Taos On The Cheap

Pocket a free Visa or Mastercard Gift Card when you board the weekend Winter Wonderland Express. A $25 gift card for 2 tickets purchased; $75 gift card on 4 tickets; $125 gift card on 6 tickets.

Offer valid to April 25 2009, or while gift cards last, on regular priced dome car tickets for the Winter Wonderland Express, running Sat and Sun, 9:00 a.m. round trip out of Alamosa, CO, to La Veta, with an hour at La Veta for lunch/browsing. Not valid for tour groups, or Easter/Mother’s Day trains. Call 1-877-726-RAIL and give the promo code “Cold Cash”.  Alamosa is about 90 miles north of Taos, a gorgeous drive, and the rail ride to La Veta should be mighty purty through the snow.

A fun free event for all the family this Sat March 28, 10:30 am. Watch the 5th Annual Pond Skimming Contest at Sipapu, where bold skiers and snowboarders zoom down the slope and try to skim across the 70 foot pond without getting a dunking. Free to turn up and watch even if you’re not skiing Sipapu.
Registration to take part in the contest is also free (frankly, you’d have to pay ME to participate, but I’m a wuss when it comes to cold water.) Prizes for the best finishers. Turn up in good time to register on the day, and helmets required! March 28, 2009, 10:30 am. Info at Sipapu Ski Resort, or 800-587-2240, on Hwy 518, about 20 miles from Taos.

Free screening of Mean Streets at the newly renovated Taos Community Auditorium on March 27, 7:30 – 10 pm. Plus Q&A with Production Designer David Nichols, whose films include Groundhog Day, Mr. Holland’s Opus and Hoosiers, and collaboration with Scorsese on Taxi Driver.

End of season special for March 23-April 5, 2009 at Alpine Village Suites in the heart of Taos Ski Valley. Book three nights and get the fourth night FREE! Plus 10% off ski rentals and purchases at Cottam’s Ski Shops and Alpine Extreme. Fourth night free only applies to specified suites, sleeping up to 4 or 6 people. Regular rates for these suites sleeping 4 is $172 – 270 a night, depending on dates. For loft suites sleeping 6 it’s $214 – 330. With the fourth night free, you do the math – it’s a pretty good deal.