In hindsight, we did the right thing

The other day, one of our readers made a comment that we had made the right decision to continue traveling the way we are during this pandemic. Now that things are starting to "open up", I've been reflecting on that.

And we agree, for us it was the right decision. But it's only in hindsight that we can say that. At the time, thinking back to two months ago, we certainly didn't know for sure that this was going to be the right decision.

Not happy with Verizon

We had loosely planned on making it into Utah in time for the long weekend here in the United States, but it just didn't work out that way.

We got up and did some driving right away and ended up in the town of Bloomfield, New Mexico where we had breakfast and did some computer work.

Another great boondocking spot...

We had no problem finding another great boondocking spot for last night, but it will likely be more difficult for the next three nights of the U.S. Memorial Day weekend.

In fact, as we were parked up near the beginning of a forest service road, we saw at least 4 different RVs heading further into the interior. And this was on a Thursday afternoon of the upcoming long weekend. People trying to get a head start I bet.

New Mexico scenery and another great overnight spot

We said goodbye to friends Dave and Bonnie in Santa Fe around 9:00am and hit the road northwest towards Espanola. What a great visit we had...thanks again for the hospitality!

They own a motorhome currently stored in Germany, so we were going over some details of how they do that and get around the 3 month Schengen visa restriction. We plan to buy a motorhome in Europe next spring, depending of course on what is going on in the world.

Glad we stayed another day

We waited for the bike shop to open at 10:00am and then phoned them to make sure they had the tire and tube I needed. We were going to walk over there, but David offered me the use of his bicycle, so Ruth and I rode over there.

In the plaza near the bike shop is a Trader Joe's grocery store, so we stopped in to pick up a few things. There were about 10 people in line (spaced 6 feet apart), and we almost didn't bother but the line moved quickly.

A very loud POP

Just a lazy day yesterday.

It wasn't planned that way... I got the bikes off the back and we planned on going for a bike ride. The rear tire on my bike has had a slow leak, but not bad enough that I couldn't top it up and it would last for a few hours.

So, I hooked up the compressor and got it pumping up. I heard the tire making noise...creaking, almost... and I knew something wasn't right. I stopped the compressor and started unscrewing the compressor from the valve when... POP!

Walk to downtown Santa Fe

David and Bonnie planned us a walking route to downtown and we set off just after lunch. Hardly any traffic, and although there were a few people downtown with a few businesses starting to open up it was nowhere near as busy as what it would have been on a normal beautiful Sunday afternoon.

But, it was a good walk and we enjoyed the interesting architecture here in Santa Fe.

Beautiful drive, but too many people

We enjoyed our three night boondocking spot in Santa Fe National Forest, but it was time to move on. We were actually headed to visit friends in Sante Fe, but decided to take a round about route to get there.

Highway 4 from Los Alamos to San Isidro looked like a really nice drive, and one of our readers had suggested we go see the Gilman Tunnels. Plus, when you can fill up with gas at $1.30, you don't mind doing some touring!

Forest fire hike

Another beautiful day.

We are parked up at the edge of Santa Fe National Forest near Los Alamos, New Mexico. Across the road is more recreational land, but it's called Bandalier National Monument.

Vacant government land comes under a lot of different jurisdictions here in the United States.

And this is why I love Amazon...

Pretty nice spot we have here in Santa Fe National Forest. The temperature is perfect with highs around 75F (24C) with blue skies and sunshine, and comfortable overnight lows of around 55F (12C).

Oh, and there are no bugs.

Perfect.

Beautiful boondocking spot in the hills

Well, we are now traveling on our own once again, pretty much for the first time in six months. We enjoyed our time spent leading the Mexico RV Caravan Group, and also with Bob and Denise over the last month and a half.

But yesterday it was time to say goodbye.

Hike up to 9,300' and big horned sheep!

We had a 9:00am start for a planned 4 mile (6.5 km) hike up an old forest service road to Cabresto Lake at 9,300'. There is actually a dispersed camping area at the lake, but the road up is 4WD only... not suitable for the motorhomes!

Too bad, because it was a beautiful spot.

"You have to do your research, you know..."

Had a great sleep Sunday night at the Taos airport. Temperature never got that cold, and it was still about 57F (13C) inside the motorhome when we woke up. Got our internet work done using the free airport WiFi and then headed down to the Rio Grande bridge where our friends Bob and Denise had been overnighting at the rest area beside the bridge.

We walked across part of the bridge, with the deck located about 800' above the river. I think I remember reading that this is the 10th highest bridge in the United States.

Into the mountains

We love fresh air and mountain scenery, so we've been looking forward to getting into that type of environment.

Yesterday, we drove through some beautiful mountain passes almost as high as 10,000'. Because it was a Sunday, there were a few other people out and about... but still not what you would call busy.

Capulin Volcano Hike and Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge

Woke up early again yesterday morning after another restless sleep due to the high winds overnight. We had already decided that we would get on the road right away and do enough driving to let Sherman's engine warm things up a little bit.

It was only a few miles to the Capulin Volcano where the entrance road was open as far as the visitors center, but the center itself was closed as was the road up to the top of the volcano.