New Mexico: Land of Fire & Ice

Monzano State Park, Monzano, NM

 

There are two things I was really appreciative of this morning when it was 33 degrees. 1 - my husband figured out how to turn on the heater without us getting out of bed and 2 - the jacket my son bought me for Christmas.

Our big outing of the day was visiting the Land of Fire & Ice. A rather cheesy roadside attraction that nevertheless drew us in.

The Fire portion was taking a hike up to a blown out volcano. The views were great and the hole was about 1400 ft deep and 1000 feet wide. You could see 15 other volcanos in the distance.

The ice portion was hiking down to a collapsed lava tube with ice perpetually captured in it that is 20 ft. thick.

 

We also stopped by El Moro National Monument. This was the only place within 30 miles that had a water supply. It was located at the base of a sandstone butte. Travelers used this landmark for thousands of years to locate a source of drinking water while on their journey.

Along the way many of them left their mark on the sandstone walls. We saw petroglyphs dating back to 1200 and signatures from the Spanish explorers and the first American pioneers.

What amazed me was the source of water was not from a spring, but rain water running off the mountain. We were not very impressed with the quality of the "oasis" we saw. You'd have to be pretty dang thirsty to want to drink that water!

Man does not live by historic monumnets and schmaltzy tourist attractions alone. We heard about Mary & Tito's Restaurant in Albuquerque. It was given a James Beard Award and noted for their very authentic adovada dish. Sounds like a good reason to stop.

This place is very unassuming. It's located in a semi industrial neighborhood and the decor hasn't changed for decades. Perfect.

I had the traditional adovada dish and Ned had the adovada enchiladas. It blew our heads off. They make this spicy chili sauce from scratch and it's very earthy and hot. It's served over a seasoned roasted pork. It ain't your traditional California-Mexican chili red sauce that's for sure. As I'm typing this, I'm still trying to recover, thus my glass of red wine...

 

We're really enjoying our campground tonight. There are only about 12 sites (yes, I did book this one ahead of time). It's located in the mountains at an elevation of about 7200ft. We're enjoying the sun knowing that we'll probably have another cold night ahead.

Tonight's plans include taking a hike on the nature trail and a rousing game of Skip-Bo.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Sedona: Ancient ruins, swirling vortex and bicycle alchemy

Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area, Show Low, AZ

This is our second time thru Sedona. Everyone has always raved about how cool Sedona is, and after our first visit I didn't get it. (That time we stuck mainly to the town of Sedona). This time I got it. The rocks, geology, ancient ruins, vortex, and one awesome guy changed that.

 

 

 

 

Because wine got the better of us last night we decided to take another crack at the bike ride this morning. Good choice. We were really able to appreciate the early morning light and the warming rays of the sun.

I'm still getting used to my new bike. Unlike my ol Gary Fisher, this one doesn't do single track very well. Let's just say I found that out the hard way.

That big smile on my face is because I eventually found the flat, wide packed down surface that my old age has come to love...while riding in flip flops.

 

Our first outing of the day was visiting Tuzigoot National Montument. So interesting to tour the dwellings of the Southern Sinagua circa 1300.

Kudos to the them for building this settlement on the top of a hill. The view was spectacular. We also enjoyed that you're able to just walk, climb and explore on your own. It made it for a very intimate experience.

The little museum and visitor center also had some awesome pottery pieces. (Patti Clark you were along this expedition with me. I just kept thinking how much you'd love this!)

 

Next we were in search of a vortex. (Bucket list item for me). Ned was a little worried that my energy field and the vortex energy field might cause a warp in the universe. Nevertheless she persisted...

We chose the Boynton Vortex because a) it was supposed to be a beautiful hike and b) it was free. I didn't want to pay for the vortex experience, it had to be organic.

On our way up a hiker coming down gave Ned and I some heart shaped rocks. He said, "This is a gift from Mother Earth it will retain all the good energy gathered here." Apparently, we were in the right place.

That's me standing at the center of the vortex. It was incredibly windy at the top of the mountain and I was holding on. I put out to the universe all my good energy. Let's see how this works out.

 

Having lunch in downtown Sedona where we made the best decision of the day. Looks like that good energy thing was working for me.

We were in search of a bike shop where Ned could pick up a spoke wrench to keep working on my bike. It was still a little wobbly and needed more fine tuning.

By sheer luck we walked into The Fat Tire bike shop and met Dave. We spent the next hour or so chatting while he worked on my bike. What an awesome guy! We talked about Apple and IBM (both of our former professions), marketing, bikes, and best of all chocolate. He's a true foodie and has an amazing palate. Just so happened we had some Cello Chocolate with us and ended up doing a tasting with him. We ended up trading him chocolate for his services. He also gave us an amazing beer from Quebec. (Marc we're holding onto this until we connect with you in Missouri).

