Red Rock Balloon Rally, early December 2017

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The weather forecast the entire week leading up to the balloon rally has Gallup with lows in the teens to low 20’s for the weekend.  I am not cancelling this trip; I promised Lori I would help crew her balloon.  My initial plans were to go without electric for my camper, I have batteries and solar so I should be good, right?  Probably, but I am not taking any chances, Nicida is coming along and she was very cold the first time we went camping and it only got down to the upper 30’s.  The fact that I forgot to close one of the overhead vents may have had something to do with that.  I will hook up to the electric so I can have a small, quiet heater running all night if need be.  It actually only got to the upper 20’s each morning, still cold enough that I am glad I brought it along.

Three Rivers Campground, early November 2017

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Camping in November; when I was younger, a long time ago, a buddy of mine and I talked about winter camping but for one reason or another; mainly cold weather, we never made it.  (We lived in WI at the time)  It seems the hard part of camping in NM this time of year is finding an open campground.  I have to admit I almost always go north when exploring NM.  I am not familiar with pretty much anything south of I-40, so here is my opportunity.

Pecos Wilderness, Iron Gate Campground, Early October, 2017

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We are looking for peak fall color!  Rain and winds have been passing through the state this past week; my hopes are not high as I intently study the weather on the three local TV stations.  I didn’t see any fall color when I passed through northern NM on my trip back from WI in mid September so maybe there’s a chance.

El Morro, Sept 2017

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Paso’ por aqui – ‘passed by here’ is what El Morro is a witness to.  We had passed by here late last year on the way to the Zuni pueblo to witness a celebration.  We stopped, then hiked the short trail around the base of tall sandstone outcrop.  We saw inscriptions from the Puebloans, circa 1000.  The etchings are primarily animals or symbols. 

Road trip part 2, Sept 2017

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Instead of making the usual quick dash back to NM I am making a circle route by way of MN, SD, WY, and CO.  This is a reconnaissance trip.  I don’t have as much time as I would like to spend at each of my destinations.  Instead I am beginning my list of places to visit when I am out of a job - by choice.

Road trip - Sept 2017

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Road to a campsite

I’m celebrating the holidays early this year.  The past two years I’ve celebrated Thanksgiving with family in Northern WI.  I do not like flying, I like driving, so I drive.  The drive takes two long days.  If I fly, it takes one long day with all the waiting in an airport and other stuff necessary to fly.  My aggravation factor is lower when driving so it is worth the extra travel day to me.

Leaving on Labor Day weekend is asking for mobs of people on the road and camping so I held off until Sunday so I would have only one day of campsite searching.

San Antonio Creek, August 11 - 13, 2017

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“Bad weather makes for good photography”.  One of the many statements uttered from my landscape photo instructors.  Bad weather is promised; rain most of the day Friday and Saturday with partial clearing on Sunday.  How much rain, who knows, somewhere over a half in is promised in Jemez Springs.  I’m going higher so I’m expecting more.

Valles Caldera, July 22, 2017

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“Where do you want to hike???”   “I don’t know where do you want to hike???”  Sometimes that’s how our hiking discussions start, other times we already have something in mind.  We put this question to the new hiker in our mini-hiking group, Nicida.  It is a bit unfair to do this because she is relatively new to the area.  Laurie and I have been hiking/exploring for better than the past year always looking for something different.  “How about the Valles Caldera?”  Valles Caldera (VC) it is.

Rio Guadalupe, July 14, 2017

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456 AM comes around early every day for me.  That’s the time I programmed my clock radio to wake me each morning for work.  We want to get an early start on the river so I didn’t change my wake-up time.  This morning I got right up; not the usual lie in bed for an additional 10 to 15 minutes readying my brain for work.  Today we are back to fly fishing, the first time since our weekend on the San Juan this past February; too long.

Chaco Canyon, Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Badlands, Santa Fe National Forest, June 30 - July 1, 2017

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This is my first camping trip with my camper.  I am excited and a bit nervous; do I have everything?, will I remember to turn things on and off at the appropriate time?, will I remember to lock the refrigerator before driving? – no, but the results were not too bad.  Do we have enough food? – more than enough – one issue settled.

