Made it to San Antonio, New Mexico

Very chilly the night before, at one point I saw 24 on the outside thermometer and we did not catch the water in time - it froze up and Dave had to work at it to get it going again.  Glad we are out of the mountains.  Our trip here was calm, no surprises.  Our first 1/2 hour of the trip we had to climb up and over the mountains to then drop down into Taos. At one point we were at 9900 feet at the summit of Wheeler Peak and thankfully only 2 miles of us climbing up then over then a quick switchback to start our decline through Taos Canyon.  So many homes in the mountain - I would be very concerned if there was a fire.  The aspens were past their peak but it still was pretty.

Near the summit

Bright gold of the aspen trees

A real fixer-upper

Many homes like this - at top of the mountain

About a mile from the town to Taos we turned south and traveled through many small communities, most of which were on Indian reservations.  One right after the other.  And many casinos.  I remembered the drive from visiting Taos 5 years ago but Dave did not.  At one point we started meandering through Rio Grande Canyon which reminded us of driving in Idaho along the Salmon River.  Very pretty scenery, saw fishing folks wading in the water.  Very low water level.

Bye-bye Taos and the Enchanted Circle

Wondered how far we could see

Love the architecture and paintings

Dropped into Santa Fe, picked up Interstate 25, and continued on towards Albuquerque.  Long periods of having the mountains to our left with arroyos (small canyons) on either side of the road.  Not many homes, we again were on Indian Reservations.  Passed through Albuquerque and on southward.  Was watching our outdoor temperature and we loved what we were seeing - started out at 36 when we pulled out and saw by the time we reached San Antonio it was 86.  Loved it!  Did not have to have the a/c on when we got in, there was enough of a breeze that by 6:30pm it had cooled down to 78.

Very pretty but very low - Rio Grande River

Casino after casino - don't need to go to Vegas, baby!

I remembered this - Elephant Rock near Espanola

Hello, goodbye Albuquerque

We are at Bosque Birdwatchers RV Park in this small little town.  Right on the edge of a large wildlife area where it is known for birdwatching.  We chose this campground because it is close to the El Camino Real National Historical park about 12 miles further down the road (Interstate 25) which we want to visit.  Only plan on staying here 4 days, enough time to let some cold fronts come through while we are sitting still.  Had very high wind last night that rocked the RV and today it is raining in Santa Fe, so we picked a good travel day yesterday. And, it was our most traveled miles in one day since we got this RV (245 miles).  Also did the best miles per gallon, 10.1, and it was all downhill - we went from 8258 to 9900 to now at 4500 feet.  Pretty much coasted downhill!  Getting closer to Picacho for the winter - maybe another 10 days or 2 weeks or so??