Taos Pueblo and Santa Fe

First in New Mexico for us was Taos (Taos Pueblo) and Santa Fe. Seems every time we visit Santa Fe it snows. Luckily, the 8 inches of snow they had melted quickly this time.

Bandelier National Monument

We stayed in Santa Fe with the hope that Bandelier National Monument would be open the following day. They had closed due to snow. Our gamble paid off and we had a great day at this amazing site.

Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site

We were informed that if we wanted to see petroglyphs to skip the Albuquerque site and head to Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site. There are more than 21,000 glyphs on rocks within a 2-mile hike!

Dog Canyon

Following the advice of a couple we met at Three Rivers we quickly drove to Dog Canyon State Park south of Alamogordo for a hike. Sure glad we did as it was amazing, especially with the setting sun.

White Sands National Park

One of our motivations for dropping south in New Mexico was to see White Sands National Park. We did a couple of hikes on these amazing sand dunes. So glad we made the effort to stop by and see the park.

Dripping Springs National Monument

Even though we had done 7 miles of hiking during our visit to White Sands National Park we stopped by the Dripping Springs National Monument. A short 3-mile hike allowed us to see this unexpectedly beautiful set of mountains outside of Las Cruces.

El Morro National Monument and Santa Rosa

A quick Google of hiking near Gallop NM pulled up El Morro National Monument. A really cool bluff with carvings from Native Americans, Spanish, and American explorers and travelers. Also some pictures of the famous “Blue Hole” in Santa Rosa NM.

Pueblo Colorado

To avoid an ice storm we headed west from Kansas City to Pueblo Colorado which turned out to be a nice little city.

Tucson, Wild Burro Trail Hike

On a Saturday we headed to the Wild Burro Trail with the hope of it being not as crowded as one of the more famous trails in the Tucson area. A bit more people than expected but a beautiful hike in the Tortolita Mountains.

Tucson Mountains and Saguaro National Park

We finally headed out to see the Saguaro National Park to the west of Tucson. We had to drive through the amazing Tucson Mountains on the way from downtown Tucson.

Tucson, Sabino Canyon Hike

Sabino is “the hike” to do in the Tucson area. After being shut out last year due to the government shut down we got to hike this beautiful canyon.

Sedona, Chapel Trail Hike

After two wonderful weeks in Tucson, we headed to Sedona. On the way, we stopped at Camp Verde to check out Montezuma’s Castle cliff dwellings. We tackled the Chapel Trail starting at the Chapel of the Holy Cross parking lot.

Sedona, Boyton Canyon and Fay Canyon Hikes

We ended up tackling two canyon hikes that we had not done yet in the Sedona area. Both canyons are close together and beautiful.

South Rim Grand Canyon Day One

After Sedona, we went to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Our first day was spent near the village and west out to Hermits Rest enjoying some walking and plenty of viewing.

South Rim Grand Canyon Day Two

.Our second day on the South Rim was spent driving from the Village east to Desert View Tower and then on to Gallup NM. We did get a nice hike done to Shoshone point. The day was sunny and warmed up into the 50’s by the time we left.