Expanding horizons, June 16, 2017

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Up to this point the range of my hikes has been dictated by leaving, hiking and returning home the same day.  I have been looking to expand my hiking area by adding day(s) to my explorations.  I’ve never really been a hotel person when getting out for hiking/photographing or fishing, not that I don’t like hotels, generally they just aren’t located at the trailhead or trout stream of choice.  So for the past period of time I have been looking for a large pickup and an in-bed truck camper.

Inner Basin, Coconino National Forest, AZ, May 14, 2017

My hike into the Inner Basin was an opportunity while I was in the neighborhood.  I’m actually in Flagstaff to attend the Overland Expo, a marketplace of camping, camping vehicles, motorcycling.  In general different ways of just getting outdoors.  I am interested in seeing camping equipment; primarily truck campers.  I did stop to see other forms of camping; tents on trucks, tents on trailers, plain old everyday tents and large expensive and very expensive all terrain camping vehicles.  The only thing I didn’t explore was camping via motorcycle; I like four wheels and a lot of sheet metal around me.  I’m glad I went.  I didn’t get all my questions answered but I was able to narrow my choices.

Northern Wisconsin, March 10, 2017

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My rental car’s thermometer says it’s 10°.  I let the car warm up before taking off on my photo expedition.  Thankfully the car has heated seats, but they seem to take way too long to warm my butt.  Warm air will not pour out of the vents for another 10 minutes.  I’m still going.

My extra layer of clothing and the ‘heavy NM winter jacket’ barely keeps me warm, don’t ask about wind.  But I’m still going

San Juan River, NM, Feb 10 – 11, 2017

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The ‘Juan’ as my fishing buddies call it ‘is the place to fly fish in New Mexico’.  The San Juan is unlike any NM river I have fished to this point.  My usual fishing ‘rivers’ or ‘streams’ generally don’t qualify as rivers back in the Midwest.  Most of the rivers or streams in the Jemez Mountains and Pecos Wilderness can be forded with ease; many times without even getting feet wet.  The San Juan is different.  Even though it is somewhat cloudy from runoff, the two days we were there I could tell from the color of the water; deep blue/green in places, the river is big and deep.

San Lorenzo Canyon, January 8, 2017

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It certainly doesn’t look like a canyon could exist between the Acacia and Lemitar exits west of I-25.  I have heard of the San Lorenzo Canyon from several people, some of which lived in Socorro several years.  Everyone recommends it.

Sedona - Fay Canyon Hike

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This is our final day, and hike for this trip.  After loading up with the free breakfast at the hotel we pack the car and start our trip to Fay Canyon.  Laurie texted then called Don to see if he was hiking or not.  No response.  Oh well, we can do this one on our own.  As we pull into the parking lot Don is already putting on his pack, waiting for us.  Should have known better.

Sedona - Doe Mesa Hike

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Our second day’s hike is to the Doe Mesa along Dry Creek Road.  It is about 5 miles west of Sedona.  The mesa itself is about 400’ above the surrounding terrain measuring about a half mile by a quarter mile at the mesa top.  I could get used to this; having a multitude of hiking trails within a 30 minute, or less, drive from town.

Sedona - Brins Mesa Hike

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Our first day’s hike is to and along Brins Mesa to see Angel Falls then continuing around Cibola Mesa.  Don was here the previous day, snow and all.  He’s wants us to see Angel Falls; water does not flow over the falls very often so he wants us to see it while there is still snow melt.  After the first mile of hiking we take off the outer layer of fleece because the sun is warm.  Even with the warm sun, shaded portions of the trail are covered with ice and snow.  The sun drenched portions are wet from melted snow.  Climbing up on to the mesa reveals different views of the rock formations.  We pass by the west end of the Fin to its snow dotted north face.  As we ascend higher more snow appears along the trail.  Trickles of water are forming in the low sections of the trail from the sun warmed snow.  The final climb to see the falls is steep and icy.  We are encouraged to take our time since a slip on the rocks can end up painful, if not worse.

Sedona, AZ Dec 26-29. 2016

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Not wanting to sit at home over Christmas break I started looking for someplace to go for a few days.  I just finished trips to Greece and northern Wisconsin but I still have the urge to get away, but not so far that I have to fly.  There are quite a number of close options; Bisti Badlands, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly to start.  My friend and hiking partner, Laurie came up with Sedona.  She has a hiking and cycling friend that lives there, Don, who is always looking for an excuse to hike.