Day 13
I was headed north again…can’t get too much farther south than Las Cruces or you’re in El Paso. So, north for my next adventure. I’d read & seen amazing photos of the Fourth of July Canyon trail. I tried to make it to this hike last time I was here but the weather was crappy & it was too early for the peak leaf color.
Theres also a primitive campground that I was hoping to camp at tonight. No cell service, but it was a sweet little site!
I can see why hundreds flock to this trail about an hour south of Albuquerque…the trees were showing off every single color of Autumn! And here’s just a few of the photos….I took a gazillion!
The parking area was full & many had parked along the side of the road. But when you were about 1/2 mile from the trailhead, you didn’t see too many people.
I was tired after hiking 6 miles & was ready to heat up leftover chili from Chopes for my dinner. As I was grabbing my stove, I saw a guy walking down the road heading towards the trailhead. There was a woman in front of him, but I caught site of him & said, “Hey, we met at Noisy Water Winery the other day!”. He said ‘Hi Vicki! Hey Carolyn, it’s Vicki”. What a random meet up more than an hours drive from the porch where we shared wine & conversation. Dave & Carolyn had come down this Monday morning to see the trees too. We visited for about 20 minutes….love these trip magic moments! PS: I chose this campsite because I wanted to stare at that gorgeous red tree!
As I was walking back from the pit toilet & back to my camp, I said hello to a young solo female camping right next to me. I told her I was her neighbor & said if she felt like it to come down for a chat later. And she did. It was nice to meet this courageous young girl named Abby. She had her own health story as she was recovering from a car accident which included a back injury, a broken clavicle & a severe concussion. This trip was her time to step back into what she’d had ‘before’ & see if she could do it again. Amazing that age & so many things make us different, yet if you take the time to listen to someone, we all have things in common. While our summer medical journeys were not the same, our self motivated trail to get back to where our heart & joy is, was the same. We talked long into the night until the chill drove us into our own sleeping bags.
Day 14
I made some tea before I headed out under clear but very chilly skies. I waved good bye to Abby on my way out as she was also packing to leave to head south. I wished her well & seriously hope life is good to her!
My plan for tomorrow had been to be on the first tour of Acoma Pueblo. Back in the spring, Sherry & I had met a mother & daughter that belonged to this tribe. At that time, the Pueblo was still closed to outsiders, due to Covid, but they gave us their info & encouraged us to come see their “Sky City” someday. In July, the Pueblo opened again for tourists & I really wanted to see it. BUT…this was only Tuesday & after looking around on maps, apps & actually driving around I couldn’t find camping that worked. There was only tribal land between where I was & the hour that it would take me to drive there.
So, it was time for Plan B…again. I would come back sometime to visit Sky City, but wouldn’t be waiting around on this trip.
I went back into Albuquerque, bought ice & gas & sent off a couple of text messages to friends. Early in this trip, my friend Sherry suggested I come by & stay with her on my way back to Kansas. She has been wonderful at texting me & FaceTiming me throughout the summer & it would be great to hang out with her & ‘not be sick or talking about being sick”. But, she was currently having a mind blowing e bike trip in Patagonia & wouldn’t be home until Wednesday. I’d planned to be there on Thursday.
North was my direction & I wasn’t going to leave this amazing state without one more meal. So, it was back to The Shed for another fantastic meal. There was no wait if I went to the bar…which is a favorite place of mine to sit in most any place. There was one seat open & I was greeted by a great big guy with huge cowboy hat, a bandana around his neck, giant cowboy boots & big southern drawl. Tom was a local…a lively one I’d bet. He was from Tennessee long enough to acquire a heavy accent, but had lived in Santa Fe for over 20 years. He was a talker…& that’s something to say when I am one also. He clued me in on all the goings on, wanted me to come back on Friday to sing with them at the bar, told me all the good stuff about the bartender he knew so well, & highly encouraged me to order their famous Mocha Cake (which I’d heard about from a few others).
