New Mexico Memories

October 28, 2026

Jemez Falls, Santa Fe National Forest

We have a great memory of camping there with my sister and her husband.

Valles Caldera National Preserve near Los Alamos, NM

Memories of our hot-air balloon ride in Albuquerque came to mind while visiting

this great museum.

My sister lived in Albuquerque for many years, so I brought her to one of the trails in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains that she liked to hike.

 

We also enjoyed some unusual places in the Santa Fe area.  "Ethyl the Whale" on the campus of Santa Fe Community College reminded me of my father.  He was a chemical engineer who worked at a plant that produced polyethylene.

"Origami in the Garden" sculptures near Cerillos are fantastic.  Works made of aluminum modeled after paper origami figures by Jennifer and Kevin Box.

One of the bookends for this trip was a two-day stay at Palo Duro Canyon State Park in the Panhandle of Texas for the "Pirates in the Park" hot-air balloon festival.  We arrived after the first planned mass ascent, and the pictures we saw online were amazing.  Evidently, we brought the rain from Utah and New Mexico with us, and the other planned events were not in the cards for us.  PDC is the second-largest canyon in the US, so a camping trip there is always worthwhile.  It began to rain early in the morning when we left, so we were relieved to get the five low-water road crossings behind us and begin our last 650 miles to Houston. One overnighter at Lake Brownwood State Park provided us with one last glorious sunset.

proof we made it back to Texas

    Brian here.  We are home and already back to the old routines.  I’ve been thinking about our latest journey, and decided to add my part to the blog.

As we have said many times, we are so blessed to be able to have adventures together.  While travelling, it is impossible to not be grateful for all of the amazing places that are in the United States and Canada.  We have no desire to explore more of the world, with the possible exception of a 50th Anniversary visit to the US Virgin Islands National Park next year.

This trip was different in many ways.  Having to make plans and reservations really changes things.  Weather was a major factor this trip - we managed to avoid having really big problems, but many of the areas we visited had problems before and after we arrived.  That was good for us, but not for the people that live in affected areas and those scheduled to visit during those times.

We recognize that we are slowing down quite a bit, but we have earned it, even if we don’t like it.  Long days in the van are getting harder.  

One thing that is amazing to me is that we have seen SO MANY of the places that we see in social media that are ‘bucket list’ places , ‘best parks’, or roadside oddities.  Yes, we visit many of them because we saw them on social media, but we have been to many of them before social media was a big thing.

On our Alaska trip, we often said “pinch me” when we saw awesome sites, or realized that we were on an epic adventure.  This trip provided many “pinch me” moments, too.  We hope to have many more.

Marvelous Monument Valley

 October 18, 2026

East and West Mitten at sunset (facing east with the sun behind me)

    I am going to devote this blog post to our visit to Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Park.  This was THE highlight of our trip - a place we have never visited before.  We spent the first night in the campground where I took this photo as the sun was setting.   While The View Campground was little more than a gravel parking lot with picnic tables, the panorama was awe-inspiring.  It also served as the starting point of our backcountry tour with our Navajo guide, Jerome.  Recent rains in the area had closed down the tours, but the unpaved road conditions improved enough for us to book a full 2.5 hour tour.  Dressed in multiple layers on this brisk, 40 degree morning, we set off.  The road was very rough and back-jarring and required 4 wheel drive in places, but we were in capable hands.   We were the only ones in Jerome's truck while we saw other guides with 6 to 8 passengers.

Three Sisters formation reminded me of my three younger sisters who have passed away.

looking straight up

evidence of recent rains

wild horses

The View Hotel - we treated ourselves one night here - every room has a balcony with a view

Sunrise from our balcony

Truth

Kachina figures on the fireplace in the lobby

Examples of Navajo rugs

    Time and circumstance were on our side once more.  It was drizzling when we left Monument Valley.  A few days later, the scenic drive was closed again because of washouts and hazardous conditions.  So much rain and flooding have occured in the Southwest this month in places we just visited. We are safe and grateful and hope the affected areas recover soon.