Home for a Bit

Returned from New Mexico after ten fun-filled hours of uneventful driving on the I-25 Super Slab.

After the morning chill had gone, it was pleasingly warm in New Mexico the couple of times I stopped to rest or gas up the VRRV.

This changed soon after I crossed into Colorado, with heavy cloud cover blocking the sun and adding to the overall gloominess and chill on the scenery.  This cloud cover wouldn't break till I got north of Colorado Springs.

It was getting dark as I pulled into my home cul-de-sac, got the trailer with Scarlett still onboard into the garage with no issues and parked the VRRV for the night.

My last view of the campsite as the sun started lighting up the eastern sky:

Last Day of Boondocking for this Month, Probably.

Saturday, December 07

Another sunlit and "warm-ish" day here near San Antonio, NM.

Alas, it's time to go home before a forecasted snow storm closes Raton Pass, on the border between NM and CO on Monday.

A short ride by Scarlett, my Ural Patrol Sidecar Rig was in order though before I put her back on the trailer.  I drove her to the canyon area about two miles away, which I'd explored before with Yagi, my TW200.

Same rocky formations as before, but as usual, Scarlett is quite a bit more photogenic:

I stopped by this formation to look at the many holes carved out of the side of the rocks.  

created by the winds perhaps?

Scarlett needs a new pusher tire, which is on order.  She slipped/slid in the deep sandy bits but managed to make it through with no major issues.  I didn't have to even put her into 2WD though it was close a couple of times!

Spent the rest of the afternoon mounting the motorcycles and taking down the gazebo.   This way, not much needs doing in terms of outside items tomorrow morning.

I'll be on the road tomorrow, Sunday, soon after waking as I've a long day on the road, at least eight hours.

Relaxing Near San Antonio, NM

Yesterday and today were pretty mellow days, lots of relaxing in the gazebo under bright sunshine, avoiding the sometimes chilling effect of winds.

Not very windy mind you, enough to get your attention and remind you of the effects of wind chill.

Today was much less windy than yesterday, thereby more enjoyable.

Yesterday's riding involved checking out the narrow canyon trail created along the old creek bed of Walnut Creek.  I rode Yagi all the way through this time until I saw signs of habitation in the distance.  I then retraced my route back towards camp.

The road/trail as you see is in quite good condition.  In fact, the VRRV would probably be able to drive it with no issues except for the sometimes very deep sandy spots where the creek bed used to be.

Today, it was time for Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol sidecar rig to get some exercise.  I rode her along the same route as Yagi had already explored but not into the canyon, perhaps tomorrow for that.

That's Socorro Peak in the background

I didn't go very far, electing instead to spend more time at camp enjoying the warmish weather.  Amazing how bright sunlight and little wind add enjoyment to temperatures that never reached the forecasted 60 degrees.

One thing about this place and time of year, the sunsets aren't much so far:

Boondocking near San Antonio, New Mexico

Yesterday, Ileft the overcrowded cesspool that is the Metro Denver area yesterday and drove a bit over 8 hours to a BLM area near San Antonio, NM.

I'd hoped to reach the vicinity of Truth or Consequences but ran out of daylight an hour north of it.  So I took a chance at a new area as listed on iOverlander.

Turned out to be a good choice.  About three miles from the I-25 Interstate, just south of Socorro, NM, I found a nice spot next to a rundown corral.

This morning, while I waited for things to warm up into the 50s (woke to 37 degrees outside), I rode about the dirt roads near me:

First though, today's sunrise:

One of the roads led to some interesting rock formations:

Found a shrine in the rocks at the narrow passageway below:

I didn't ride much past the above cut through the rocks, I was getting cold even though I was riding slowly.

Later in the morning, it was still a bit chilly but I bundled up more and rode Yagi over through the nearby "town" of San Antonio and eight miles further, to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

The town's claim to fame

A decommissioned church in town

The NWR is basically open lands with some stretches of woods, the main attractions being several lakes populated with diverse birds.  I checked out the North Loop Tour route and the highlight was:

I rode back to the campsite and spent the rest of the day resting and enjoying the warmth inside the gazebo.  Mild winds kept things a bit cool, even though temperatures neared 60 degrees and plenty of sunlight on hand.

The idea had been that this trip would last a month or two before returning to Colorado.  However, due to logistical matters involving the VA, I am returning to Colorado this weekend.  A bit of a bummer but its for the best.  There might be other camping trips closer to home but highly weather dependent of course.