plenty of ways to enjoy New Mexico without breaking the bank! We’ll soon be posting freebies and deals for Veterans Day too!

But, there will be no more posts at Taos on the Cheap. If you’ve noticed we’ve been quiet lately, this is why.  So please subscribe to NewMexicoOnTheCheap.com instead.

Thank you for your support of Taos on the Cheap and I hope to see you at New Mexico on the Cheap!

The free concert Salon: folk re-imagined takes place on Wednesday August 17, 2011 at 7 pm, featuring contemporary classical music. They’re promising “folk music traditions in a modern context” performed with trombone, violin, and electronics, and including samples from vintage radio, Nebraskan cattle auctioneers, and Bossa Nova. Sounds like a very innovative program, and the performers will talk about each composition before letting loose with it. 

The concert will be held at Enchanted Mountain Studios, 114 Los Pandos, Taos. Although the Salon: folk re-imagined website suggests parking in the old Scheid Dodge dealership parking lot, we’ve heard that this is not the place to park as it’s otherwise occupied. But there’s plenty of other parking in the area.

It’s the battle of the airlines for cheap flights between Albuquerque and Denver – which means savings for passengers heading up to Colorado this fall, or if you’re a Mile High City resident coming to visit New Mexico! (Taos is actually rather more than a mile high, but hey, who’s counting?)

In the Frontier Airlines flight sale, fares between Albuquerque and Denver are an amazingly cheap $9.99 each way. The valid travel dates are on a Tuesday or Wednesday between September 7 and November 12, 2011.  These $9.99 sale fares are only available to buy through Monday August 1 at 9:59 pm Mountain time (11.59 pm Eastern Time).

It’s fine to book a one-way fare, there’s no need to purchase a round-trip ticket. Of course, taxes and fees are additional – I’m seeing the extras at about $7 on top of the $9.99 fare.

You also have to pay for checked bags at $20 per bag. But a $25 upgrade to a Classic ticket (offered once you’ve selected a flight) may be better value for you, as the upgrade includes two checked bags, advance seating assignment, and some other benefits.

The $9.99 fares may sell out fast, so purchase Albuquerque – Denver sale fares at FrontierAirlines.com by August 1.

We mentioned the Southwest Airlines fall sale in a previous post, also through August 1. They offer two check in bags free, and fewer date restrictions that Frontier. I’ve just seen Albuquerque to Denver flights on Southwest starting at $24 plus taxes over this same fall period.

Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort hosts the free Music on the Rocks festival this Saturday July 30, 2011. Admission is free to the family-friendly event, with live music, dancing, and artisan booths, plus free wine tastings by La Chiripada Winery of Dixon.

Music on the Rocks starts at 10 am until 7:30 pm, with wine tastings from 12 noon. The headline act (playing at 6 pm) is the Taos band Last to Know, and the free concert line-up also includes Taos singer/songwriter Carl Struck, plus Jenne McIntosh, Chris Morel and Charlie Whaler, and the Main Street Garage Band.

If you want to stay over, Sipapu lodging deals on rooms may still be available (they had a few rooms remaining last time we heard, but no doubt they’re filling fast.) Offers include a second night free if you stay one night in the motel through August 31, and third night free when you pay for a two night stay in various types of accommodation, to August 7. 

Sipapu is 20 miles southeast of Taos. Get directions to Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort.

The 2011 New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax Holiday runs from Friday, August 5 to midnight on Sunday, August 7, 2011.  It’s just in time for back-to-school savings: the following items are exempt from gross receipts tax during the tax holiday:

• Clothing or shoes priced less than $100 per unit/per pair
• Desktop, laptop, or notebook computers, including tablets, under $1,000
• Certain computer hardware items under $500 (such as a printer, mouse, keyboard, monitor, microphone, speakers, ink cartridges etc.)  
• School supplies priced under $15 per unit
• School backpacks and calculators priced less than $100 per unit

Exclusions include phones, PDAs, iPods and all MP3 players, games including computer games, and musical instruments. In other words, these items are taxable.

See details on what’s taxable and nontaxable in the PDF file on the NM Gross Receipts Tax Holiday page.

For back-to-school supplies and computer shopping, savings are pretty good, just by buying on the right weekend. That’s why we’re giving you alert: If you’re planning a camping trip to the wilderness, DON’T do it on the weekend of August 5 to 7, 2011! Ask in the store before you begin shopping if you have any doubts about what is or is not included in the 2011 Tax Holiday.

If you’re flying into Albuquerque to visit Taos, or you live here and want a deal on a trip away this fall, save $$$ by booking in the current Southwest sale. You must book by August 1, 2011, for travel between August 23 and December 14, 2011, flying on any day except Fridays and Sundays. 

I’m seeing these prices to or from Albuquerque for a one way fare. Some are listed in the sale, others are just by searching the Southwest site for dates during the sale’s travel period:

• $39 El Paso, Midland/Odessa
• $49 Tucson, Denver
• $59 Phoenix
• $94 San Diego
• $99 Houston, Dallas
• $104 Las Vegas, Los Angeles,
• $109 Salt Lake City
• $119 Chicago, St Louis

There are many more cities and you may find different / better fares. And (oh joy!) they include two free check-in bags with the fares. Sale fares are not valid on some blackout dates around Labor Day and Thanksgiving, and of course a few (fairly cheap) regulation fees apply on top of the ticket prices. Make reservations for the Southwest Airlines sale directly with Southwest.com.