Angel Fire Lunch

One of the things we find we like to do when we’re in Angel Fire is lunch at the peak of the ski mountain.  Some people like to have lunch at the top of a skyscraper…….well, I guess the skyscraper we lunch at is provided by Mother Nature!!

Angel Fire has at least one of the chairlifts that operate during the summer months.  It gives folks like us (non-skiers) a chance to enjoy the views that the skiers get in the winter, minus the snow!  And, yes, the top is a long way away!

It neat to check out the ski runs when they are covered in grass, or being used by mountain bikers.   Some of the chair lifts have been modified to allow their bikes to ride the chairlift, so to speak, so that summertime uses include the mountain bikers, as well as hikers, who ride the chairlift up and hike down the mountain.  And, then there are folks like us, who chairlift both ways!!

When we got off the chairlift, I walked over to what would be the beginning of an expert run (now fenced off, because the beginning of it is too steep even for the bikers) to take a photo of Angel Fire, a few thousand feet below.  Oh, and the piece of equipment off on the left side of the image is the bike carrier that is used to hold the bikes on the chairlift.

Isn’t this a nice lunch view?  We are looking at some of the ski runs that take off down the back side of the mountain.  I think they also do zip lining along these runs, but they weren’t zip lining when we were there.  It was just a nice, peaceful lunch spot.  We were sitting on some picnic tables on the outside of what is a snack shop when the mountain is open for skiers – a place to warm up, and get something to eat and drink.

You know the old saying – what goes up must come down!  And, so we did.  That first view when one just clears the ridge at the top of the mountain is quite breath-taking, for a number of reasons!  I’m not afraid of heights, but it even takes my breath away and gives me butterflies when we first swing out and over!

Enjoy!

Forest Road 437

While exploring around Angel Fire, we traveled down a National Forest Road, numbered 437.  It was such a peaceful (if bumpy) drive down a dirt back road.  Here are a few highlights…..

One of the things we like when we explore is the peaceful spots that we find, tucked away in the woods.  They are like little treasures just waiting to be discovered!

Max is getting a bit more comfortable with exploring a little bit in water – at least, as long as it’s shallow water!!  He really does love lapping up the fresh, cold, clear water in the streams!

What a lucky shot!!  This lovely butterfly was sunning itself on this coneflower, just as we happened by!  I quickly jumped out of the Jeep and was able to quietly approach it without scaring it away!

It seemed like this was the lunch spot for butterflies and bees!!  It’s not often that I get the chance to photograph them side by side, enjoying the flowers in a very different way than I did!

Enjoy!

Welcome to Our Home

One day, while exploring, we came across an old deserted cabin and my imagination wandered a bit while I was photographing it.  Can you imagine welcoming someone to this as your home?

As visitors approach your place, they would pass by this window – was it your bedroom window? Their guest room window?  Although I love the character of the outside wall, peeling paint and inside curtain, it doesn’t exactly make one feel warm and fuzzy, does it?

Be careful and watch your step as you make your way to the front porch!!  Couldn’t you just see some rocking chairs out here, so you can visit with folks as they approach your place?

Now, here’s a front door that makes a statement!!  Right now, the statement that it’s making is primarily “stay away”!!  

And, wouldn’t your guests love to start out the day with a walk to the well, to get some fresh cold water for their morning wash-up?  Ok, so maybe this place isn’t ready to be put up on Airbnb, but the possibilities are endless, right?  LOL!

Enjoy!

Rio Grande del Norte National Monument

On March 25, 2013, President Obama signed a Presidential Proclamation which created the Rio Grande del North National Monument.  Just as a bit of information, it takes an Act of Congress to create a National Park, but only a Presidential Proclamation to create a National Monument.  This Monument covers about 245,000 acres of public land.  There are some private lands within this area, but they are not subject to the terms of the proclamation.  A couple of years ago, we saw the far southern end of this Monument, the Rio Grande Gorge, near Taos, but for this trip, we focused further north, near the town of Questa, to see the northern end of the Monument.

To preserve the great views from various points along this portion of the Monument, the Proclamation closed the area to mining, as well as mineral and geothermal leasing.  There were four “objects of value” that the Proclamation specifically outlined.  The first of these is Geology.  It states that this area is a testament to the geological history of New Mexico and over 70 million years of tectonic history of this area, which is the world’s major rift systems.  Believe it or not, ancient people used to live along the sides of this gorge.  Ancient images have been carved into the cliffs and artifacts have been found, resulting in Cultural and Historic Resources as being the second object of value listed in the Proclamation.

The third object of value is what’s called Ecological Diversity.  Specifically, they cite the variety of trees and sagebrush that can be found throughout the 245,000 acres in the Monument.  And, as you might guess, the fourth item is the wildlife that can be found there.  Fish, birds, elk, pronghorn antelope, and bighorn sheep – all of these and more can be found throughout the Monument.

But, it’s not all “serious” stuff at the Monument!  There are several recreational activities at the Monument – Fishing, Hunting, Birding, Boating (whitewater rafting), Hiking & Biking and Camping!  Check out the arrows in the above image to see the camping cabins at the base of the gorge along the Rio Grande River.  Of course, one would not only have to get down here, but also back up!!  These cabins are geared toward hikers and backpackers.  There are some campgrounds in the Monument, too!

