Peace at the Park

If you want to find a peaceful place to walk or bike ride in Albuquerque, head to the Rio Grande Nature Center.  It's located just north of Interstate 40, alongside the Rio Grande River.  Graceful cottonwood trees create a shady area and a respite from the hot desert sun.  It encompasses 38 acres.

The entrance to the visitor center is though a huge metal culvert.  Quite different from any other visitor center we have been to.

The riparian area is behind the visitor center, home to ducks, geese, turtles and lots of other wildlife.

 The sign said the turtles basking on the wooden logs were Painted turtles and Red-eared Sliders

Just past this lovely shaded area was the Rio Grande.  Not the wide Rio Grande River one usually conjures up in their minds, but more like a Phoenix canal.

 On both sides of the river were bike paths.  Oh, how I wished we had known about this and brought our bikes!

 


There were a lot of people using the trail.  Why not, the day was perfect for a ride.  Clear skies, no wind and at this time in the morning, it wasn't scorching hot.

As we sauntered back to the parking lot, we saw this cute little roadrunner.  It surprised me, since the only ones I've seen before were in Arizona.  Who knows, maybe he was a tourist just like me!

Albuquerque Rocks!

Yes, it does, in more ways than one!  We meandered out to the Petroglyph National Monument this morning while it was still cool.  Yesterday afternoon it was in the mid 90's, and walking around in the desert didn't appeal to me. I  have become a wimp (wise, informed, mature person).  At least, that is MY definition, and I'm sticking to it.

The park is relatively new, being established in 1990 after local people pushed to have this unique area protected.  There are thousands and thousands of petroglyphs that have been found along the mesa, created by the ancestors of the Pueblo people.  They have deep spiritual significance to the Pueblo, Navajo and Apache people. The visitor center is in one area, and the petroglyphs are located separately.  We chose to explore the Boca Negra Canyon nearby.

Basically, the trail takes you up the hillside, past huge boulders made of volcanic rock.  In some places, there are cement steps and handrails, although I was still unsure of myself and didn't make it to the top.  It was hard keeping my balance with my camera hanging off my neck while I leaned over to grab on to a rock.  My grandchildren would have up to the top in mere minutes!

So, I settled for the viewing the etched rocks that were closer which didn't require me to be half mountain goat. Worked for me! 

The ancestors of the Pueblo people used sandstone hammer stones and chisels to remove the thin layer of desert varnish on the rocks. This exposed the lighter color of the basalt.
Even today, scientists have been unable to correctly determine the meaning of all the images.  The rock below has a Macaw.  Researchers knew that these tribes had connections to other tribes living much farther south, into Mexico, and they traded their items for the brightly colored Macaws.

I knew what the one below referred to!  Watch out for the snakes!

I came across a cute little desert lizard who seemed to be giving me the stink eye while I took his picture.  He had same colors as the rock he's sitting on, and I loved the pattern along his back.

Don, with his bum knee, waited patiently in one spot while I explored further.  This is his "Are you finished yet?" stance. 

Time to go, it looks like he is heading back to the truck!

Goodbye for now, Colorado

The three days as paying guests, and not camp hosts have ended.  Off we go to New Mexico first, and then Arizona, while Patty and Ron head on to Texas. 

Some of the best memories from the past few days:  enjoying time around the fire even though it was only 45 degrees one night and the wind was blowing.  We got REAL close to the fire pit!

The early morning visits by the rafter of turkeys right behind our trailer.  They paid no attention to us.

Deer wandering around, behind and in one case, right beside our trailer.  Patty looked out our door after supper, and the buck was right by the step!

All four of us watching the Harvest moon come up three nights in a row, with the city of Colorado Springs below.

And waking up to beautiful sunrises along with a bugle from nearby Ft. Carson playing Reveille!

Mueller Musings

Officially, it is fall!  We've enjoyed several days of fall type weather, and Don even broke down and wore long pants for 3 days in a row!  We need to remember the nights by the fire, all bundled up and drinking something hot, for it will be summer weather again once we get back to Arizona.  Fall comes to Arizona the last part of November and seems like it lasts only a few weeks.

On Wednesday we drove up into the Rockies, to Mueller State Park to enjoy the weather and the turning of the leaves.  The park itself is over 5,000 acres just outside the small town of Divide.  We have camped here previously on 3 different times, but yesterday was just a ride around the campsite loops and wandering around the Visitor Center.

I found it interesting that the first European settlers were supposedly horse thieves who lived in the southern part of the park.  The plaque said that ruins of their well hidden corral could be seen today, but none of us were up to traipsing around the mountain to find where it was.  Don's arthritic knee was already bothering him, and Ron's feet were hurting.  At our age, we are thankful were are mobile and can walk around at the elevation of 9600 feet without too much effort.

I loved the contrast between the dark fir trees and the golden leaves of the Aspen located by the Wapiti Trail sign.  As I drew closer, it looked like Mother Nature had decorated the fir boughs just in time for the holidays with the round, golden leaves dropped from the Aspens overhead.

