Mama and I got home just after 12:00 a.m. this morning. We drove 718 miles in about 15 hours (including stops) yesterday, straight through from Raton to J'ville. It was a LOOOOONG day, but we made it without major incident. Though there was that RV in New Mexico that almost ran us off the road and the person from Maryland who blasted their horn at us, presumably for our not going fast enough for them. But I veered away from the RV (luckily we had enough shoulder to drive on!) and kind of ignored the horn blast. Oh well.

We had a GREAT trip! We finally left last Sunday around 9:30 a.m. and got to the motel in Amarillo around 9:00 that night. After supper at a nearby Chili's, we went back to the motel, showered, and went to bed.

Monday we arrived at Sugarite Canyon State Park in the early afternoon. We decided to camp at the Soda Pocket campground, where I'd camped when I was there. It's almost on top of a mountain, about 7000 feet above sea level. Except for the camp host, there was no one there when we set up, though we got a couple of neighbors later that afternoon. We got a prime spot. Not under any trees, but with room to spare and a great view (plus it was close to the chemical toilets!). We got the tent set up OK, then tried to inflate the extra-high air mattress. After about 20 minutes or so with the "electric" pump working its heart out, it was still only about 3/4 full and not seeming to inflate any more. The problem, as I saw it, was the weird valve that had a kind of shield over it that wouldn't let the pump in well. So we decided to make a run to the nearest Wal Mart in Trinidad, CO (about 22 miles away) and get a new mattress. We wound up getting 2, because the first (which we really wanted since it was a little thicker) appeared to have the same kind of valve system. Sure enough, it too was still soft after a while of pumping after we got back to camp! We slept on it anyway, but it was not a great experience. That night, due to clouds moving in, we decided to leave the rain cover on the tent. Good thing, because just after we'd gotten inside, it started to rain! We survived, though, and managed to stay dry.

Tuesday morning dawned bright and beautiful. We had decided to drive New Mexico's Enchanted Circle loop, which runs from Eagle's Nest through Red River and Questa, to Taos, and back east along US-64 to Eagle's Nest. It was a GORGEOUS drive. At Questa, we got off the main road and went to Cabresto Lake. I'd been there when I was camping at Sugarite 8 years ago, and it was quite spectacular. To get to it, you drive down a forest service road (unpaved), and then go 2 miles UP a very rocky, steep mountain road. The drive up was kind of hairy, but we made it, with accompanying grunts and "Oh!"s from Mama as the van lurched along. The lake was as nice as I'd remembered. Even Mama was impressed! We took pictures, then decided to sit awhile. Right after we'd sat down, though, we started hearing thunder from an afternoon thunderstorm that had popped up. So we decided to start down before we got washed down. So I didn't get to do any sketching like I'd done last time. The drive down was not QUITE as bad, though it did take me 17 minutes to drive the 2 miles. (Mama had decided to time me.) We went back out to the main highway just as the rain started. It rained on us all the way in to Taos. We stopped at a grocery store there to get some stuff, by which time the rain had stopped, then drove back to camp. That night was the worst time. Around 9:00, we started getting STRONG winds! I don't know how fast they were, but I'd estimate at least 25-30 miles per hour. Two of the tent stakes pulled up and the side section next to me collapsed inward, so I had to go out and fix that. I finally got it, then weighted down that section on the inside with my suitcase. We ended up opening the side and back windows and front door to try and lessen the wind resistance. FINALLY around 11:00 the winds calmed down, and I closed the front door, though we left the windows open just because. The rest of the night was uneventful.

Wednesday morning was again superb. Since thunderstorms had been forecast at the last we'd heard, we'd decided already to go to Taos, figuring we could step inside somewhere if it started to rain. We went first to the San Francisco d'Assissi church, but unfortunately they were remudding the adobe, so we didn't get to go in. We did see the back, though! Then we decided to go to a parking lot near the plaza and have lunch. Afterwards, taking the umbrella with us, we went to a few galleries (just looking around), then went to the plaza. We sat in the gazebo there for a few minutes, then went shopping in a few shops for souvenirs and gifts for some friends. We also had ice cream cones. After getting our souvenir T-shirts at the I Love Taos shop, we drove down to a local art-supply store and looked around, though I didn't find anything I wanted to buy. Then we decided to go back to camp. Along the way, I took a detour from Angel Fire to Coyote Creek State Park to show Mama where I'd camped there 8 years ago. It was kind of late when we got back, but since it stayed light until about 9:00 p.m. local time up where we were, it wasn't too bad. While we had wind and rain that night, the wind wasn't NEARLY as bad as Tuesday night, and the rain was light, too.

