Questa, New Mexico

Hidden part of Enchanted Circle

 

Mike booked an RV campground in Questa, New Mexico between Red River and Taos that was very affordable and would be a great base for sightseeing for two weeks. As far as I could see, it was in the middle of nowhere. I kept thinking that I could endure a place for two weeks if we needed to but why? We will keep the fact that he was right or just lucky between us.

We passed through a quiet Red River in the middle of the week as summer is winding down. The temperatures were in the 70s in the day and 40s at night. Perfect weather!

Wild Rivers

The Rio Grande del Norte National  was a designated proclamation by President Obama in 2013 and a well kept secret. Questa is the gateway to the Wild Rivers section. We weren't sure what to expect but if it was crowds, they weren't here.

The Rí­o Grande del Norte National Monument is comprised of rugged, wide open plains at an average elevation of 7,000 feet, dotted by volcanic cones, and cut by steep canyons with rivers tucked away in their depths.  The Ri­o Grande carves an 800 foot deep gorge through layers of volcanic basalt flows and ash.  Among the volcanic cones in the Monument, Ute Mountain is the highest, reaching to 10,093 feet.

 

All of the hiking trails are down to the rivers and back up.

Going down

 

One mile down and one up.

We found plenty of wild life.

 

 

The USFS campgrounds sat along the rim of the canyon. Probably, not a good choice for sleep walkers. For a price of $7 a night ($3.50) with senior pass, a sleep walker could bungee himself in.

The Red River and Rio Grande merge at La Junta Point

 The bike ride through the park was great as long as we got an early start before the afternoon storms would kick in. Our biggest hazard was not motor vehicles. We only saw 2 cars. It was the bighorn sheep herd that ran out of the bushes or the afternoon lightening. We managed to avoid a run in with both.

Lunch at Tias in Cerro was recommended by the park host. Who are we to argue?

Our New Mexico comida was A+.

Columbine Trail

The trailhead is located at the Columbine Campground and can be made as difficult as a person could want by going over the mountain to Taos Ski area.

 "Take a llama to lunch hike" only $125 per person and$75 per child under 12 including a gourmet lunch. Seems like a deal? The kids leading their llamas looked very proud heading out on their hike as we met them on our way back.

The forest service had four bridges for us to cross Columbine Creek in the first 2 miles..

Fall is in the air.

Looks like we are going to have to work for it with no more bridges as we traveled farther up the gorge.

 

We were here for two weeks and have more to come.

Cimarron Canyon, New Mexico

Stepping back in time

Driving through Cimarron, it seemed to be a town without much life left. We noticed a few signs indicating a walking tour of the old town that sparked our interest. The BLM trails in Cimarron Canyon we had planned to hike were posted "closed for bear hunting". We shifted our plans and headed the 10 miles back to the town to see what the walking tour was all about.

 

 Cimarron, New Mexico

Back in the late 1870s, Colfax County was a dangerous place. It was home to bawdy mining camps, range wars, Indian conflicts, and deadly gunplay.

 

The Historic Walking Tour of Cimarron included 14 sites dating back to the mid 1800s. Brass plaques mounted on stone pillars guide the way with information on each site including the Santa Fe Trail, Lucien Maxwell and  his 1.7 million acre Land Grant. Our imaginations were in overdrive.

The St James Hotel, built in 1872,  was witness to at least 26 murders during the wilder days in Cimarron.   Jesse James, Buffalo Bill Cody and Black Jack Allison have all left their mark on the St. James, as attested by the numerous bullet holes in the ceiling of the main dining room.

The St James Hotel started business in 1872. Built during a time when law and order was non-existent, the saloon quickly gained a reputation as a place of violence, where it is said that 26 men were shot and killed within its adobe walls. The first question usually asked around Cimarron in the morning was: “Who was killed at Lambert’s (St James) last night?” Another favorite expression following a killing was: “It appears Lambert (St James) had himself another man for breakfast.”

 

 When the railroads came through, the Santa Fe Trail died, and soon after, the gold in the area began to play out. Cimarron’s population began to dwindle and the elegant St. James Hotel fell into disrepair.

Bullet holes

I bet the people in the room above here were startled to say the least.

 

The St. James Hotel is said to remain host to several restless spirits. Both the owners and the guests of the hotel will tell you that it is haunted with many unexplained events. 

 

Room 18 at the hotel is kept locked because it houses the ghost of an ill-tempered Thomas James Wright, who was killed at his door just after winning the rights to the hotel in a poker game. Having been shot from behind, Wright continued on into the room and slowly bled to death. (I thought ghosts could go through doors.) Who am I to judge?

We didn't experience any spirits and had heard they had the best (only) restaurant in town. We headed out to the courtyard for lunch.

