Camping and Hiking in El Morro National Monument

WOW!! Another great weekend. And this time it was much cooler so we started off with our good bags and loved it. It was so toasty warm in that tent and in the bags we slept like babies.

Trip started off rough as we headed to El Malpais because I had called the visitor's center to make sure the campground was open since it's a pretty good drive. "Yes ... " was the answer I got, so we drove over 70 miles to the Ranger Station to find out "No. They are closed for renovations!" So this guy told us go on to Grants to Lobo Campground it's open. So we drive to Grants and thought we had better make sure before heading several miles north. Sure enough, "NO. It is closed for the season is what we heard there!" I'm ticked at this point but we were told El Morro Campground is definitely open. ANOTHER 50 miles but turned out to be well worth it.

MANY more photos here

Great campground. VERY basic but that is the way I love it. Picnic table, fire grill and a pit toilet not far away. Not even water this time of year. Remember we're at about 7,200 feet so they don't even try to keep pipes from freezing. But there are no streetlights no electricity etc so when we killed the lantern is was dark as could possibly be considering how lovely the moon was shining!

Awoke to totally overcast and quite a breeze. Pretty chilly morning while making Jodi's coffee and our breakfast but certainly not cold enough to not enjoy. Even for Jodi.

Talked for quite a while with Dave and MaryAnn, folks from New York that camped just down from us. He showed me some great travel books and I showed him my hand held GPS. Very enjoyable time. Swapped e-mails so they can let us know when they're coming again. They come west once every year.

After they had to leave we broke camp and headed to El Morro visitor's center and to the hike. Nice VC where we bought a couple books for Nora and a couple more medallions for my hiking staff.

We took the not-as-common clockwise route because there were 120 steps and my knee does better climbing steps than it does coming down steps.

From the very beginning the trail is beautiful. As you go you see phenomenal rock, views, cultural ruins, petroglyphs and historic rock carvings from as early as 1605. All in all a phenomenal day and a totally phenomenal value at $3 per person! We also spent quite a bit of time talking to Fred Moosman, a Ranger at the park, who provided great information not on the signs or in the guidebook.

After the approximate 2.5 miles we hiked here we drove back up Hwy 53 to the Zuni - Acoma Trail and walked approximately a mile of it just to explore and check it out for future hiking/backpacking.

WHEW!!! What's up next weekend??

28th Anniversary trip to Living Desert State Park, Brantley Lake State Park, Carlsbad Caverns, Cloudcroft and Valley of Fires National Rec Area

Living Desert Zoo and Gardens










Brantley Lake State Park









Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the Natural Entrance








Cloudcroft Cloud Climbing Rail Trail, Depot Replica










Valley of Fires National Recreation Area






What a weekend!!! Jodi had a great night (Friday p.m. and Saturday a.m.) even though she did only sleep an hour. She was quite busy, in a hotel room in Roswell, NM, forwarding photos from Hannah's parents in Hawaii to Stephen in Afghanistan of our new little buddy immediately after birth!! How cool is that?? Yeah, it's cool but Jodi didn't wake me so I slept through it all.

Somewhere around 7:30 Saturday a.m. we did lay back down so Jodi could get some sleep. When we got up we headed on to Carlsbad and the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. VERY cool. All of this trip was planned during our 20th anniversary trip in 2002 when we came through New Mexico and fell in love with it. We had planned to do all this then but simply ran out of time.
One of the biggest attractions to me here was the Mexican Gray wolf. They had six of the most active wolves I've seen in a zoo anywhere. Great to have such a zoo with nothing but native animals in it right here in our own state.

Then to Brantley Lake State Park to camp for the evening. Great site with a good view of the lake. Got a little cooler than we expected so we wished during the night that we had used our good bags. Then during the night her sleep pad sprung a leak for some reason so she slept basically on the ground. I fixed her coffee and got the fire going so she could finally relax. Then I fixed breakfast that we enjoyed around the fire. I couldn't dare stay at the lake and not hike down to it of course then when I got there I couldn't stand to not wade in and see how it felt. I waded in as far as possible without getting my shorts wet. That just wasn't enough, it felt SOOOO good. So I looked around, made sure noone was there, stripped to my boxers and dove it. OHHHH did that ever feel good. I couldn't believe the water felt so good. Afraid someone might come over the hill I didn't stay nearly as long as I wanted to but it was great while it lasted.