Ron and Patty stopped to have their picture taken here before we headed back to Woodland Park for lunch. 

Any time spent with nature is time well spent.  How lucky we are to live in the United States and be able to travel to vastly different places along the way.  We're also thankful for friends and family that either travel with us or meet up to camp with us.

Air Force Academy

We have driven through Colorado Springs more times than I can remember, and have visited many interesting places here, but this was our first time to visit the Air Force Academy.  It is impressive!
The guard at the gate checked all of our driver's licenses plus the back of our truck.  Guess we passed the test, and we were allowed to drive to the visitor center.

The first class from the academy graduated in 1959.  The video that we watched after first entering the building showed the year in a life of a cadet, stressing integrity above all.  Sadly, recent news revealed that criminal charges have been filed (a precedent) against two seniors relating to hazing and freshmen cadets.  Until now, infractions have been handled within the academy itself.  Sad times for everyone involved.

 The Cadet Chapel was located a third mile from the visitor center, and we walked the path just in time to get there to watch thousands of cadets lining up for lunch. Recent incoming classes have averaged around 1200, with 1000 graduating each year.

 On the other side, there were just as many cadets standing at attention.  I would have loved to see that cafeteria!  It must be huge to serve everyone at essentially at the same time.

While they were eating lunch, we toured the Cadet Chapel.  On the main floor is the Protestant chapel, directly underneath that is the Catholic chapel, and towards the back and down the stairs is the Jewish chapel and and very small room for the Buddhist worshipers.

 These are views of the Protestant Chapel.  Absolutely beautiful!

During our walk around this chapel, we were treated to music from the absolutely huge pipe organ in the back.  Reminded me to go back to Organ Stop Pizza when we get home!

The altar for the Catholic chapel was gorgeous!

Below is where services are held for the Jewish cadets.

 And this is what the Buddhist worship center looks like.

 One of the views of the airplane tail structure.  The plaza was huge and basically empty as we ambled around.  I imagine it would be packed for special events and graduation.

 Looks like Don and Patty are ahead of me.  Guess I dawdled too long taking pictures! Don has become accustomed to me stopping to take a photo if it is halfway interesting.  He just continues on (just like when we are shopping).  Eventually, he either finds me or I catch up to him.

Good news!  This time we had taken a map of the campus along with us and it wasn't hard finding our way back to the truck.  We may be slow at times, but at least we still learn from our mistakes! LOL

Colorado Springs, here we come!

Our first stop after leaving Boyd Lake was at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, situated in Colorado Springs, in close proximity to Fort Carson Army base.  We were lucky enough to find two sites here, since most of the time sites are completely filled six months out.  The sites are situated on the side of Cheyenne Mountain, so we have beautiful views of the city below. Another plus is that we can hear the bugle playing in the morning and 5 PM, and taps in the evening.

 This is the view from our campsite, looking south.

A rafter of turkeys calmly walked behind our trailer as they searched for food, or maybe they are looking for a place to hide since Thanksgiving is not that far off!

The skies were dark and cloudy as we headed out in the afternoon.  It had rained and cleared up and was in the process of raining again when we were on our way to Garden of the Gods.  By the time we got across town, it was dry!  Boy, we sure lucked out in choosing the right place to visit!

It was perfect for walking around the huge rock formations.  A nice breeze, overcast and not hot at all.  Then the thunder came.  As we headed back to our truck, we realized we had gotten turned around.   And then, we all had a senior moment:  none of us had looked at what parking lot we had come from!  Was it parking lot #3, or parking lot #4?!  Or was it parking lot #2?  And we left the map from the visitor center in the truck!  Talk about all of us having a "senior moment"!  Thank goodness we finally figured it out and made it back to the truck before it started to rain. 

Dinner at a nearby Rudy's BBQ was wonderful, and we returned to the campground with our belly's full and our feet tired.

Right after we got back, a Harvest moon rising over the city below greeted us with it's orange glow.

Farewell, Boyd Lake!

Summer is over.  Time for us to head out along with Ron and Patty.

Thanks for all the memories, which were numerous!  Among the "firsts" this year were the sightings of two pair of eagles in the same day, and Osprey feeding on fish caught in Boyd Lake.

We enjoyed the beautiful sunrises

and numerous sunsets from our camp site.

Our granddaughter, Ella, came to stay with us quite a few times.  Loved the time spent with her biking at Boyd Lake, and going out to breakfast at her favorite restaurant, Denny's!

Many nights were spent by the campfire with Ron and Patty, watching other trailers pull their rigs into the campground and wondering if they would make it into their site without running over a firepit or electric box!  You never know what to expect!  One of the funniest memories is a guy who brought over his camping chair and plopped it right in front of Ron and Patty's door. He thought he could use their Wifi since the park had none! Sheesh!

It will be a couple of weeks before we are finally home in Avondale, but we'll enjoy all the stops along the way!