On our way north to the Grand Canyon

Finally on our way north with the destination of the Grand Canyon National Park at the end of April in mind.  We have certainly learned that there is so much to see along the way and as they say, you have to remember to enjoy the journey and not just the final destinations in life.

Our first stop out of Texas was in Alamagordo, New Mexico at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park.  We got lucky and just stopped there to see if any first come sites were available and we got a great spot.  We ended up staying almost two weeks.  It was a little campground nestled next to some beautiful foothills with water and electric for $14 a nite.

While we were here, we visited the White Sands National Monument.  I wasn’t sure how I would feel about seeing a park with just a lot of white sand but I was very impressed.  The park covers 275 square miles and there is an 8 mile drive right through the sand dunes, definitely not like anything else I’d ever seen.

One day when the weather got uncomfortably warm (sorry to all your northerners who were suffering from the horrible cold winter at this time!) we visited a little town in the mountains called Cloudcroft.  The temperature was at least 10 degrees cooler and the sight of the green pine trees were a welcome respite after all that white sand.  We got to see an old railroad trestle originally built in 1899.  It is the only one of 58 timber frame trestles still standing from the “Cloud Climbing Railroad” that was used to transport tourists up into the mountains back in the early 19th century.  The trestle is 323 feet long, 60 feet high and was abandoned in 1947.  We stopped for lunch there on a recommendation and had the best bbq sandwich ever and got in a short hike along a beautiful mountain rim (note the white sands in the background).

Two other “must sees” in the area that we got to visit were the Three Rivers Petroglyph Park with over 21,000 petroglyphs dating back to 900 AD and the Valley of Fire, an actual lava field in the middle of the dessert.

Our next stop heading north was to another state park in New Mexico called Elephant Butte Lake State Park.  We only camped a couple days here but I had to share this picture Ray took of a small group of white pelicans on the lake one morning as well as a trip we took to a mineral springs spa with a view of the Rio Grande river just feet away.  This was in the nearby town of Truth of Consequences (yes, it was named after the old game show). 

Moving west into Arizona, we stayed at a couple state parks along the way where we had a private tour of Hopi tribal ruins in the hills and stopped in Winslow Arizona to do the tourist thing of “standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona”.  Also got to see the giant meteor crater west of Winslow caused by a meteor estimated to have hit earth 50,000 years ago with a force greater than 29 millions tons of tnt.  The crater is 560 feet deep and over 4,000 feet across, a definite must see along anyone’s travels off of historic Route 66.  Also nearby was the Petrified Forest National Park, one of the largest petrified wood deposits in the world.  The park contained a 28 mile scenic drive with stopovers at a forest of petrified trees, petroglyphs, ancient pueblo ruins and the Painted Desert which I had never heard of but it had some spectacular views of multi-hued landscape (see photo below of our hike through the basin).

 

Then we made it to our final destination of the month, the Grand Canyon!  It’s always even more exciting when you book a reservation 6 months or more ahead of time for a special destination spot like this.  Our campsite was perfect, within walking distance of the rim.  I’ve seen pictures and heard stories of the canyon but I have to say I never expected the vastness and pure beauty of this place.  As someone who is afraid of heights, I think I did really well hiking the trails along the rim of this very deep, very steep canyon.  There was one spot that we hiked that I was so afraid that I had to hold onto Ray the whole time.  In the picture on the bottom right below, you may notice I have a pretty tight grip on that railing.

But what an experience!  And then to learn about the history of the buildings and people that lived there years ago, that was fascinating.  The Kolb Brothers had a photography studio and house they built in 1904 right on the rim and a famous architect, Mary Colter, designed many of the historic buildings along the rim that showcased her inspiration from the Canyon rocks and the nearby Hopi villages.

Whew, April was definitely quite a month.  We currently are on our way to explore the many national parks in Utah.  So exciting…next post soon!