Pilar

FRAGRANCE NOTES:  The cool waters of the Rio Grande River flowing alongside the Village of Pilar include fragrance notes of water, woods, and a hint of lavender. INSPIRATION:  The Village of Pilar sits along the Rio Grande in Northern New Mexico about 15 miles before you arrive in Taos surrounded by local wineries, and apple and apricot orchards which fill this green valley. Today it is the go-to place for whitewater rafting and kayakers who raft and camp along the banks of the river. Pilar was originally named "Cieneguilla," for the swampy ground in a bend of the Rio Grande. For history buffs, the area is famously known as the location of the Battle of Cieneguilla, which occurred in 1854 between the Jicarilla Apache fighters and the U.S. Cavalry. By most accounts, the Jicarilla Apache were a peaceful people being squeezed out of their territory. The legendary Christopher “Kit” Carson headed there to get help for this small band of Apache. In 1918 the State of New Mexico gave the ar