Terminus

Saturday, 9 July 2016

We reached the Promised Land.  Terminus.  End of the Road.  Last Call.  Fat Lady Sings. 

Settled into the RV spot that will be our home for the next 2+ years (hopefully).  Pups have already had fun chasing lizards and sniffing all the smells of the desert.  Us humans have been driving around with our mouths open, saying "look at those mountains" over and over.  Nothing much has changed here - the mountains are still awe-inspiring and so close you can touch them; the weather is still perfect, even if a little hot during the day; the RV park on post is still a haven from the craziness of life; and the post in general is still small and manageable, with a low ratio of assholes (so far).

Jen starts work again Monday morning.  The pups have lots of trails and desert smells to explore.  Doug has endless amounts of cables and satellites and other electronics to set up again in our new home.  All is well here in the high desert. 

Last day in Santa Fe

Thursday, 8 July 2016

This morning the whole pack went for a hike in the Santa Fe National Forest.  Both humans were a little too sore from the past two weeks' activities, so we did an easier trail that only gained a little over 1,000 ft of elevation.  The trail was beautiful, with switchbacks through Ponderosa Pine forests, and ending at a swimming creek.  No views, but just the smell of the pines for 5 miles made it worth every drop of sweat.

After the hike, we took the pups for a treat to Sonic.  Finn loves the anticipation of knowing that after you push the button, a human actually brings his tater tots right to the car!!!!  After filling up on tater tots (pups) and ice cream (humans) we are all ready for an afternoon nap.

"what mom?"

Reward at the turn-around point

"that guy just brought tater tots right to our truck!!!!!!!!"

Tired.  So, so tired.

Singletrack and Shopping

Wednesday, 6 July 2016

This morning we re-visited some trails we rode here during our vacation in 2013, and they were just as much fun today as they were 3 years ago!  Galisteo Basin Preserve is an awesome mixed-use area with lots of trails, open space and a few new homes.  The ride took us up on a ridge, and then we rode the next 4 miles either on the ridge or swooping down singletrack back into the valley.  The notable landmark is the "sphinx" which seems to be New Mexico's version of New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountain (except that the sphinx is still here).  Jen had 2 outstanding crashes, the first one was funny and warranted a picture.  The second one was a little more significant and reminded us of why we wear helmets (now if they would only invent a "bubble wrap suit" we'd be all set!!).  But, everyone is fine and we continued zipping and woo-hoooooing down the valley to the car. 

On the way back to the RV we passed an outlet mall, so of course after we showered we had to go back and get us some deals at Merrill and Under Armour.  Then we met up with one of Jen's friends, Damien, from her JAG Officer Basic Course and his wife for beers in downtown Santa Fe.  Damien just got a Border Collie that he is training to be a service dog, so all the BC's played on the patio of the brewery while we caught up and shared funny Army and Defense Counsel stories. 

The Sphinx (zoom in, it really does look like a sphinx)

Awesome view from the trail

Trail along the ridgeline

Whoops!

Tourists in Taos

Tuesday 5 July 2016

Today we played Tourist.  Drove about 90 miles up to the little ski town of Taos (think:  North Conway with a lot of kokopellis and pottery).  The town itself was a little to kitschy for us, but we did manage to find 2 breweries (shocking!) and an outdoor store with good stuff.   Although they don't brew their own, we had some excellent local craft beers at Taos Ale House - the unique burgers and fries made with duck fat were pretty damned good too (sorry puppies, we ate them ALL!!).   That was enough touristy shit for us, so we headed north another 40 miles to Angel Fire, NM. 

Angel Fire is home to the only state park dedicated solely to veterans of the Vietnam War.  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park is really amazing - such beautiful grounds and tons of history, war-memorabilia and pictures inside - and a really cool story behind its building as well.  Check it out here:  https://www.vietnamveteransmemorial.org/

The state park isn't the only thing to see in Angel Fire.  We happened to have also found our summer retirement location here (too much snow to stay for the winter).  It is absolutely beautiful, with plenty of clean mountain air, green-as-Vermont mountains, a luxury RV park and a great new brewery - Enchanted Circle.  Our conclusion:  Northern New Mexico has everything we could possibly want - mountains, trails, beer, friendly people with dogs & RVs, affordable land, and beautiful dry (no humidity!!) weather.  Sign us up.

Huey at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Main building at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with the Angel Fire ski area in the background.

Enchanted Circle Brewing

Entryway of our RV Park in Santa Fe at Sunset

Tonight's sunset in Santa Fe

4th of July on the trail

Monday, 4 July 2016

Today Jen and Finn hiked up Picacho Peak in Santa Fe while Doug and Sunday stayed behind to plan our rides the rest of the week.  The trail was well worn and maintained with beautiful views at the top.  Finn was a great trail dog and made friends with two other BCs on the way back down to the car.  I was very thirsty when we finished, so we met up with Doug and Sunday and went back to Santa Fe Brewing Company, sat in the shade, and rehydrated.  The rest of the afternoon was quiet, just wandering around the RV park, enjoying the sunny, dry mountain breezes, and - for the pups - hunting bunnies.  In fact, we're enjoying it here so much, we decided to stay until Friday.  More mountains to climb!!!!!!  :)

Mom, are you ever coming up that hill???

You would not believe the gymnastics involved with getting a picture on a timer with a BC!

Can you see me now???

Well trained brewery dogs!

Los Alamos MTB

Sunday, 3 July 2016

Drove about 50 miles north of Santa Fe to Los Alamos to ride today.  At 7K - 8K elevation, the air was thin, but he trails were beautiful.  Mostly flowy singletrack with some fun (and not so fun) rock obstacles scattered throughout, almost all through Ponderosa Pine.  Even though it was in the low 80s, the air was so dry and thin that it just didn't feel much more than 70.  Absolutely gorgeous weather, no bugs, no humidity, beautiful trails, and the earthy smell of pine trees throughout the swoopy fun ride.  Doug did his research beforehand, of course, and had a cute little brewery lined up for post-ride refreshments.  It was more of a beer co-op than a brewery - local homebrewers and macrobreweries had taps.  We enjoyed re-hydrating out on a deck with hand carved furniture made from local pine logs.  Another beautiful road trip day in the southwest!

Diablo Canyon, New Mexico

Saturday, 2 July 2016

Took the pups for a hike into Diablo Canyon on the north side of Santa Fe.  Total of 6.7 miles, but less than a 500 ft elevation gain for the whole hike.  Started by climbing through towering canyons, listening to birdsong echoing through the canyon.  Then it opened up into a wide sandy wash where we followed it all the way to the banks of the Rio Grande.  Pups were surprised to find a swimmin' spot at the end of a long, dry, dusty hike, and boy were they excited!  After much splashing, swimming, jumping, and herding in the cool river, we hiked back out of the canyon and to the car.  Of course, all that hot dusty hiking made us really really thirsty, and of course, our RV park is just down the road from Santa Fe Brewing Co, so of course we stopped to re-hydrate.  Ended the day grilling dinner at the RV and taking the pups bunny-hunting.  Great day!