We’re baaaack! Yes, we have started traveling again and boy did we miss it. We are traveling in, our new to us RV, Diablo. He is a 35 foot motor home that we got from Las Vegas. Took a while to make him a legal New Mexico resident, but once he went through quarantine, we got his papers and we were ready to roll.
For our first real adventure with him, we decided to tour the western part of New Mexico. The Governor had finally opened our state parks for camping to NM residents and we were anxious to hit the road. As we still didn’t have our tow vehicle ready to go, I ended up driving our car and following along. This gave us a lot more flexibility then trying to find a parking spot for this big guy everywhere we wanted to go.
We left our place on a beautiful fall afternoon. We headed west on Hwy 64 to get to our first stop, Lake Heron State Park, outside of Chana, NM. If you have a chance to take a fall drive one of these years, I highly recommend the drive on 64 between Angel Fire and Chama. The colors were changing on the aspens and after going through Tres Piedras there were some nice over looks before you get to Tierra Amarilla. We even had to stop for a cattle drive as the cows decided to spread out along the road. Got to Lake Heron and set up. We went for a walk to explore the campground and managed to also catch the sunset over the lake.
The next morning we got up and did the East Meadows hike. The water levels in the lake are so low that this side of the park no longer has water and the marina on that side is closed down. The hike is about 6 miles round trip from the Willow Creek campground. There was nothing special about this hike other than the signs about planets and as you walk along. Each sign representing a planet and how far its distance is from the sun. That was interesting and would be something to keep the kids entertained for a bit.
No view at this overlook. 
The following morning, we decided to tackle the Salmon Ruin Trail. This trail runs the length of the park from the visitor’s center down to the dam. It follows along the lake and was nicely shaded in the morning. We managed to spot some jackrabbits, turkeys, and even a tarantula and yes, even water. We did 10.5 miles; we hadn’t done that distance for quite some time. This hike is rated as very easy, but we thought because of the number of miles and the number of ups and downs the difficulty should be moderate.
Turkeys at the Visitor’s Center 
Can you see the jackrabbit? 
There he is.
Another great fall day and we were headed out to the Navajo Lake State Park. There was only one spot left that could fit Diablo, so I booked it. No, hookups, we were officially boon-docking for the first time. We got setup and I was immediately accosted by these flying gnats. Will couldn’t tell what I was signaling when trying to back him up. Really I was just swatting bugs. Stella and John (Will’s cousins) joined us for a few days on the northern half of our trip. In spite of the bugs, the campground did have a nice view of the lake and the marina.
Got up the next morning and headed for a wine tasting at the Wines of the San Juan. This winery is located on the banks of the San Juan River in a very beautiful setting just a short drive from our campsite. After enjoying the wine tasting, we drove over to the tour the Aztec Ruins in Aztec, NM. This is a National Monument and although the visitor center was closed, the ruins were open. It’s a self-guided tour and the have both a phone app and a trail guide available. These ruins were inhabited by ancestral Puebloan people from the late 1000’s to the late 1200’s. The great kiva was rebuilt in the 1930’s and it provides you with a great opportunity to see what it looked like at the time these people inhabited the area. Based on the name, you would think that these people were Aztecs, but no, these people are related to the Anasazi. Archeologists, however, have found evidence that they may have traded goods with the Aztec’s at some point in time. We then had a nice lunch at Rubia’s Mexican Restaurant. The restaurant had a nice tented patio setup in the downtown historic section of Aztec.
The next day was moving day again as we wanted to be closer to the Farmington area and have the luxury of full hook-ups. We packed up and headed out, first stopping to tour the Salmon Ruins in Bloomfield, NM. These are called Salmon ruins for the homesteader, George Salmon. He found the ruins adjacent to his homestead and eventually bought that land as well to protect the ruins. The site and museum were both open and it is well worth the $4 entrance fee. Again it’s a self-guided tour, but the provided trail guide was great and gave us with some good insights as to what we were seeing. The other half of the ruins are buildings from George’s original homestead. After the tour, we went just a couple miles down the road to the Angel Peak RV Park. This was to be our home for the next couple of nights. It’s a small RV park right off the road, but it is very clean and the owners were very nice and personable. There is also a great view from their patio overlooking the San Juan River.
We took off the next morning to the Bisti Badlands. This is BLM land and is still a wilderness area, which means no cell service, no designated trails, etc. I found this area fascinating; the sandstone is weathered into some really unique formations. There are no trails here and it is easy to lose your sense of direction. Make sure to download a map of the area ahead of time. Downloading the map really helped us to find some of the formations that are most interesting. We want to go back again and explore this area some more. The road in to the parking area is wash boarded, but we thought it would be easy enough to get Diablo in and camp for a night or two fairly easily. It gets really hot in the Badlands and I wouldn’t recommend coming in the dead of summer. The night was beautiful and we spent some time enjoying sitting outside while having a cocktail or two.
The next day was our visit to Chaco Canyon. This is a National Historical Park that is said to be the ceremonial area for the ancestral Puebloen peoples. This is one of those places that you do need to dedicate an entire day to see. The park is located far off the beaten path. The road from the highway is 20 some miles of a gravel road that you would want to have a high clearance vehicle in some spots. It was extremely windy on the day we went, but the breeze was welcomed as it kept us cool. The visitor center was closed, but the rangers are there to collect the park fee and to answer any questions you might have. We spent several hours exploring the ruins. We were really impressed by the Pueblo Bonita. It was said to be more of a ceremonial place rather than a place where people lived day to day. There is a short trail that takes you to an over look which provides a great view of the Pueblo. We finally made it back to our campsite only to find that the wind had picked up here as well. What a great night to pickup takeout instead of grilling outside as we had originally planned.
The next morning Stella and John left us to head home for a few days. Will and I decided to check out the Angel Peak Scenic Area as it was a fairly short drive from the RV park. That turned out to be an excellent choice. The first overlook is maybe a mile off 550 on CR 7175 outside of Bloomfield. We never expected that huge canyon to be there. We have driven past that sign many times when heading to go skiing and never thought twice about seeing what the scenic area was all about. There is a road that goes along the rim of the canyon for about 6 miles. Along the way there are a few pull outs with picnic tables to take in the views. At the end is a camp area, where we saw a few campers taking advantage of the free spot. The spots at the end of the road are small and are mainly designed for tent campers, but some of the overlooks have large parking areas that would accommodate Diablo quite nicely.
Moving day again as the next morning we were off to the Albuquerque area. Albuquerque was a good half way point between our north and south itinerary, plus we are able to get some housekeeping done and visit family. We parked at the Route 66 Casino RV Park. It’s a nice RV park with all sites having full hookups. They also have a number of amenities at the park itself including tennis/pickle ball courts, seasonal pool, laundry, clubhouse, and fitness room. Plus, there is the casino with entertainment, restaurants and gaming. Currently, the casino is only open to NM residents. We did make it to the casino one night. They scanned our driver’s license, had to provide a phone number for contract tracing, and our temperature was taken before entering. We quickly lost our $40 and left. They must be tightening their slots to make up for the loss of revenue with fewer patrons.
Beautiful trip … enjoyed your read …
Been to Chaco canyon what an amazing place to see !!! I enjoy seeing your travels
Patricia swenson
Thanks Patricia. I appreciate the feedback.
Beautiful places and wonderful photos and history. You do a great job of documenting your travels. Enjoy traveling with you. Thank you.
Thank-you for coming along and joining us.