Traveling-U.S.A

September 17 06 Northern New Mexico

Arrived in New Mexico near the 4 corners. Parked at the Elk’s Lodge in Farmington. After setting up and a bit of lunch in the lodge we toured Aztec National Monument. These ruins were on a plateau and had a reconstructed Kiva. A circular building which was used by the Ancient People as a ceremonial building.

Monday we drove about 70 miles to see the Chaco Culture National Historic Park. There are lots of ruins there and we walked around several, took a guided tour of one and then walked a path with petroglyphs. Got home around 6: 30 had a bite to eat and visited with a lady WIN we know who lives in Aztec.



We moved to Abiquiu just above Santa Fe. It is a beautiful Corp of Engineer reservoir campground. Our first day here was maintenance. Bob did the chores outside and I altered and mended clothes on the sewing machine.




The wind has picked up due to the cold front and our awning was out. We have it secured with a number of methods but it still was noisy and caused the trailer to rock. Not much sleep so in the morning we called to reschedule our train ride on the Cumbres-Toltec narrow gauge so we could keep an eye on the awning. Think we may have had at least 40-50 mph gusts and we still have an awning. Bob tied the awning up with some heavier rope and we took off to Los Alamos to see the Bradberry Science Museum. It told the history of the making of the atomic bomb and also the things the labs are doing now to maintain them and other research. We then stopped at Bandolier National Monument to view more of the ruins of the ancient Indians.




Friday we took the ride on the Cumbres-Toltec Railroad. It was raining and foggy when we started and then at the higher altitudes we got into snow. We got about ¼ of the trip in when they stopped and retreated back to Chama. The pass had 12” of snow and we would have been endangered if we went farther.




The company was very generous and offered ½ of our fare refunded or a full voucher for a reschedule good until 10/14/07. They also provided each with a $10 voucher for a meal in any restaurant in town. We opted for the reschedule, had a lovely lunch and rainy drive back to our trailer. We were told this is the first time ever that they had to return.




Saturday we went to Taos. Looked around the historic plaza which is mostly upscale gift shops, got lunch then took off for scenery. We drove the Enchanted Circle from Taos to Angel Fire, Eagles Nest and Red River. Looped around Mt. Wheeler which is the highest peak in NM. Heading back to the trailer we crossed the Rio Grande River Gorge and the tall bridge.


Sunday morning we got into Albuquerque. We are parked at the Elk’s Lodge near the airport. We will be flying back to Ohio on Wednesday.