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!