As we mentioned in our last update we made another move on Monday (10/2) and landed at the Angel Fire RV Resort for an 8 day stay. This resort has been on my radar for a couple years as a place to check out and maybe stay cool during the summer months but it has not been in line with our travels and the rates are a little higher, well a lot higher than we like to pay so we didn’t put out any extra effort to get here. But as luck would have it they were pretty much in our path south this year AND they were running a 2fer deal making the price just a little higher than we normally like to pay instead of a lot more so we booked 8 nights and paid for 4.
The view out our windshield
Heck, we have already blown our Campground Fee budget out of the water this year (along with a few other categories) so why not continue the trend right? Someone has to be hiring somewhere LOL!!!!
After getting here and setting up we decided to just kick back and do nothing other than chat with a couple other campers, do a walking tour of the resort and wait for the Kansas City game to come on, pretty uneventful but fine with us. Well uneventful except the game!!!
GO CHIEFS!!!
Angel Fire sit’s at 8400 ft elevation and it’s been a while since we have been this high (well altitude wise anyway LOL!!) and it didn’t take long to notice. Just walking around almost had us gasping for air so when we saw the Pickelball courts we almost had to chuckle at how much of a struggle that might be, but we were sure to find out.
They have some very nice shower rooms available at the park.
It may look like she has a smile on her face but really she is gasping for air.
The forecast for the next week was all over the board so we had to pick & choose just when to do things and it turned out the Tuesday (10/3) was going to be a nice day so we decided to make the 25 mile drive down the mountain and do a little touring in Taos.
Taos sit’s at an elevation of 6969ft so along with it being a pretty drive down the mountain it was also 1400ft lower in elevation. Now I’m not sure we could really notice much difference with only 1400ft difference in elevation but mentally I think it helped LOL!!
We drove the streets to get the overall feel of the area and then hit the Visitor center before making our way to the San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church which was built between 1772 and 1816
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The Taos Chamber of Commerce states that the building is “one of the most photographed and painted churches in the world and during our visit there must have been at least a dozen people with their isles set up painting.
They take pretty darn good care of this church in fact each year in June a group gathers for two weeks to re-mud the exterior with a mixture of mud & straw.
Check out the gutter system along the top that drop water down to the decretive catchers below.
No pictures were allowed of the interior but like most old churches like this it was pretty impressive.
After the church we headed to the Taos Plaza, the historic center of the town of Taos. The plaza was built for defense with windows and doors facing into the plaza and the limited entrances could be barricaded but now has a grassy park with shady trees, park benches, and a gazebo surrounded by a variety of shops made of adobe.
We walked the streets for a while but to be honest I was so hungry that my attention span was dwindling fast and the “hangry” Dave was showing up so we walked down to the #2 rated place to eat in Taos called the La Cueva Café and hand lunch.
Walking up to the place had us wondering how it could be rated #2 but it proved itself by having some pretty darn good food and service. Of course t’s the only place in town we ate so we have nothing to compare it to.
After lunch we did some more walking of the streets before making our way home.
This tree has a very strong desire to live. Youi can’t see but it’s pretty much hollowed out and look at the sapling growing next to it.
Wednesday and Thursday were off and on again miserable weather with winds blowing, some rain and cooler temps so we pretty much stuck around home and snuck in a walk when we could and did have a chance to at least play a little Pickelball.
Our comments earlier about how tough playing Pickelball at 8400ft elevation proved true. After a little warm up and only a couple straight games were huffin & puffin and ready to call it quit. Wait, I hate the word quit, I meant to say take a break LOL!!
I think it was Friday we decided to take a drive to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.
The bridge was started in 1963 and completed in 1965 and spans 1280ft and at 565 feet above the Rio Grande it is the seventh highest bridge in the United States and 82nd highest bridge in the world.
Of course we took a walk across it and back which if you have a real fear of heights might be a challenge LOL!!
We have mentioned before in updates how it’s interesting that in some parts of the country and at certain popular attractions safety is taken so seriously that it almost takes away from the actual attraction with all the fences and barrios yet in others, like this one for example, you are free to live life on the edge.
