Tag: New Mexico

Day 18 – New Mexico to Utah (Part 1)

One of our propane tanks ran out in the night and it was really cold last night. Jon got up this morning and switched tanks and the heater came back on and all was right in our world. We made coffee, ate breakfast, packed up the Trailer for travel and hit the road right on schedule at 10am.

We left Farmington, New Mexico and headed towards Colorado. It was a beautiful sunny day but not warm.

It was a short trip through the bottom corner of Colorado and into Utah.

The closer we got to Moab the more incredible the landscape got.

Mesa’s, plateaus, faults, arches…..so many incredible sights to see and we weren’t even at Moab or in the Arches National Park.

It’s awe inspiring, surreal and a little bit overwhelming – to be honest.

We pulled into a rest area and the boys jumped out to explore a little. It was so fun to see them so excited about this part of our adventure.

The colors are gorgeous. The oranges, greens, browns and all the shades in between; contrasted with the blue sky, yellow and purple wildflowers. It’s amazing.

We pulled into the Moab KOA around 1:30pm. It was just after 2pm when we got set up in our designated spot.

We were about half an hour away from Arches National Park and our timed reservation entry was for 3pm. We headed out to grab some lunch before we hit the park.

There was a Mobile Drive-Thru Taco Time on the way so we stopped there. I have never seen one of those before; but the food was as expected.

We drove through the city of Moab on our way to the park and it is SO cute. It kind of feels like the old west, the 70’s and Whistler had a baby. Kinda old, kinda yuppie and just a whole lotta cute!

We pulled up to the park and there was a short line up but we moved through it pretty quickly and soon we were headed into the Park.

Day 17 – New Mexico

We got up and got ready for the day. Wifi still sucked. Kids still complained. It was sunny but windy and freezing cold. We still had no firm plan about whether we were headed through New Mexico or up into Colorado.

Part of the dilemma was that New Mexico had brutal winds and driving against or across wind with our decidedly not aerodynamic trailer sucks. It sucks because it pushes the trailer around and Jon ends up driving with a death grip on the steering wheel or it just literally sucks gas.

Colorado was going to be less windy but was actually going to have below zero temps and possible rain and snow. So, we decided to push through New Mexico and hope for the best.

Day 17 and still smiling…mostly.

We headed out just before 10am and planned to make it to Cuba and then we’d reassess if we were done for the day or felt we could do a bit more driving. New Mexico is beautiful.

We drove from the central east of New Mexico through Albuquerque and towards the north west of the state.

The photos don’t do justice to the depth or beauty of the landscape. It truly is even more stunning in person.

We stopped for lunch and gas just before Albuquerque and the winds were 50 km’s per hour. It was crazy!

We climbed and climbed and climbed in elevation until we hit over 7,000 feet above sea level and we crossed the Continental Divide. There has been lots of interesting learning opportunities along the way and it’s been fun to learn as we go.

As we approached Cuba, New Mexico, we decided that we still felt good about traveling a bit further and I found a decent RV park in Farmington, New Mexico that was only an hour and a half further so we made the call to carry on.

We pulled into Farmington around 6:30pm, made dinner and settled in for the night. This RV park definitely has more acceptable wifi than the last place.

While planning our route for the next day, we realized that Moab and Arches National Park was 3 hours away AND we could actually get timed entry tickets. We had wanted to go to the park but I thought we would make it there for Saturday and I wasn’t sure we’d be able to get the timed entry tickets as it was a free entry day. So we had given up on going. BUT…because we were a whole day earlier, everything worked out. We got a timed entry ticket, the park pass AND booked an RV site. We plan to leave Farmington at 10am. Arrive at our RV park for check in at 1pm and head to the Park shortly after. Woot! I’m excited.

Day 16 – Texas to New Mexico

We woke up in heaven and drove out of it and now I want to go back.

Sunglasses would have been helpful

Apparently Brady, Texas is pretty close to the center of Texas. We woke up and it was warm and sunny. The wind was blowing and we sat outside and had coffee listening to the quail coo. I just feel happy when I’m warm and it’s sunny. Siah climbed this HUGE tree while we had breakfast.

I ADORE the trees down south. They are so gorgeous and sprawling.

Jon walked around the property and found a field of cacti just about ready to bloom.

I wish we could have seen an entire field of flowering cacti. It must be stunning.

We left Brady around 11am. I really was in no hurry to leave; although Siah and Jude are not the hugest fans of the heat and they are starting to talk about getting home soon.

Got the arm wrapped up and in the photo

It’s been a good trip. For 4 people living on top of each other – 2 introverts. 2 extroverts, meeting people, eating food that’s not typical, living in a different place most nights, with iffy wifi connections, iffy toilets, random showers, way too much fast food, no personal space and WAY TOO MANY HOURS in a vehicle – we have done spectacularly. I’m kind of proud of how well we’ve done. You can tell how tired the boys are by how much bickering they do ;but they’d bicker at home, too. Honestly the only difference is they don’t have the luxury of going to their own bedrooms.

We drove and drove and drove and drove. Texas is really pretty. I kind of love it. The wild flowers, the open spaces, the wildlife, the warmth, the wind……I don’t think I’d want to live in the city but put me outside the city…….oh man.

We weren’t exactly sure if we were going to make it into New Mexico but considering that we crossed a time zone, we decided doe go for it. We crossed over from Texas into New Mexico at 6:55pm and then gained an hour.

We pulled into the Clovis RV Park around 6:15pm and got set up for the night. It was SO cold and windy. The park was quiet but had horrific wifi according to the boys. It would have been better if it had none, because it was like teasing them with wifi bars and then they kept dropping the signal.

I have done pretty well at planning out our routes the day before or at the very least in the evening but I was really struggling to get the next day planned. I think I’m just sad about leaving Texas and both options – Denver and New Mexico – are cold and windy with overnight temps dropping below zero. Not cool. Seriously not cool! Maybe a good night sleep will help me gain some clarity. I certainly hope so.