To me, one of the coolest sights was this view from La Junta Point.  La Junta is Spanish for “meeting or joining” and that’s what happens off the Point – the Red River (on the left) joins the Rio Grande River (on the right).  The Point is also the widest (3/4 of a mile) and deepest (800 feet) part of the entire Rio Grande Gorge.  If you look closely at this image, you can see a sandy trail on the sort of triangle shaped piece of land where the rivers meet.  There was a trail, the La Junta Trail that started at the point where we were standing and made its way down to the point where the rivers meet.  However, it is closed indefinitely and perhaps forever, because there was a rockslide that wiped out part of the trail, and geologists and a variety of experts have determined that it’s just too dangerous to attempt to repair the trail due to the steepness of the trail and where the rockslide happened.  So, that sandy trail will be deserted and eventually, will be reclaimed by the environment.

Enjoy!

Road Runner RV Park

When staying in Red River, NM, we stayed at an RV Resort because some friends recommended it.  And, they were right!!  It was such a lovely campground…..

We were lucky enough to be able to camp at one of the campsites along the Red River!  The views, both upstream and downstream, were just great!  And, as an fyi, the cabin that you can see in the downstream shot (on the right) is actually owned by folks.  It was an interesting mix of owners and campers.

There was wildlife in the campground.  The first day, we saw a couple of deer, but I didn’t have my camera handy (how could that be??).  I also got a chuckle from the ducks that seemed to hang out in “our” part of the river.  Did people feed them?  I don’t know – I never saw anyone do that, but then I wasn’t really watching….

The river was so shallow here, we thought it would be a good place to introduce Max to fresh water!  Max is a quirky puppy – he’s wildly excited about most things, and yet, when it comes to certain things, he’s very cautious.  Water is one of those things!  Ah, Max!

We liked this campground so much, we decided to see if we could reserve one of the campsites we liked best next year – and we were lucky enough to be able to reserve 2 weeks next August!  The image on the left is the upstream view from next year’s campsite – it’s almost a private site!!  The image on the right is the view of the mountain from Max’s puppy park (where Max met many new friends!).  Can wait for next year!!

Enjoy!!

Greenie Peak Drive

One day while in Red River, we decided to take an off-road route that would take us up to a nearby mountain top, called Greenie Peak.  Come along for the ride!

We love to ride on the backroads, and especially the dirt roads because we get a chance to feel like we’re truly exploring and covering new ground – at least to us!  Plus, driving thru some of the forest roads puts us at eye level with the ground, since the roads were cut into the forest and mountainside!

We’re also enjoying the fold back roof on Jeff’s Jeep.  It folds back to allow the front seats to feel like we’re driving in a convertible, and that’s enough to give us some expansive views of the roads we travel on.

Greenie Peak has a flat top, enough for there to be several cars, Jeeps, trucks, etc., on it at the same time.  It was nice to see the 360 views (top image).  After stretching our legs at bit up at the top, and allowing Max to take a few sniffs, we then started down the other side, stopping to have lunch at a place called Midnight Meadows (bottom image).  I don’t know how it looks at night, but during the day, it’s quite lovely!

While traveling down the mountain, we did see a herd of cattle in the high meadows, and even got a close up of a calf with its mom.  Ironically, for all the wild animal signs we saw in the area, the only animals we saw on this jaunt were these – not quite wild!!

We stopped at one point to take stock of where we were.  The image on the left is of where we’d been.  If you look closely, you can see a small patch of what looks like white in the midst of the trees.  That was the road we had been on.  The image on the right reflects were we were heading, in this case, back uphill a bit.  Again, it the small light swatch sort of in the middle of the image.  Driving through the mountains like this really helps one keep oneself in perspective – how small we truly are!

There are hiking and backpacking trails throughout the mountain area.  In these images, you can see a small footbridge over a stream in the lower left area of the image on the left.  The stream runs along the side of the road and the trail seems to come from deep in the woods, emerging at the footbridge.  The image on the right shows the wooden steps that will lead the hiker from the stream up to the road.  I didn’t notice where the trail again picks up on the other side of the road, but I’m certain that it does.

Here’s a nice view of that stream I mentioned in the previous set of images.  This is a much nicer view of it from right on its shore.  Don’t let the pretty idyllic scene fool you into thinking it would be lovely to sit on the shore and dip your toes in the stream – this flows from the mountain top and is icy cold!!

This is one last look that we had of the Red River Ski Resort runs from our back road explorations!  It is nice to see it from in between the trees on a mountain.

Enjoy!

Cabresto Lake Drive

Our first full day in Red River, NM, had us exploring along a back road that eventually led us to a wonderful mountain lake where we had lunch.  But, first…..

We do love off roads, ones meant for Jeeps or other off road vehicles.  And, Red River, is a great base from which to explore!!  We met several Jeeps or off road vehicles (some taking tourists on some off road adventures!), but mostly, we had the road to ourselves.

One of the great things about the Jeep we have is the roll back roof that allows us to not only see the great views in front of us, but above us as well!! 

Red River is a ski town!  I don’t know how well-known it is among skiers, but it does seem to be popular enough to keep this small mountain town up and running in the winter, but not too popular to turn this into some sort of super commercial entity – thank goodness!

Our goal for today was Cabresto Lake – a beautiful mountain lake that’s really a reservoir.  The dam is off to one side of the lake, and it’s very easy to forget this isn’t a lake made by nature.  We did happen to see a beaver swimming toward us, below the trail upon which we walked.  I was actually surprised at how large he was.  Anyway, we did have a lovely lunch view of the lake!!

Although we drove back to our campsite via the regular highway, the overhanging rocks provided some impressive views, too!!

Enjoy!