 

We actually liked old town Cottonwood more than the town of Sedona. It's much more laid back, very tiny and not so full of itself.

We stopped at the Hippie Emporium and Ned found this cool VW straw hat. He dons it well.

 

 

 

 

Leaving Sedona we decided to explore another ancient ruin, Montezuma Castle. It's built into the side of a cliff and unlike the one this morning, you're not able to actually climb into it.

When early settlers first discovered this they assumed it was built by the Aztec, hence the name Montezuma's Castle.

The picture in the upper left corner is a diorama of what daily life in the dwelling might have been like. To get a perspective on the picture on the right side, the dwelling is 100 ft. above the valley and contains about 20 rooms. The lower picture is a close up of the dwelling. Really cool!

 

We had an early evening drive across Arizona on highway 260. It's one of the most gorgeous scenic routes we've experienced in Arizona. Lots of mountains and trees that go on forever. It felt like the Sierras. What a change from the last few days of desert.

We pulled into the campground at around 7. It's completely full. Oops. We talked to the campground host and she said that this is Arizona's 5 Star premier campground and sites book a year in advance. Guess the event planner on this trip missed that one. Mmm. They took pity on us and are allowing us to camp in the overflow parking lot for the night. $15 and glad to take it! Hot showers in the morning to boot. Life is good.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Winding our way thru Arizona

Dead horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, AZ

Keeping true to the trip's name, we decided to take an obscure path from the Lake Mead Recreational Area to Jerome, AZ. It added about an hour to our drive but we were curious what this part of Arizona entailed. We encountered lots of rolling hills and driving up and down mountain ranges.

 

 

 

For most of the 4 hour drive our only companion was the saguaro cacti.

 

We finally reached Jerome, Arizona in mid-afternoon. If you're not familiar with this town, it is a quirky, artsy community straddling a hillside.

Jerome started as a mining camp and then boomed to a population of 15,000. When the last mine closed in the 1950's the population was about 50. In the mid-60's hippies arrived and turned it into the art community it is today.

It's built into the side of Cleopatra HIll, and from here you can see Sedona's red rocks, Flagstaff's San Francisco Peaks and even eastern Arizon's Mogollon Rim country. Here's a panoramic shot from one of the levels.

There are 5 levels to the town with lots of art galleries, wine bars, coffee shops, and

 

 

 

lots of quirky little shops along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

Due to the different levels of the town, it makes for an interesting space to explore. Lots of shops tucked away in obscure spaces.

 

 

 

 

When the town was first developed, blasting at the local mines regularly shook buildings off their foundations. The town's jail slid across a road and down a hillside. It still resides there today...albeit unused.

At one point, circa 1903 a reporter called it the wickedest town in America due to its abundance of drinking and gambling places. "Whether by divine retribution or drunken accidents, the town burned down several times." Ah...good times.

 

 

I thought this was pretty cool. A film projector from way back when!

 

 

 

My bike had a little mishap yesterday. Somehow my front disc brake and spokes got bent. I think it had something to do with it getting backed into a rock...

Ned spent some time this morning working on it and getting it back up to speed.

 

 

Yeah back in action.

 

 

 

Our home for the evening. We had plans to do a bike ride, but then wine...

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Hiking the Great Indoors

Boulder Beach Campground, Lake Mead Recreation Area, NV

We got up before sunrise and our original plan was to do some hiking in Death Valley. Looking at the day's itinerary we decided to "hike" the Vegas strip instead. We thought it would be fun to walk from Mandalay to the Fashion Show Mall then cross the street and head back. The only rule was we had to enter each and every hotel and casino. What we didn't factor in was getting lost in the maze of casino madness and all the stairs up and down. It took us 6 hrs and we think we did 10 miles.

At first we vowed to skip all escalators and only walk the stairs. By the end we were scouting out each and every escalator as the strip kept changing levels and forced pedestrians to meander through obscure passageway in the casinos. We got lost in the Mirage for at least 45 minutes somewhere in the bowels of the convention center. Gawd....

 

Before we left Death Valley we did manage to walk to Zabriskie Point. We were the only ones there. So cool to see the badlands in the early morning light. We also had fun taking numerous selfies of our shadows. Yeah, we're easily entertained.

 

 

Back to the strip...Our favorite hotel was the Aria with the bicycles hanging from the ceiling--go figure. We also liked the Bellagio, but more for sentimental reasons. It was the first trip Ned and I went on together about 15 years ago. Ned courted me with a trip to Vegas, tickets to Cirque du Soleil and a friend's wedding on Mt. Charleston. It was my first trip to Las Vegas. I was underwhelmed with Vegas, but smitten with Ned.

The canals at the Venetian, the roller coaster at NY-NY, the Eiffel Tower and the musical fountains were kitschy fun. We were not so much impressed by all the high end shopping malls. Note: this observation by someone who doesn't own any name brand clothing...unless I inherit if from Megan.