My chicken enchilada was enough for both of us. Mike fish tacos weren't so great.

 

Our next stop was the old jail.

The jail was surrounded by a 10-foot-high wall that was four-feet thick. Continuing the rowdy reputation of the area, the wall was dynamited in the 1900s during a jailbreak.

It was a bit creepy when we walked inside. The main door was bolted open and inner doors could be opened and closed. I made it half way in, looking in the first doors before I turned around and called it quits. It really creeped me out.

 

After our visit to the jail and hotel the time on my phone jumped ahead 6 hours. I adjusted it to the correct time and Mike's phone jumped ahead 6 hours for a few minutes. Shortly after that, my phone jumped ahead and Mike's went to the correct time again. We have tried several things to get it corrected but nothing works for long. It could just be getting old or maybe.....

The stone-block Aztec Mill built in 1864 was operated as a grist mill by Lucien Maxwell until 1870. Here trail travelers bought flour for the last push to Santa Fe and Ute and Jicarilla Apaches were issued government rations. 

The museum had 3 floors of too many items to take in. One wall on the upper level was dedicated to the Philmont Boy Scout Camp, the largest boy scout camp in the US and working ranch, 6 miles up the road.

 

The town is land locked by cattle ranches. When I asked where everyone one in the area worked, we were told either for the State or the ranches.

 

 Cimarron Canyon

We drive through so many towns that look life the life has gone out of them and find if we take the time, there might be and interesting story to hear.

A wildfire blasted through the east end of Cimarron Canyon in May leaving much of the east end charred, burning 37,000 acres. The campground hosts and residents of Cimarron had to be evacuated for 4 days.

 

The campgrounds were unaffected.



The Palisades

I wonder how long until this one tumbles.

 

The ponds and river in Cimarron Canyon State Park were restocked and the fishermen were catching them in no time. New Mexico has some great state parks that are quite affordable.

South Dakota

 We went where?

 After the long drive to Rapid City, SD, we needed a little fresh air but weren't in the mood for much more driving. In the past, we always enjoyed the Black Hills and Mickelson Trail. This time we stayed closer to the city.

We found nestled at the foot of the Black Hills, in Rapid City, the Chapel in the Hills,

, which is a quiet place to stretch our legs. The chapel itself is an exact reproduction of the famous Borgund Stavkirke of Laerdal, Norway and was built in 1969.

Bell tower

 The Meditation Trail winds its way into the hillside behind the chapel, complete with benches and statuary.

We were greeted at the "Stabbur," which is an authentic grass-roofed store house, built in Norway and assembled on site.

 Also on the grounds is an authentic log cabin museum. Built by a Norwegian prospector who came to the Black Hills during the gold rush, it houses articles brought over from Norway or made by Scandinavians in this country during the 1800's.

Just down the hill from the chapel was Canyon Lake Park, one of the oldest city parks in Rapid City and a nice place to continue our walk along the river.

 Rapid City's downtown has the City of Presidents, a series of life-size bronze statues of our nation’s past presidents up to George HW Bush, along the city’s streets and sidewalks.

Douglas, WY

Douglas has been a stop off on our way to somewhere else. This time, the forecast was predicting strong winds and stronger gusts for our drive. We delayed our trip and checked out what Douglas had to offer.

 We made a stop at the Douglas Railroad Museum and Visitor Center, housed in the historic

FE & MV Railroad Passenger Depot to find a geocache. It turned out to be one of the better train museums we have visited.  

Dining car dates back to 1886.

Old sleeper car

Then we headed to Camp Douglas

 

During World War II, Douglas had the primary prisoner of war (POW) camp for Wyoming. The U.S. military held 1,900 Italian and 3,011 German prisoners at Camp Douglas from 1943 to 1946, when allied POW camps in Europe and North Africa grew overcrowded. The camp was one of 155 built in the U.S. during World War II, the site chosen for its relative isolation.

Many of the POWs worked in the town and ranches. Appreciating the way they were treated by the US, many returned to become US citizens after the war, relocating in Douglas. (I bet a girl may have been involved.)

Wellington, CO

Finding a campsite available on an August weekend in Colorado can me frustrating. We were fortunate to find an overflow spot for two days in Wellington just north of Fort Collins. After finishing our honey do list, we headed over to the Bud Brewery for a tour, lunch and music on the patio.

The Clydesdales and Dalmatians were out on tour. We used our imaginations.

We had our 6 ounces complimentary Shock Top and a sample of their Copper Lager that is aged in Jim Beam barrels. Mike purchased a 6 pack of the Copper Lager to go. He said he should have got a case. It would take him a year to drink it.

Heading south.