And We're Off . . .

Those that know us might say "they are off, alright," but we are off on another adventure. This trip was originally planned for a return to hike Havasu Falls. We hiked it in 2018, and I loved it so much I wanted to go back. I applied in Jan 2021 for an Oct 2021 hike and got a spot. COVID kept things closed, and the slot rolled to this year - 2022. The Havasupai people decided not to reopen this year, so my slot rolled to Oct of 2023. We had already planned a road trip around the Havasu hike, so we just modified it a bit and set out anyway. Here's our planned route for this trip.

Trip Plan - updated this morning

I always have a plan, a backup plan, and some options ready when we set out. I also build in a few flex days. This morning I already had to alter day 3 & 4 of the trip due to some monsoonal weather forecast for western NM. I had planned to be on some dirt roads in the Valley of Dreams and Bisti Badlands, but rain turns those roads into slick mud quickly. We'll try and catch that area on our return route as shown in the updated route map above. We will now head to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest on the front end, instead of the back end of the trip - more paved roads there.

The first couple of days are always just long drives. On the first night we made it to San Jon, NM at sunset. The little town, of now about 200 people, was founded in 1902 and got a rail stop in 1904. It was a local commercial center and a stop on the famous Route 66. But I-40 bypassed the village in 1981, and it went into decline. They have a town park that has an array of free campsites you can use overnight. It's very nice, clean, and quiet with flat pads and fancy flush toilets. There were only two other campers here with us.

Elena got a new geology app on her phone (Rockd), so she is constantly noting the ground under us: rock type, formation period, etc. Her intellectual curiosity is one of the many things I love about her. We headed for the Albuquerque area and decided to give the van a workout and drive to the top of Sandia Peak up the east side. It was a warm day in town, but only in the 60's on the peak at over 10,000 feet. We hiked a few trails, including one to an old CCC cabin high on the mountain's edge.

CCC cabin on Sandia Peak

What a view from inside

Another great view from inside

Bebop and Paul on Sandia Peak

We ended the day at the Coronado campground in Bernalillo, along the banks of the Rio Grande.

-Paul