Memories are made of this, Pt 1

We returned from our epic road trip to New Mexico yesterday. As with all trips, it was full of highs and lows (mostly highs) and right now all feels like a blur. Here are some highlights:

We started the trip with a visit to the Grand Canyon west rim, which means we’ve now seen the south and west. We did the skywalk, which is the main attraction there (unlike the south rim, that was kind of the only thing to do). 

The next day we drove to Gallup, NM, and stayed in the epically cool El Rancho hotel, full of old Hollywood charm and history. 

I wasn’t sure if I’d go through with the most off-road and sketchy of my plans - visiting the Bisti badlands - but with the help of a paid subscription to All Trails for a downloadable map, and decent weather, we decided to go for it. It was a harrowing drive through muddy dirt roads, but we got there, had a little lunch from our cooler, loaded up our camelbacks with water, and set out. The place did not disappoint - fascinating and beautiful, and the map kept us from getting impossibly lost - but I have to admit the 2 miles-ish hike back to the car almost did us in. We were all completely wrecked by the time we got back to air conditioned car. And to think I almost didn’t bring the camelbacks-! That would have been a fatal mistake. I’m glad tales of tourists getting lost on trails on the Greek islands in the last few weeks had me on notice that we needed to take every precaution. 

The next day we took another in a series of long drives, this time to Taos, where we stayed in an earth ship that’s been in my Airbnb wish list for ages (and the only non-hotel of the trip). 

After some doing, we found some hot springs and hung out with the kind of characters you find in these places (naked, and talking about their energy healing practices).

The next day we set out for what was probably my favorite excursion, Bandelier National Monument, which involved long hikes and occasionally scary ladder climbs into ancient cliff dwellings. Super cool, and once again glad we had camel backs full of water and ice.

 

The next day we headed to Santa Fe, where we had a horrid dinner at a tourist trap restaurant recommended by the hotel (note to self to never listen to hotel recommendations) and the following day visited Meow Wolf Santa Fe - pictures in part 2!