I ordered the same thing as last time, taking 1/2 with me for dinner tonight. And, I ordered the cake…because why not. As I was getting ready to leave, Tom asked me where I was parked & would I do him a favor? He gave me $2 in quarters & asked me to fill up his meter on the way to my 4Runner. He said his was the only bright yellow Hummer out there….of course he would drive a bright yellow hummer. I said I was happy to do that & told him what a delight it was to meet him.
I did a beautiful drive back up to Red River & back to the Noisy Water winery. I’d decided besides the 6 bottles of Green Chile white wine I’d already bought, I also wanted a couple of bottles of their Red Chile red wine. But, I wanted to taste it again. So, I sat on their lovely porch with the sunshine & mountains all around, & breathed in the New Mexico air…I really love this state!
I ended up with 6 more bottles of wine…I planned on sharing when I was in Colorado. I have been listening to fun audio book series called “The Thursday Murder Club” & had just started a new one this morning. So, with being read to & pretty views along the way, I left New Mexico for this trip. I’d tagged this trip “My Healing Trip” & I think that happened during my two weeks here. I’m definitely not 100%, but I’m so much better than I was this summer!
And then I crossed over into another favorite state….Colorado! I really wanted to avoid any bad weather, so I knew I wasn’t going to CB like I did last fall when I left New Mexico. They’ve already had several snows & Monarch Pass has already been closed a couple of times due to snow. I would stay along the Front Range & the forecast was for more great weather!
I found a spot just south of Walsenburg…not the perfect spot, but it would do. It was a little piece of BLM land with big views of the distant mountains. I ate my leftovers & boy that Mocha cake was perfect! I talked to Danny on the phone & finalized plans with a couple of other friends I’d texted last minute this morning…it was going to be great to see more friends before I headed back to Kansas for the long winter.
Sunsets…so pretty.
Day 15
Good morning sun!
I headed up to Pueblo this morning to meet up with a wonderful guy!
Always fantastic to catch up with Steve. He is one of Luke’s best friends. I never come through Colorado without getting in touch with him. Love this guy!! Then I headed north.
Made a quick stop at my favorite Colorado Springs eatery called Shugas. I have many good memories of this place & of a particular friend named Adi….he is missed greatly.
And, I always eat the same thing…small bowls of the Spicy Brazilian Coconut soup & the Jalapeño & bacon mac & cheese. Always so darn good!
So glad when I texted Joanie yesterday, she was on her way back home to Longmont from a trip. We planned to meet for dinner after she got off work. So, until then I toured around their old town & had a cup of tea.
This was a fun store to walk through in old town on Main street called Cheese Importers. Housed in a two story building with several small rooms to wander through as you listen to French music in the background. Soaps, lotions, candles, chocolates, biscuits, crackers, tea towels, rugs, dishes….so many different things. Then instead of displaying the cheese in refrigerated cases, you just walk through a door to an entire refrigerated room (warm coats are available for customers to wear in the room)…so many cheeses. Glad I was camping & nearing the end of my trip so I wasn’t tempted to buy anything.
I still had about 40 minutes before meeting Joanie, so I went to Colorado’s largest Cidery. I had a barrel aged dry apple cider (small pour) & it was pretty good. They had about 9 ciders of their own, then 24 other ciders all made in Colorado.
I met Joanie & her guy Jay, whom I’ve heard great things about, so it was nice to meet him in person. We had a yummy dinner at the Roost restaurant in old town Longmont. After, we went back to Joanies house to visit & I was looking forward to seeing all the remodeling she’s done to her home…inside & out. Wow…very cool. Everything is cool about this woman. Joanie is a fantastic photographer & I love to hike with her. She made a point to come out to camp with Danny & me & Talie this summer in Crested Butte…what fun times with her. We broke open a bottle of the Green Chile wine, visited & got caught up. So grateful I met this woman while camping near a beautiful river in Crested Butte watching baby deer struggle to cross the raging river. That’s been several years ago & we become better friends every year. Somehow I missed the photo op of the two of us though. Next time for sure!