Then showers and head to Carlsbad Caverns Nat'l Park. What a place!! The visitor's center, bookstore, restaurant and gift shop are all very nice but then add the caverns and OH MY GOSH what a place. I wish it wasn't quite so far from home there but there are still plenty of other places to explore.

As we headed out of the caverns we saw some pretty big lightening so Jodi was pretty set on a hotel again instead of a tent. She now has the lifelong job of finding our hotels, the one she picked for Sunday night was WAYYYY better than the one I picked Friday night.

Up this morning and head to Artesia and west to Cloudcroft. I had seen on the New Mexico Rails Trails website several trails, some finished some not, out of Cloudcroft with a number of tressels in the same conditions. Jodi was still deserving of R&R so she stayed at the car while I took off straight up the hill to check out the trails. I did almost 2 miles in close to record time (for me) by doing as much trail running as I could stand at over 8600'!!

Unfortunately all good things, including road trips, must end but we saved time for one more stop. Valley of Fires National Recreation Area is just outside Carrizozo. It is another area we've wanted to visit for a while now so we timed the trip to get us there in time to explore before it closed. Much fun but unfortunately I didn't find any lava tubes I could get into and explore like Jodi and I did in Craters of the Moon in Idaho.

Jodi and I have gotten good enough at these road trips and their aftermath that 19 minutes after we got home the car was unloaded, camping gear put away, laundry started and we were both sat down relaxing. Now I have to restock the camping gear with coffee and instant tea so we're ready for the next trip. Hmmm ..... so many choices!!

TANNER IS HERE!!!

Sorry, I'm a couple days late. Tanner James Sims decided to show up while we were on our anniversary trip to Carlsbad Caverns, etc.

Born at 44 minutes after midnight (Hawaii time) on Saturday 16 Oct weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces and 20" long. He and mom are both fine, in fact at this point since I'm a bit late, they are home!!

Nora really loves her little brother and I am sure she will be much help to Hannah in the months and years to come.

Jodi gets to see him next month but for now I will have to settle for photos and video until spring. We plan to go visit as soon as Stephen gets back from Afghanistan.

Grandson any day now!!!

Well, Tanner James Sims was due Monday so by now Hannah is getting quite tired of that stubborn little bugger being in there I would imagine. And so are we. We're ready to see him.

Jodi (Gangy) is primed and ready 24/7 at a moment's notice to forward photos to Stephen before they get posted to FB or anywhere else so DAD can see his boy. Him being in Afghanistan sucks more right now than ever!

Can you believe I'm about to be a grandfather for the second time??? I can't!!!!

Good luck Hannah. Wish we could be there with you. Gangy will be next month and I will be in the spring when Stephen gets home!!!

28th Anniversary New Mexico exploring

I'll have to add our trip photos for this at a later date. October 15th is our 28th anniversary and since I was lucky enough to get Saturday off and Jodi got Monday off we are heading south to parts of New Mexico we have yet to explore.
Our only real plans are Carlsbad Caverns and Living Desert State Park. I cannot wait to see both!! We wanted to go there on our first New Mexico trip in 2003 but the timing just didn't work. We may be a little late, but we're getting there and I am very excited.

I'm sure we will find a hike or a bike ride or two along the way but really don't have any concrete plans. Other than the caverns and the park we're just going to wing it.

More later.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 2010

Not sure how I've managed to not get this posted yet. The first weekend of October creates a phenomenal burst of colors each year in Albuquerque. It also causes grown women to act like kids again. Don't believe me follow my wife Jodi, her Aunt Carol or my buddy Adriana from work around the launch field. Don't think for a second you can sleep in and witness this childish action though, it starts way before dawn.

