Things have been pretty bust at work and I haven't had the chance to write about our winter vacation road trip to New Mexico last December. So here's a recap of some highlights with a few reflections thrown in along the way.
We had 2 weeks off and knew we didn't want to just sit around at home. So it was a choice between driving to Florida (18 hours) to visit old friends, enjoy kosher restaurants, and hit the beach, or driving to New Mexico (13 hours) to see new sights. We decided to try something new and so headed out on a 9 day road trip out west.
Texas is so big that you can never really see it all. But we decided to cut across diagonally through College Station (Aggie Land) and Abilene up to Albuquerque. Staying in Abilene for the night was a must because growing up my mother used to tell us the story of "Let's Not Go To Abilene," about a family that didn't say how they felt and ended up doing something no one wanted. Well, sure enough, Abilene isn't much to write home about, but it was a good pit stop for the night. That was Wednesday.
On Thursday we drove through the oil fields of West Texas, past Lubbock, and eventually arrived in Albuquerque around 5pm Mountain time (1 hour behind Houston). If you want to go Hot Air ballooning December isn't really the best season as it is cold and snowy. The big festival is in October. But we did venture out Friday to ride the Sky Tram up to Sandia Peak, a very tall mountain overlooking the city. It was snowing and freezing, but the views were amazing. Highly recommended. We also shmyed around Old Town Albuquerque to get some souvenirs and see the original town square. After a quiet family Shabbat in the hotel we went to see the Winter lights at the Zoo on Motzaei Shabbat, and then went on a great tiyul Sunday morning to Petroglyph National Park, where you can hike through hills filled with cave drawings from 400-700 years ago. The weather and the views were beautiful and we had a great time. Hiking and just enjoying natural beauty reminded me of being in Israel.
After that we drove an hour north to Santa Fe. I actually have cousins who live in Santa Fe but unfortunately they were out of town. It would have been nice to see them. People rave about Santa Fe, and it is quaint. We liked the Old Town square, and the Art galleries on Canyon road were interesting for a few minutes, but overall it wasn't that exciting. I am sure it is nicer in the warmer seasons.
On Monday we did a day trip to Taos, a Ski Area about 2 hours north. There are two main roads to Taos, the High Road and the Low Road. On the way up we took the High Road (something I try to do in life as often as I can) which had some nice views, but overall it was a long trip. After hanging in Taos for a while we drove about 15 minutes out of town to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, which, at 565 feet tall is the 7th tallest bridge in the country. It's actually pretty cool. You are driving through a valley surrounded by mountains (you are always surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges in Northern New Mexico). And literally out of nowhere you find yourself driving over a bridge that passes over a 500 foot canyon. People stop and take pictures. It's pretty neat. And that's when our adventure got interesting. We decided to ignore the GPS and take the road home that looked most direct. It hooked back around Taos and connected back onto the main highway heading back to Santa Fe. What we discovered too late was that this "road" really was a steep windy road that crept down into the Canyon. The roads were snowy, the turns tight, the drop off the cliff immense. And it was a narrow road that was somehow two way. Also, the sun was starting to set and we did not know how long this road would be, or how hard it would be to drive at night. There were no road lights and very few cars around. Well, it turned out to be incredible. The canyon was gorgeous, and once we made it down to the bottom we were able to follow the Low Road that goes right next to the Rio Grande river for miles. It was very beautiful and memorable.
Bye the way, I haven't mentioned anything about food yet. We have done many long distance road trips before. But never one that lasted 9 days. There were no kosher restaurants along the way. But somehow we managed just fine, including Shabbat. Santa Fe even has a Trader Joes with a very large selection of Kosher products. The interesting part was seeing which parts of the hotel breakfasts we could and could jot eat each morning. Those eggs, pancakes, and hash browns really looked good though. Oh well...
On Tuesday a snow storm was coming so we decided to start heading south a day early. We drove all day Tuesday trying to stay one step ahead of the snow. This time we did not drive home diagonally, but went South 1st and then turned West when we hit Texas. This allowed us to stop in Roswell, NM and visit the UFO museum. There are not really words to describe the kitchiness of this experience, including the guy in the store showing us picture on his cell phone of UFO's he swears has personally seen himself over Roswell, but it was right on the way so we couldn't pass it up. We made it across into Texas a little after dark and stayed in a roadside hotel in Fort Stockton.
When we woke up Wednesday December 31st in Fort Stockton the world was white with snow everywhere, and ice all over the roads. The projected 4 hour drive to San Antonio, ended up taking 9 hours due to the crazy driving conditions. We saw at least 10 overturned cars and trucks and felt our van gliding any time we went over about 40 mph. We were so grateful to finally arrive in San Antonio that night and get out of that car, though we did not get there in time to enjoy a freshly cooked meal in San Antonio's kosher restaurant. Having the fire alarm go off after we got the kids to sleep, and the entire hotel coming down until the fire department arrived was icing on the cake:-)
All in all, it was a really nice trip. We came home exhausted, but excited that we went on a family adventure together. I always feel like I understand the world just a little bit better after exploring places I have never seen before.
I would go back to New Mexico again one day. We did not get to visit Carlsbad Caverns, the White Sand Dunes, Los Alamos, or Bandalier National monument. But you can't do everything at once can you? I would also like to visit Big Bend Park in West Texas one day when it is not cold and snowing.
Post Script: Two weeks later we had our High School Retreat near Austin after which we did another mini road trip in Hill Country. We explored the quaint shopping areas of Wimberly and Fredericksburg, had a great time visiting the LBJ Ranch, and hiked in Peternales Falls State Park. One day I hope to get back near Fredericksburg and hike Enchanted Rock. There is just so much to see and appreciate in this beautiful world of ours.
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