Author: pam

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Summer at Home 2021

Columbines blooming are a sure sign of spring. Lots of wildflowers on the trails.

 

White fluffy clouds just say summer to me.

 

Day trip to near by Echo Reservoir to enjoy the wonderful sunshine.

 

Another day trip to Santa Fe – 160 miles one way to the charging station. Oh, and could not pass on some great shopping!

 

Nice stop for coffee break. Took about 40 minutes to add 140 miles of charge (for a total 225 miles to return home).

 

Our first restaurant dining since Spain in 2020 – great outdoor patio with spicy New Mexican food.

 

We built this kayak stand to give us more room in the garage – works great!

 

Another building project?

 

A bug hotel for our 6-year-old great-nephew. We had fun painting and decorating!

 

We did an overnight trip to South Fork and got a hike in together as well.

 

He also came to see our house and check out the kid size bridge in our Japanese Garden- a fun day of mini-golf, picnic lunch, library summer reading, and a walk along the river.

 

We dodged some summer storms but managed a few evening concerts in the park.

 

Wandered downtown on 4th of July to see all having fun floating along the river.

 

Cruised downtown for the car show – dressed to match so owner wanted a photo.

 

But mostly we enjoyed our solitude

 

Having some quiet Zen moments at home

 

And the serenity of our wonderful sunsets.

 

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Utah: Sand Island/Butler Wash

We are in Bluff Utah by lunch and snagged a river site at Sand Island Campground.

A wonderful walk along the river to see petroglyphs – and blooming cactus.

Nicely preserved petroglyphs in the rock faces.

Also some wall remnants protected under cliff overhangs.

We headed up Butler Wash along Combs Ridge for some more remote hiking.

More ancient construction under some huge cliffs with protected coves.

Absolutely gorgeous petroglyphs – quite large and very distinct.

We could make up our own stories as to the meanings.

Nice scenery to enjoy after a day of hiking – relaxing in the shade of the van!

A long day hike up a canyon to some more areas of interest.

Posing outside doorway to give some scale to the building.

Love how the large boulders are incorporated into the walls. There must have been an upper level

Amazing hand print detail captured with a zoom lens.

We had a very hot day of hiking and we did not explore all the side canyons.

But enjoyed some unusual natural rock formations.

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Tesla Model 3: Electrifying!

Tesla Model 3 is our choice for our new electric car! It is a very smooth and high tech ride.

We ordered with an 8 week delivery but were offered a show room model so we headed out to pick up with our lunch stop at Lathrop State Park – gorgeous day.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at beautiful Pueblo Lake State Park.

After many months of research we had decided that we would go all electric as it is important to lead the way into mitigating climate change.

We arrived well rested to do a thorough walk through of the new 2021 Tesla.

Our first Tesla supercharger stop in Poncho Springs, Colorado – we saw 5 other Teslas pull in while we were there. A happening spot!

We made time to take a walk at Sand Dunes National Park.

A favorite photo under 14 thousand foot Blanca Peak, south of the Sand Dunes. Very red white and blue! Wonderful to buy an American car of such quality.

We also had time on our way home to see some of the Sandhill Cranes in Monte Vista on their northern migration.

The glow of the setting sun as we start our adventures with the 2021 Tesla and the 2016 Travato.

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5/5: Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness

Time and natural elements have etched a fantasy world in these shale hills.

A perfect day to wander around all the various formations.

This was a petrified log among a huge amount of petrified wood covering the hills.

This looks like an entire turtle has been turned to stone as it scaled the ridge.

Cap rock formation of sandstone over mudstone. Textures abound!

An entire army of CapRockers advancing, creating shadows.

Was this Antoni Gaudí ‘s inspiration for Casa Milà rooftop garden in Barcelona?

This gateway arch led farther into the badlands for more exploring.

An acropolis: the highest city on a rocky outcropping. 4th century citadel?

De-Na-Zin is Navajo for Cranes. Sandhill Cranes?

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4/5: Datil Wells/El Malpais

We blew across the plains while enjoying fun cloud formations.

Very Large Array had a road stop spot to get a photograph.

Datil Wells was one of 25 watering sites on a cattle drive route across New Mexico.

A very pleasant 3 mile nature loop had enough snow that finding the trail was challenging.

Reward was fabulous views that were worth the effort.

We found one of the hidden rocks a Farmington group was doing – it made us smile.

Such a small spec on the big landscape of El Malpais NM , Joe Skeen BLM Campground.

The Lava Falls trail was similar to Valley of Fire.

Grants and Mt Taylor in the background of our campsite.

Enjoying another outdoor happy hour – our first of hopefully many in 2021.

Official twenty-fifth year celebration.

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3/5: White Sands NP/Organ Mountains NM

The clouds and remaining snow made a revisit to White Sands National Park feel unique.

The gypsum sand does not look so white under the snow.

The winds shifted the clouds into different formations.

It looks dark and stormy over the mountains providing contrast with the sand.

There was some fresh snow at Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks NM but is suppose to warm up.

Test (la) drove a Model 3 and marveled at the design details. Electrifying!

Hiked Pine Tree Loop into the foothills of the Organ Mountains.

Very unusual clouds and sunset lighting as the moisture rose.

The Chihuahuan Desert and all its amazing diversity.

Enjoying the picnic area from our #1 site at Aquirre Spring Campground.

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2/5: Valley of Fire/Three River Petroglyphs

Sotol yuccas grow on Pahoehoe, ropy like lava fields at BLM Valley of Fires.

A collapsed layer gives access to a cave. Lava flowed from Little Black Mountain on the horizon.

The flow was 44 miles long and up to 160 foot depth, and covered 125 square miles.

It is one of the youngest flows in the USA – maybe 2,000 years ago.

Camped looking out over the Tularosa Valley with the entire lava flow.

A wonderful twisted 400 year old juniper.

An afternoon with interesting cloud formations gave us some additional photography fun.

They lingered for us to enjoy a picturesque sunset.

We next camped less than an hour south near prehistoric Jornada Mogollon rock art.

The Sierra Blanca in the back ground is not very blanca today.

There are over 20,000 petroglyphs here at BLM Three Rivers Petroglyphs.

An impressive amount of rock art on the 2 mile hike.

It was fun to find them hidden among the boulders.

Back to Valley of Fires for electrical hookup to sit out a cold and windy storm.

We glamped inside with good food, interesting books, and non stop heat.

Dusting of snow on the Pahoehoe – like a zebra, with no two stripes alike.

The sotols add a nice green to the scenery – quite memorable.

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1/5: San Lorenzo Canyon and Bosque del Apache

  Something different today. On the road heading south into New Mexico!

We pulled into BLM’s San Lorenzo Canyon (PDF), northwest of Socorro.

Very impressive heights – to think a Rio Grande tributary carved this canyon.

Unique rock formations made the slot canyons and hikes interesting.

Fun to contemplate the uplifts and other geological features.

An hour or so drive took us to Bosque del Apache for some birdwatching.

Reportedly 20,000 snow geese winter here. They are impressive.

You can not really quite image the noise as they are very vocal.

They are looking so calm here but there is a lot happening. So much fun to watch.

Sandhill cranes also overwinter here, numbering around 10,000.

They tend to hang around in smaller clusters and are quieter.

For a couple hours we enjoyed this view from our van with windows open.

They eventually flew away and we appreciated the entertainment.

As we headed out on the Camino Real. This is February 8th and warm. Nice!