The weather has been pretty good for the morning launches but not quite so friendly in the evenings. Saturday morning warmed up a bit quickly so the mass ascension wasn't quite as extraordinary as Sunday. Of course Sunday morning the wind picked up which created it's own concerns but not until later in the morning after the majority of the balloons had left the field. One of the balloons we really wanted to see was the Wells Fargo stagecoach but neither Saturday or Sunday worked for it.

Unfortunately the weather in the evenings canceled the glow on Saturday and the gas balloons from launching on Tuesday and Wednesday. This was a minor interruption on the minds of their fellow balloonists however due to two of their own being lost over the Adriatic Sea. Richard Abruzzo along with friend and fellow balloonist Carol Rymer Davis took off from near Bristol, UK and was last heard from over the Adriatic Sea on Wednesday 29 September after being caught in bad storms. Unfortunately the search for them was called off after no sign whatsoever was found of them after eight days.

Jodi is going back tomorrow morning with her boss/friend Karri then Jodi and I will go back again tomorrow evening for the Special Shapes glow if the weather allows them to have it. And with Saturday and Sunday being the last 2 days of this year's show I am sure we will be there then also. At times it's a bit aggravating that everything gets moved because of the balloons but it only happens 9 days out of each year.

10042010 Mountain biking Ellena Gallegoes

Great ride!!!! Parked at Elena Gallegoes Picnic Area and started out on Trail # 366. Took it to #365 and then too 365 to the end at the parking lot off Glenwood Hills and Desert Hills. I started to go to the southern part of 365 but to do that you have to go way DOWN Glenwood and I was afraid I wouldn't have it in me to ride that much asphalt, play on the trail on the south end then climb that LONG hill back up to Desert Hills and then ride the trail back up the hill to the car.

Instead I opted when I got back to the 305/365/366 junction to take 305 and see what it was like on the way to the car. Not bad, pretty much more of the same. LOTS of fun fast curves on all this trail system.

All the above was ridden on the Tricross. I took both bikes so I could compare. After this ride I rested a few then swapped bikes and mounted up on my REAL mountain bike. I love my cyclocross bike and this is a good place to ride cyclo BUT Scotty won the competition. MY GOSH the ride was different. When you get to the rough, rocky ups or downs not having suspension on the Tri causes your body to take a beating. Plus, less tread causes you to have to slow more on the loose gravelly curves.

I let a little air out of the tires of Scotty and we rock-and-rolled!!! She never ceases to amaze me and NEVER lets me down!!

I hate it's been so long since I've ridden on this side of town but I will be back. Maybe next week, who knows.

Missed the race this morning

Luckily you people know me so it will not surprise you that I lied a little. The weather was so much better for the balloon fiesta and so many more balloons were rising that I decided to stay there instead of going to the cyclocross race since there are several more races coming up and the balloons are only here two weekends a year. Crap happens!!

2010 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

What a mild start to Balloon Fiesta this year compared to last. Last year even I was in long pants, jacket and gloves! This year, shorts and short sleeves (for me anyway!).


The negative aspect of a milder start, balloons do not fly as well in warm air. So the mass ascension wasn't quite what it could have been. Some of the balloons didn't get very far, in fact, some didn't even lift off.

But the awe of that first morning was certainly still there. I'm not as totally nuts about them as Jodi but I do enjoy them a lot and enjoy her being like a kid in a candy store. And this year her Aunt Carol from Phoenix came to stay with us for the weekend and we met a couple people, Jim and Milay (wish I had asked how to spell it, pronounced mu (as in mud) lay) from the general vicinity of Nashville that this was their first year. So Jodi and I, being old-times since we've seen in one year before, tried to make sure they all really enjoyed the experience and didn't miss anything.

Jodi and Carol are there again right now for the evening "glow." I stayed home a) because I wanted to and this is why I was thrilled that Carol came and she can keep Jodi company and b) because I really needed a ride tonight. Which I just got back from. On the Tri this time.

Going to my first Cyclocross race tomorrow morning. I will go see the balloons with the ladies and ride the Tri to the race from there. Can't wait to see it. If everything goes half as planned I hope to race in a few events next year. Not trying to be competitive in the circuit, just for my own satisfaction.

I'll report after the race.