Woke up at 7 am today after a really lovely night’s sleep. Even Joey was quiet but when she saw we were awake she was raring to go. So we got up, got dressed and we all went for a hike. It was so nice. Got some more nice pictures of the area and since it was a travel day Joey got a long walk out of it.  We had an easy breakfast of cereal and just relaxed for a bit before packing up and heading out, Our next stop, right outside Albuquerque, was a shorter drive so we chose to do the Pre-1937 Route 66 route.  This took us north through Pecos and then into Santa Fe, about 40 miles from Albuquerque.  There wasn’t much in the way of towns, none really but the scenery was amazing. Going from desolate plains to mesas and mountains.  We got about 50 miles in and realized we would be taking a 2 lane road up to Glorietta Mesa at 7500 feet. This didn’t sound like a great idea with a trailer and the dog so we took the freeway up the mesa and through the pass.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  We saw mountains in Wyoming and Montana but these were very different. They are lower for one but also they looked thicker, more vegetation. On the other side of the pass is the city of Pecos and Pecos National Historic Park.  That’s where we were suppose to be camping but it was closed due to the massive fires. It was sad to see the signs and know we were so close.  And the I looked out the side window.  Now for miles we had been seeing the smoke rising from the fires but as I looked now I saw the actual fire. I mean it was in the distance but not as far as you think and you could see and almost hear the roar from the fire. Joey was a little nervous so we figure it was because of the smell of the smoke.  We found out later that the fires were actually started by the National Forest Service doing a series of prescribed burns of which they lost control. it was awful to see.

We got off the freeway the last 40 miles to again take back roads to our new campsite.  They were a little rough, we bounced our way there. I’m surprised we didn’t see the campground while driving because everything was very flat and brown. It seemed like nothing would grow on this land at all.  Well we finally arrived at camp.  It’s a private campground and it’s exactly why I don’t like private campgrounds. Everyone is stacked side by side with barely 10 feet between them. But the host was really nice and the people around us friendly and social.  Joey has a hard time though. I think she was a little sick from the drive.  SHe took a long time to find a place and feel comforable enough to go potty.  It’s so dry here, only 8% humidity, that I feel like we have to force her to drink. But she finally went and the virtually passed out from fatigue.  We had dinner, walked Joey a bit and then just settled in and lay low the rest of the night.

Fiery Day 11

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This