In fact while we were standing in the middle of the bridge looking down over the edge we couldn’t help wonder how many people had jumped over the edge so I had to look it up. As it turns out an average of 3 people per year leap to their death from this bridge.
They are studying ways to deter suicides like higher fencing or netting but the lack of the all mighty dollar is standing in the way.
Anyway, we didn’t mean to get morbid and it was a pretty neat place to visit so if you find yourself in the area stop and have a look over the edge!!! Oh, it also seemed like a popular place for local crafters to come and set up table to show off and sell their pieces.
Saturday, (10/7) was another nice weather day with brilliant blue skies full of sunshine and very little wind so we decided to do the 84 mile loop called “The Enchanted Circle Drive” that circles all the way around Wheeler Peak, the highest mountain in the state at 13,161 feet.
You may or may not know that New Mexico has long been known as The Land of Enchantment so I guess doing the Enchanted Circle Drive is a must.
The drive circles Wheeler Peak which is New Mexico’s highest peak at 13,161ft and for us took us starting in Angel Fire it took us through the towns of Eagle Nest, Red River, Questa, Taos and back to Angel Fire.
Most of the drive was pretty scenic but we agreed that we wouldn’t call all of it enchanting LOL!! And other than the scenery itself the favorite part of the loop for us was the town of Red River which was really the only thing that caught or attention enough to stop during the drive.
Red River is a ski resort town with a country town feel. It has a great main street filled with eateries, tavern and shops and of course because Octoberfest was going on during our visit didn’t hurt either.
We took some time and walked the streets taking in all the sights and spent some time inside the festival site wandering through the dozens of venders set up showing off everything from jewelry to painted gourds to homemade wines and beers.
We didn’t partake in any alcohol testing because we were at the very beginning of our loop but looking back knowing what we know now I think we might have just pulled up a hay bale, listened to some music, ate some of the great smelling foods and sampled a few spirits and just turned around and went home from there. But we all know how hindsight works.
So after spending time in Red River we returned to the truck, broke out our sacked lunch of rolled up flour tortillas & peanut butter, carrots and grapes and continued on. Do you see now why looking back staying at the festival would have been a great idea LOL!!!
Ok, now for a twist in our planned 8 day stay in Angle Fire. Even though we had been dealing with a little rain, some cool temps and windy days (wind strong enough that we almost started pulling in slides) we didn’t consider leaving early until we noticed in the weather forecast that snow was on the way and the day before our scheduled departure day was going to have a high of 36 and a low of 12!!
Bone in pork chops & Brussel sprouts.
Well now we don’t live in a home on wheels to stick around and deal with snow and temps like that so we both agreed to find a spot at a lower altitude with better weather and make a move ahead of our planned departure date even though we were paid up for 2 more nights.
After a little research on-line and a couple phone calls we found a spot southeast of Angel Fire at an altitude of about 3000ft lower were temperatures were going to be in the high 60’s to mid-70’s for the next week and made our reservations.
So Sunday morning (10/8) we lifted our jacks on a beautiful sunny (but brisk) morning with no wind and rolled away from Angel Fire headed south to warmer temps.
When we first started this fulltime adventure we (like most everyone else that lives this lifestyle) said we are going to follow the nice weather and for the most part we have, BUT it’s not always as easy as it sounds. Weather can sneak up on you unexpectedly and you just have to deal with it but when it’s forecasted days in advance and you just sit still and don’t take advantage of your mobility by living in a house on wheels, well then you can’t complain about it and dang-it I don’t want my right to complain taken away!!! LOL!!
Anyway, we are holed up in a pretty nice spot a few miles outside of a “way to big city” with Pickleball courts, Foosball, pool tables, a shuffle board table, a nice pool and a casino with a couple nice restaurants to keep us occupied.
And yes, even though the city we are close to is WAY too large for my liking we will undoubtedly venture in to take in a few of the sights available but we will go into that in our next update.
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