 

 

T

 

The people watching today was pretty crazy. Of course there were also countless Elvis impersonators wondering the streets too.

 

 

On the strip is the only Bean to Bar chocolate maker in the state of Nevada. Ned had met the owners at one of the chocolate conferences so of course we had to check it out.

It felt good to finally sit after about 4 hours of walking at this point and do a tasting. They used some of the same varieties of beans we use so the direct comparison was interesting. (Trying to be impartial, but I think Ned is the far superior chocolate maker.) The young kid giving us the tasting was really sweet. It was also fun to see their chocolate making lab. If you get a chance check out Hexx in the Paris hotel/casino.

Walking thru the Bellagio and admiring the incredible flower displays. For the record we never gambled or stopped for any adult libation. I'm pretty sure we violated some Vegas code.

 

 

 

 

We also really enjoyed all the interesting sculptures. Love the seats in the top picture wth the fountain display in the back.

Ned was fascinated with the metal craftsmanship of the woman on the lower left. It was huge at least 40 ft.

The bird was made entirely from flowers!

 

 

 

After a very exhausting day, we were thrilled that tonight's camping spot was only about 40 miles away. We're staying at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Still in Nevada, but super close to the Hoover Dam.

 

 

Home for tonight. I was expecting us to be camping in dirt with no trees. We were pleasantly surprised to get such a sweet spot. It felt good to get back to nature after so many neon signs, casino noise, crazy people and over the top hotels. Time to polish off the red wine we opened the first night and make a batch of popcorn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Warming up in Death Valley

Furnace Creek Campground, Death Valley, CA

We went from 7500 ft in elevation and a chilly 38 degrees this morning to 200 ft below sea level and well into the 90's by this afternoon. Finally!

We've been to Death Valley at least half a dozen times, always entering from the west. This time we decided to enter on the Nevada side heading into the valley from the East. The view coming in was beautiful, despite the hazy, cloudy day. I still prefer entering from the West and having the experience of driving thru the valley.

On our way there we were treated to a cattle round up. We stopped by the side of the road and watched the cowboys rustle up the cows in a field and then guide them across the road.

 

 

 

We set up camp at high noon and after a quick lunch we biked over to Furnace Creek Ranch. This time of year it's usually in the triple digits. Ned was just fine with it being around 90ish with a warm dry breeze.

 

For $5 you can get a day pass for the showers. They just so happened to be located in the pool area. It was a perfect afternoon swimming, reading, napping...repeat.

 

 

The grounds at Furnace Creek are really beautiful. Great that the general store is located here as well. I feel like we are glamping. While we are actually camped in a desert parking lot, just a short bike ride away is all this luxury!

 

 

 

View from our campsite, facing the mountains. The geology of this area is so stunning.

 

 

After dinner we took a bike ride over to the Harmony Borax Works and puttered around the historical displays.

 

 

We might be old, but Ned can still do a selfie while riding a bike. Impressive.

 

 

We had the place almost to ourselves. Who else rides in 90+ weather?

 

Time for an evening swim. Later gator...

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

A Little Bit of Everything

 

Benton Hot Springs, CA

I'm so ready for vacation. We planned our first stop at Benton Hot Springs where we could just relax and not think about chocolate, rain, politics or any adult responsibilities. It's been a really long winter.

Good news is we made it. The journey however, included hail, snow, sleet, some sunshine and more rain. Ah...best laid plans.

 

Ned smiling while enjoying the five minutes of sun that appeared today. Mono Lake in the background.

 

 

 

Love the green and blue hues of Mono Lake. We opted not to do our traditional tufa walk since it was too cold and wet. Nevertheless, Mono Lake never disappoints.

 

 

We're calling this trip "Off the Beaten Path". It's our 9th road trip across the U.S. and this time we're trying to explore the places we've missed on our previous trips. Yes, there will always be a few of our favorites revisited too.

On the road to Benton Hot Springs we experienced snow, rain and lots of rolling road. Didn't see any other cars so at least the trip is aptly named!

 

 

Ah, our little piece of heaven in the desert. In the background you can see our personal soaking hot springs.

Now, if only the weather would cooperate and it would stop raining and sleeting so we could go soak!

 

Time for Plan B. Wine and some munchies while we wait out the rain.

Thank you Winnie for having an awesome heater to keep us warm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can't beat this! After about 45 minutes the rain (and snow flurries) let up. We're actually now appreciating the cooler weather. It makes the hot springs so much more enjoyable.

Ned, the science guy, brought his infra-red thermometer. (Of course he did). The temp is 100 and the incoming water is 108. For those inquiring minds.

 

 

 

 

The quiet of the desert, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and out of cell phone range. Let the vacation begin.

 

Posted with Blogsy