On 10/12, we explored the Mogollon Rim area that borders Arizona and New Mexico. We rode mountain bikes on a rocky road that led to the rim, but it was too dark to go the entire 2 miles one way. Next morning was too cold for bikes, so we drove to the rim. We then continued down through Payson, Flagstaff and stayed in Seligman.

Now if you have time, check us out at our son Jon's site:
http://www.advenster.com

Denny and Marilyn Elms in front of their new mountain get-away in Heber AZ. Great cousins! Great visit !

This is Black Canyon Lake. We were multi-layered for the cold temps at this altitude and late October in Arizona.

Now these are real hunker ATV's, Alaska style !

We found Santa Fe NM, to be a fairly large but tight town with pueblo style buildings some dating as far back as to the 1700s and 1800s, great historical area. The area seemed very poor though and a great deal of trash that had was not being disposed. Albuquerque is larger, nicer, with better scenery, but is also very industrialized. Amazingly it is said to have the best atmosphere in the US because it sort of sits out there by itself. We continued onto Gallup AZ trying to outrun a storm that was coming from the hurricane that hit Mexico and was looping north through the US. We left early on 10/11 trying to beat the gale wind warnings. We drove west on 40 trying to make it to Denny and Marilyn's new cabin in Heber before the worst of the storm. We were buffeted and sand blasted and dodged tumbleweeds that were flying across the highway - but the motorhome actually did pretty well in the 60+ mile per hour gusts. Stayed at Denny and Marilyn's and woke to clear and calm skies on 10/12. We took off on their ATVs to explore the national forest around them and black canyon lake.

Continuing through Chimayo, we found the area to not be very scenic. We crossed the headwaters of the Rio Grande and the Rio Grande Gorge and explored a community of 'earth ship' houses near Taos NM, built from all recycled materials and designed to be completely energy independent. We stopped and spoke with some of the owners who gave us a partial tour. The houses are built into the dirt on the backside with the south-facing side being solar panels and the roofs a series of venting options. This is a completely self-sufficient community, where they are all off the grid, quite an amazing ECO group of about 200 homes! Really a must see, especially if you are into alternative living.

On into New Mexico

Dropping into New Mexico on 10/8, we took the road to Heron Lake. We stayed in a NM State campground where it felt like we were the only people on earth. The silence was deafening. We hiked and biked the area taking a narrow winding trail that was a true mountain biking experience. Dave and Alli would be proud. On 10/9 we started through the Southern end of the Rockies in New Mexico. We dropped into Taos and took the loop up through Questa, Elizabethtown and Angel Fire. We stayed in the Red River Valley. Tempteratures are dropping into the 20s every night, but warm up to 50s and 60s in the daytime. New Mexico is very different in scenery, even at the higher elevations. Many of the towns are shanty like with the people seemingly so very poor in much of this state. It is so striking that Colorado, a border neighbor state, should be, so entirely opposite, and very well off in comparison to New Mexico or any state, including California, for that matter. However, I must say in every state, we found the roads to be superior to those we have in California! Back to NM, much of the soil in this state seems of poor quality supporting mostly sage and juniper.

Continuing south to Durango and then onto Pagosa Springs with lots of natural hotsprings. Remember to click on the pictures to see more detail. Expensive river resorts here.