S/V Good Morning Vietnam: New Mexico and Colorado

Hi All,
It's been over a week so I thought I'd best post an update.

Sunday, August 28, we left Amarillo and our RV park neighbor that tried for 30 minutes to convince me the earth was flat, behind. I'm not kidding. He knows for a fact that earth is flat. We OBVIOUSLY haven't really had men on the moon either. I wasn't about to get into that argument so I just smiled and waited for an opportunity to go inside. Susan finally came to the rescue.

From Amarillo we drove to Las Vegas, New Mexico to spend the night at a state park before moving on to Santa Fe. From Las Vegas to Santa Fe is the most uninhabited land I've ever seen. We were on a state highway, albeit a two lane highway, and could go for an hour and not see another car. Don't even think about cell service. In its own way, the scenery was beautiful. We could see mountains all around us, no telling how far away.

In Santa Fe we stayed at a campground in another state park, Hyde Memorial. It was well out of town and adjacent to a national forest. Another beautiful spot. In Santa Fe we took a walking tour around town. The place we probably would have missed had we not taken the tour was 109 E Palace.

This plaque was on the outside of the building but we stood in Robert Oppenheimer's office.

The Loretta Chapel staircase. It stands with no visible means of support.

After a few days in Santa Fe we moved just north of Taos to an RV park in Questa, New Mexico. We actually never spent any time in Taos proper. We tried one day but the traffic was awful. There are other things to do around Taos so we were not bored. We spent one morning at the Taos Pueblo. This place was amazing. The Red Willow people have lived here for over 1,000 years.

No electricity, all water comes from the river that flows through the village.

The only modern utility is propane for light and heat.

The cemetery, around the remains of a catholic church. The Spanish destroyed the church with cannon fire with 150 Red Willow women and children locked inside.

The Red Willow tribe were the first Native American Indians to fight for and have land returned that was taken from them by the US government. Blue Lake and 48,000 acres was taken in 1906 and returned in 1970.

While in Taos (Questa) we took a drive out to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. At 565 feet (172 m) above the Rio Grande, it is the seventh highest bridge in the United States and 82nd highest bridge in the world.

Susan walked out onto the bridge to take this photo. No way I was going out there.

On the Friday before Labor Day we moved from Questa, New Mexico to South Fork, Colorado. My sister-in-law's family has a house in South Fork and they were nice enough to offer it to us for the long weekend. It was a great place to stay and gave us the opportunity to see some of Southern Colorado.

Great Sand Dunes National Park


Who would have thought there would be sand dunes in Colorado? Approximately 30 square miles reaching 750 feet high.

On the way to Pagosa Springs we stopped at a scenic outlook.

It did not disappoint.

Hot Spring in Pagosa Springs, Colorado

On the drive between South Fork and Pagosa Springs you cross the Continental Divide.

Every drop of rain that falls west of the line flows into the Pacific Ocean. Rain that falls to the east flows to the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico

Stream running along the highway.

Treasure Falls

Creede, Colorado had a balloon festival for Labor Day Weekend. They tried for a launch at 7:00 AM on Saturday and Sunday, but this was as close as they got.