Back to the Beach

Note: I am posting this after we have returned home, as we prepare for our next adventure.

MARCH 2015
Now, back in glorious Carpentaria, lolling on the beach and reveling in sunshine, surf and spectacular sunsets, it is hard to believe how much we did and saw the past few weeks.

That’s the thing about travel, the days tend to be rich with new, or at least, different experiences. A week can fly by with a month’s worth of stuff having happened.  So briefly to catch up:

After we left Clovis, NM we drove over 300 miles, climbing in elevation all day, and arrived in Tijeras New Mexico , not far from Albuquerque.

Nearing the RV Park we had selected, we noticed snow on the ground in shady areas along the road. But it was warm and sunny – tank top and sandals weather. 

I am always surprised at how different RV parks can be. Some are parking lots with a bathroom, service hookups and laundries, others are communities where many people live full time in their RV's.  And lots of things in between. This place,  just off the main road, behind a gas station, was a community, at least in winter when there are fewer travelers.

Here, the campsites stretched up a mud and gravel hill, woods stretched out in two directions. The office was large and inviting, and had a varied collection of books and CDs. The price was good and we were tired.

As we walked the dogs we met a park resident who reminded us that we were just miles from Santa Fe, and the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. He also said something about the park being kind of muddy when it rained, but we were standing in full sun ….

We awoke to 21 degrees, a frozen water hose and SNOW!Not a day to travel up to even colder temps and higher elevations. So, the lobby library worked out well.

We spent the day cozy in our camper, reading, eating, napping and watching a video.  As the snow melted, the dirt turned to mud, so thick it was almost impossible to walk around – the mud clogging the soles of my shoes (don't even ask about the dogs).



The next morning was so cold that the mud had frozen.  The sun was shining. We were able to head  up the Turquoise Road 40 miles to Santa Fe, climbing so high we were above the clouds. 

But first, Trader Joe's appeared on the horizon. From there, knowing that our larder was once again full,  I spent the morning at the wonderful Georgia O'Keeffe museum. I loved seeing the paintings, looking at photos of the artist, and especially, seeing her actual tools, view and work space. Mine is much messier.

We had a great lunch, and walked around the shops and galleries, and admired the architecture against the cobalt blue sky. Then, though I'd have loved to spend more time here, we were both hating the altitude and dryness.  It was time to head south to warmer temperatures.

That night the park on our route was Red Rocks State Park in Gallup New Mexico. Once more, we were awed to just wind up in a place so awesomely unique and beautiful, and just in time to see the incredible color of rock formations before the sun set. 

In the morning, our map showed that the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest was just ahead.  This was a site I have always wanted to see. I was not disappointed. What moved me the most, among the stunning shapes and colors and the sheer empty enormity was the rock with hieroglyphics from an ancient native American..

This stunning scenery did not even begin to prepare us for the magic of Sedona, which we arrived at on a Saturday morning. The place was so crowded that lines of traffic stretched for miles on the road coming in from both directions. We spent the day, fighting for parking, crowded among people, and finally drove on - it was hot and we were ready to get back to the beach.

Driving out of Sedona heading east took us along more stunning and terrifying roads at the edge of cliffs, but we made it to a campsite by dark, and were back on the road in the morning. One more night, back at the desert camp near Joshua Tree National Park, and a half day more on the road, and we were back at the beach.

 See the next post for the final installment of Snowbirds Winter Adventure 2015.

Then I will have to begin the next adventure - Cross Country Summer . ... coming soon

Caves

I have never been in a cave, and I am more than a little claustrophobic. In fact the idea of visiting the Colossal Caves Mountain Park, located in Saguaro State Park in Arizona hit several of my fear notes, (in alphabetical order) bats (which are park of the cave system,) caves and deserts. Other than that I was really looking forward to it. On the topic of fears, as I mentioned in the last post, we were camping, alone, in this desert park high on the mountain, with no services (read cell phone connections) in a locked campsite. However, we had committed ourselves, and  selected our campsite. There was lots of daylight left and nothing much else to do so we took the opportunity to spend the afternoon touring the  cave. However, before signing up for the tour, I verified that there would be no crawling through tight places (the very thought makes me panic). The experience was amazing, we walked up and down 360 steps, between the cave walls, awestruck at the shapes looming in dimly lit darkness, and respectful of the terrifying dark spaces that were just off the carefully maintained path. This adventure became and a precursor to an even more awesome cave on the following day.

These photos taken at Colossal Cave do not begin to capture the sense of time and earth I experienced under the ground. I am glad I went. I did not see even one Cave Bear, but our guide was knowledgeable and entertaining. I am now able to identify "cave bacon" on a moment's notice.

The following day, emboldened by the amazing and fascinating experience in the first cave, we headed down the mountain (me happy to have survived the night). After H's visit to the Air and Space Museum, we headed to Kartchner Caverns to "experience a stunning limestone cave in Southeastern Arizona that boasts world-class features. This “live” cave, discovered in 1974, is host to a wide variety of unique minerals and formations. Water percolates from the surface and calcite formations continue to grow, including stalactites dripping down like icicles and giant stalagmites reaching up from the ground."

We spent an hour and a half exploring this underground landscape. Photos are not permitted to protect the delicate formations. What an experience - we toured the Big Room, learned the amazing story of the how this cave was discovered and, for me, found an previously untapped interest in geology. Check out this video to get a sense of the cave. In my opinion, the video fails to express the sheer enormity of the space within the cavern.  This place came highly recommended as a MUST SEE. I agree. If you ever get the chance to  visit, do.  In addition, the campsite, where we spent two nights, was beautiful, and offered great desert hiking.

Other than the beauty of the stars in the utterly dark night sky, and the interesting shapes of the cacti, I cannot say that I see much beauty in the desert – at least not here, and not now. But I am fascinated by the history of these ancient places. Rock formations are millions of years in the making. Indian tribes lived on this land 800 years ago, and a huge saguaro hit by lightning will take more than two years to die, so, I am in no hurry to leave.

Today we are in Tucson. Tomorrow … we’ll see.