Thursday we drove the Highway of Legends in southern Colorado. We started in Walsenburg and headed west. We did take a detour to Zapata Falls, near the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve. My brother Ian had been there some years ago, and highly recommended it. We hiked 1/2 mile uphill to the falls, which is not as bad as it sounds, since they had benches along the way to rest. We didn't get to see the actual falls, since you had to walk up the creek. Since the water was pretty plentiful in the creek, we didn't feel like risking falling. We did hear the falls, though, and took pictures of the area. It was SO cool-- like standing over an air-conditioning vent! After a little bit there, we headed back down to the parking area. Then we went to the Sand Dunes Preserve, mostly to find a good place to have our picnic lunch. Luckily it wasn't too much farther down the road, and Mama has a Golden Age Passport from the National Parks Service that lets her and anyone in her party in national parks for free, so we didn't have to pay admission. After lunch, we went across to the dunes and Mama got some pictures. They are really impressive--the deepest is (I think) something like 1750 feet! After that we left there and went back to the main highway, driving back to US-160 and picking up where we'd left off. We did stop a few times to get pictures of volcanic dikes that we saw on the way. Unfortunately, another afternoon thunderstorm came up, so I didn't get to do any sketching once again. We wound up in Trinidad, where we parked downtown and walked around some. Other than being an old town, there wasn't much to see, which left me kind of disappointed. We left there, stopping at the Wal Mart and a Wendy's to get lemonade (for me) and iced tea (for Mama), then went back to camp.

Friday we went to Pecos (Pueblo) National Historic Park, near Pecos, NM. It was about 170 miles one way from our campsite, but well worth the drive. Once again, we got in for free because of Mama's Golden Age Passport. We had lunch at their picnic facilities, then walked the trail that wound around the ruins of the pueblo and the second church that had been built there. Fascinating! I did get to do a couple of sketches of the church ruins. We also saw a short video on the history of the pueblo and bought some souvenirs. After that, we headed back to camp.

Saturday, since Mama had to go to Mass at 5:30 that afternoon in Raton, we'd decided to stick close to "home" and just go to Cimarron Canyon so I could sketch. I did get 2 oil sketches, a watercolor sketch, and a pencil sketch done--more than I'd done this whole "painting" trip! Fortunately the weather wasn't rainy; unfortunately it was VERY windy in the canyon, so I had to do my oil sketches with my pochade box in my lap sitting in the driver's seat of the van. The watercolor and pencil sketches I did do outside the van, but my supplies for those activities were not in as much danger of blowing away. Speaking of blowing away, as I tried to take my first oil sketch out of the pochade box and transfer it into my wet- panel carrier, it blew away! I chased after it, yelling at it not to blow into the river! Luckily I caught it, and except for some dirt stuck in the paint (texture, as Mama said), it was fine. Whew! The perils of plein-air painting! With the second one I was much more careful putting it into my panel carrier. We stopped in Cimarron (town) on the way back and went into the historic St. James Hotel. We walked around and looked at the old pictures and saw the old bullet holes in the dining room ceiling. Then we had to leave and get back to Raton so Mama could go to church. While she was doing that, I got some stuff at the store on the other side of town, then went back and wrote in my journal until she got out. After Mass, we went to the local Dairy Queen, since we had gotten a couple of coupons for $1.00 off their blizzards. We each got a medium blizzard treat and ate them. Then we drove back to camp, stopping at the bathhouse on the way to take our showers. On the way back to camp, a black bear crossed the road in front of us on its way down the mountain! I'd been thinking we weren't going to get to see one, but we did. I just wish I'd been able to get a picture. Oh well. After supper, we unpacked, organized, and repacked the stuff in the van, as well as packing anything we didn't need that night, so we wouldn't have to do that Sunday morning. That night was absolutely beautiful, so we left the rain cover off the tent so we could see the stars.

Sunday morning we arose at 6:00 local (Mountain) time; dressed; and took down the tent, deflated the air mattress, and finished packing the van. We were done by 7:00, and drove down the mountain for the last time, stopped at the bathhouse to brush our teeth, and were on our way. Like I said, overall it was a great trip. We saw lots of antelope, some deer and wild turkey, a few chipmunks, and the bear. The weather co-operated pretty well; at least we didn't get struck by lightning or anything like that. I would have liked to have been able to paint more, but at least it was a good, relaxing trip. We did a LOT of driving (close to 3000 miles total), but saw all we went to see and then some, so I guess it was a success, even if I didn't do as much painting as I'd planned. At least I got LOTS of reference photos!