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.

Tepees and Buckley's Golf Balls

Tuesday, November 12

A pretty mellow day for Martha and I, this day marks the 29th Anniversary of her putting up with me as a husband.  I say it often, the woman should be sainted!

No festivities planned for or wanted by either of us, there'll be trips to foreign lands in our future we'd rather save our money towards.

I did get a short ride with Scarlett, out to the VRRV storage yard for some minor chores.  On the way home, I posed the rig at the Plains Conservation Center:

Thursday, November 14

The weather was sunny and in the mid-50s so it was time for Brigitta, my '87 R80 BMW to get a little bit of exercise.

On the return half of the ride, I almost had a close encounter with a herd of Buckhorn Sheep that was thinking of crossing over the road which borders Buckley Space Force Base's northern perimeter.  They turned around back towards the snow covered fields as I passed by.

I turned around as quick as traffic allowed and parked the motorcycle near the herd which was once again timidly edging towards the highway in another crossing attempt.

Before they made it though, more cars and trucks came along and this time succeeded in scaring them into giving up crossing the highway at this location.

I managed to get within telephoto lens of them though.  No time for tripod or manual focus though as they moved steadily away from me:

I believe this is the largest herd of Buckhorn Sheep

that I've seen!

Walking back to where Brigitta was parked on the side of the highway; I realized she was in a good spot to get Long Peak and three of Buckley SFB's Golf Ball shaped satellite dish enclosures:

Lots of post-processing went into the above two shots, it was very hazy and the conditions precluded sharp imagery of the front range mountains.

I think there's also some slight calibration/focus issues with the telephoto lens, it's a smidge out of focus unless I go manual and use a tripod.  Oh well.

Post-Snow Storm Views of Mount Blue Sky

Record-breaking snow falls, this past three days.  We approached two feet of snow accumulation I think here in our cul-de-sac in the SE portion of the mess which is Metro Denver!

Lets just say I spent quite a bit of time running the snow-blower and doing some shoveling along with my loving wife Martha.

I elected not to ride out immediately after the snow storms, I was concerned my worn tires on Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol Sidecar Rig, were not very grippy anymore.  Subconsciously I think I also knew the snow was deep enough to high-center the rig easily and probably immediately.

The above concerns were proven out when after the last snow fall, and once the cul-de-sac was mostly cleared, we went riding.  Martha accompanied and asked to be taken through a neighborhood next to ours so we could visit friends.

Our friends weren't home, and I managed to high-center Scarlett as I tried to leave from our friends' driveway area!  Doh!  Martha secured a snow shovel nearby and I dug out the high, solidly rutted snow, from under Scarlett.  

We finally got her loose and moving again without any cursing.  We slipped and slid our way to the library and from there back to the house for more snow blowing and shoveling.

Today, I rode out to Buckley Space Force Base to check on the VRRV's snow accumulation.  

That's Mount Blue Sky

formerly known as Mount Evans

Before the storage lot though, I quick ride to the gravel/dirt pit area on the eastern part of the base:

Found perhaps 1.5 feet of the stuff on the roof and spent some time clearing it off.

Leaving Buckley SFB, I motored over to the Denver Tech Center to check out the archway at the entrance to the Westlands Park.

These two geese sauntered by to get

their picture taken

After the park, it was a ride on the Arapahoe Road of Death, thankfully without any attempts by cagers to share my lane back to the home neighborhoods.

One more stop by the golf course for one more shot of Mount Blue Sky:

As you can see the sun was out, temperatures were in the low 50s and it felt quite balmy.  Roads were wet as the snow melted rapidly, I expect things will be dry again in a couple of days.