fall roadtrip, 2009

I think you'll like this one. We drove into Cibola National Forest and Manzano Mountains, hiking when we parked and buying gas station junk food in between stops at cemeteries.

I want to say that this was mid-September, but I'm not positive. Let's call it the bushy red 'stache time of year.

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I picked up a couple of New Mexico road trip books at the library sale in August. We closed our eyes, opened the guide to a random page and here we are!

Pulling over to the side of the road and getting out of the car rocks on road trips. When you flash smiles and friendly waves at passing cars, the whole family and dogs wave and bark back to you. It's kind of cute to the point of nausea. My favorite was when I waved at the 4 person biker gang rolling by (three bikes, three guys, one biker babe holding on in the bitch seat) and they gave me that little head nod hello. Drooooooool... my life is complete.

Dirt bike hero.

The convenience store we stopped at somewhere north of Chilili felt pretty epic. Lots of dead dear heads, antlers, a whole separate store for chewing tobacco and small town families buying gallon jugs of milk. The lady running it was very sweet and sold us on the Carrizozo apples. We bought four.

Back on the road...

I asked Marc to stop at the cemetery. He didn't join me when I got out to look at graves and take snaps.

It's very well kept and very colorful. The junipers and pines around it make it feel like a beautiful and lazy little park in the middle of nowhere except there are graves all around you.

What if that tire track was actually the indention left from a humongous traveling snake? Gloom :(

Do you see me over there?

Forest of glowing red trees. It felt like walking under a campfire. Breezy, red leaves falling around us like embers tossed around on the wind.

ha.. ha.. ha.. (?)

It doesn't look like it, but I climbed ten feet of pure vertical limestone that kept crumbling off in my hand as my adrenaline beat blood into my fingers and eardrums... just kidding. It was only a 6 foot climb, still pretty fun :)

Hike's over :) Back in the car...

Interesting rock formations. Wait, is this man made destruction? Learning geology would be higher on my to-do list but teaching the cats sign language keeps me too busy. I'm only slightly kidding... hopefully.

We didn't get here in time and the Ranger just closed up. Sad. Guess we'll have to come back this summer!

By then the road trip was winding down. My nerves were getting itchy to be back in the city.

We drove aaaaaaalllll the way around the Manzanos and ended up north of Socorro, closer to Los Lunas.

Our state is so beautiful and it's strange people in the city haven't taken day trips like this? From far away, junipers on a dry grass hill looks like cookie dough. Mmmmmm... 

Oh right, then on the drive back a semi truck driver went insane and tried to re-enact Fast and the Furious 5: Truckyo Drift.