Albuquerque, New Mexico

Beautiful drive from Arizona into New Mexico. Lots of red rock bluffs. Made the time go fast. 

For the next 6 days we’ll be camping at Enchanted Trails Campground, just west of Albuquerque. Drew will be joining us so we can show him one of our favorite states. 

Not much of a sunset but they have a lighted tree of hubcaps that I enjoyed. 

Monday morning we took a 4 mile hike along the Rio Grande River. Glad we started early because it was getting hot by lunch time. Even though it was only 74, the sun is so intense. 

Tomorrow we’ll pick Drew up and head for Bandelier National Monument. 

Visiting National Monuments and National Park

We decided to catch a few National monuments and a National Park as we were driving through the middle of Arizona on I-40. 

Clear Creek Campground in Camp Verde was close to three of the 5 attractions and was a great stop. Small campground with cottonwood and sycamore trees and a nice creek. Stayed 2 nights so we wouldn’t be rushed. 

Montezuma’s Castle was the first national monument. Even though it’s named Montezuma, this was not where his people lived. It was named for Lake Montezuma. This 20 room high-rise apartment, nestled into a towering limestone cliff, tells a story of ingenuity, survival and ultimately, prosperity in an unforgiving desert landscape for the Sinagua people. 

Next we visited Montezuma Well, a limestone sink formed long ago by the collapse of an immense underground cavern near the town of Lake Montezuma. The Hohokam and Sinagua cultures used this to irrigate their crops and water to drink. 

The last national monument for the day was Tuzigoot. The pueblo was built by the Sinagua people between 1125 and 1400 CE. Tuzigoot is the largest and best preserved of the many Sinagua pueblo ruins in the Verde Valley. The ruins at Tuzigoot incorporate very few doors; instead, the inhabitants used ladders accessed by trapdoor type openings in the roofs to enter each room.

Up early the next morning, we headed to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park. We camped 2 miles outside of the park. This is another pet friendly park so we were hoping to hike some. Unfortunately, it was so windy we could hardly stay upright so we just drove around and took photos. 

Tomorrow we leave for Albuquerque, New Mexico to spend a few days showing Drew our favorite spots. 

Heading east

We had thought we were going to drive north to catch I-80, but after listening to the weather, we decided to drive south. Glad we did. Shannon told us they had hail at their place and Truckee got snow. 

Drove to Bakersfield and camped at Bear Mountain for the night. Nice, quiet, we’ll maintained campground. 

In the morning we decided to drive to Lake Havasu since we hadn’t explored that place yet. 

Driving across I-40 the terrain quickly became desert. 

Not a lot of variation in terrain except for a few Joshua Trees. Gas is at least $1.00 /gallon cheaper here than in California. 

I had read a review on Facebook and Campendium about a boondocking site near Lake Havasu so that’s where we decided to spend the night. 

From the pictures below, you’re understand why it was called Craggy Wash. lots of campers in the area but still places left when we got there. We met and talked with several other campers on our walks. 

Left early morning to drive to Camp Verde. We want to explore Montezuma Castle National Monument. It’s one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America. 

Will describe in next post. 

Last day in Loomis RV Park

For our last full day before we head to our next adventure, we drove to Folsom Lake to hike. The last time we were there, the water level was really low. For now, the level is a little better. Wildflowers we’re out. Lu pines were blooming all along our 5 mile hike. 

No
Lenny said the water is warmer here. He decided to find a stick to play with. We think Bandit showed him how much fun this could be. 

A fun time for our last day before we start to head east. 

Last Saturday with Drew and Erin - wineries and the coast

Drew and Erin had wine to pick up at their wine clubs, so off we went to Baletto, Carlisle and Ft Ross wineries in the Sonoma Valley. 

Carlisle Winery had pizzas and wine for club members, so we lucked out and ate our fill of oven-baked pizzas. Fun lunch. 

Then a little hike to see the Pacific coast before we arrive at Ft Ross Winery. It was very breezy and a cool air. West coast ocean is not known for warm temps. 

Lenny needed a warm body. 

Ft Ross winery overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful view and great wines. Drew had ordered a charcuterie board for each of us that was paired with the wine we were tasting. 

Some interesting flowers at the winery, too

Then to top off our wine tasting, we stopped at a beach near Bodega Bay to get really close to the ocean. To get there, we had to walk on a trail through a little forest. 

A very full day but such a memorable one. 

Busy, busy in Nevada City

Some people from Shan’s work at the hospital got together at Grass Valley Brewery to celebrate a retirement and Shan’s birthday. Fun meeting and talking with her friends and co-workers. 

Took some time from cleaning the forest to hike at Scott’s Lake, 5 miles from Shan and Carl's house. The lake never disappoints, beautiful blue-green water. Nice, relaxing hike for us and fun time for Bandit to swim. 

Then a day at the Skinner Winery to pick up Shan and Drew’s wine club. 

Only a couple more days left in Nevada City so Shan took us on a walk along the Yuba River. 

Tree roots are hanging on for dear life. 

After hiking, Shan and I Zoomed in for a yoga class Erin will be teaching at Pure Barre. 

Last day at Shan and Carl’s was spent doing more Forest management and then relaxing under their pavilion. 

Carl’s indoor climbing gym. Quite impressive. 

Next few days we will be back to the Loomis campground near Drew and Erin’s.