Growing Young

As I continue to unpack, wash stuff, and get mentally prepared for going back to work, I just wanted to share with you a list of places I ventured off the beaten path the previous nine days. The list is staggering... even to me! The sad thing is that I regret that I didn't go more places.

• Santa Rosa and Puerta de Luna (chasing a Cornado legend)
• Villanueva and Villaneuva State Park (Spanish colony and amazing canyon area)
• The Manzano Mountains of central NM
• Abo Ruins church and pueblo (part of Salinas Pueblo Missions Nat'l Monument)
• Qurai Ruins church and pueblo (part of same Nat'l Monument)
• Albuquerque and Petroglyphs National Monument
• El Malpais National Monument (lava flow and volcanoes)
• El Morro National Monument (inscription rock for travelers)
• The Bisti Badlands Wilderness Area (unique geological formations)
• Aztec Ruins National Monument (a gigantic pueblo)
• Durango, Pagosa Springs (my future home), Wolf Creek Pass, and Alamosa, Colorado
• Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
• The Rio Grande Gorge (barely survived)
• Taos & Angel Fire, NM
• Bandelier National Monument (reached the gatehouse. costs $12 to enter. I said no.)
• Valles Caldera National Preserve (a supervolcano)
• Jemez State Monument (another pueblo and mission ruin)
• Pecos National Historical Park (yet another pueblo and mission)
• Fort Union National Monument & the Santa Fe National Historic Trail
• Sugarite Canyon & State Park
• Capulin Volcano National Monument

By my calculations, I managed to visit to some degree eight national monuments, two national preserves, one national park, one state monument, one wilderness area and five canyons.

A good vacation, I would think. Pictures and video are coming later on. For now I need to enjoy my second hot shower in the last 12 hours and dry my clothes to see which items survived the trip.

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