2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Elephant Butte Lake, New Mexico
Photo link:
https://goo.gl/photos/aM19J9gdxTmszTV66
Friday, March 10th
– Tuesday, March 13th
Elephant Butte State
Park, New Mexico
After spending an overnight stop in El Paso Texas (in a parking
lot of Sam’s Club), we headed north into New Mexico. Our plans changed slightly
and we ended up camping at Elephant Butte State Park, near the town of Truth or
Consequences. This park lies on the west bank of the reservoir along the Rio
Grande River, where it flows south through New Mexico. What a delight to find
such a nice state park with a wonderful campground overlooking the lake. We
stayed there three days and totally enjoyed it. If we would have known how nice
it was, we would have booked more nights and moved our scheduled days out. I
remember when as a child we lived in El Paso and our parents took us to
Elephant Butte for a vacation, but my memories are a little fuzzy.
The park has several miles of hiking/biking trails, through
a desert environment. The trails were well used and maintained. We biked
several miles on the Lakeside Trail, the Dam Trail and also the shorter Luchini
Trail. The weather was perfect, highs in the 70’s and sunny. The views of the
lake were spectacular and the moon rise/sunsets were even better. There were a
couple of sand bars where you could drive out onto. Some people even had their
RVs and camped out there. On a couple of afternoons, we drove the truck down on
the sandbar and let the dogs run off leash, while we snacked and enjoyed happy
hour. It was so relaxing and fun. When we come back to New Mexico someday, we
will certainly stay there for more days.
2017 Pacific Coast Trip –
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Photo link:
https://goo.gl/photos/b1YSFePgaWdjeYDR6
Tuesday, March 14th
– Tuesday, March 21st
Coronado Village, Albuquerque,
New Mexico
After our enjoyable time at Elephant Butte, we headed north
to Albuquerque, where my nieces and their families live. We scheduled eight
nights there and stayed in a really nice RV/Mobile home community. This was a
great find, as it was a well maintained community with great amenities and a
convenient location.
The first couple of days we spend mountain biking in the
Sandia Foothills, at Elena Gallego Park (part of the Albuquerque Open Spaces
recreation areas.) What a great location for hiking, biking and picnicking. The
mountain biking trails were extensive, with all levels of abilities (novice to
advanced riders). To top it all off, the views and surrounding mountains were
so amazing. One day Kurt rode with my
nephew, Jim, and they went to trails on the east side of Sandia Mountain. These
trails were more advanced and challenging. Kurt was so happy to ride with another
guy that enjoys riding these types of trails.
My niece, Erin, is a lobbyist at the New Mexico Legislature.
She introduced a bill to create the Teresa Muffolletto Brain Aneurysm Awareness
Day of March 19th, the day my sister Terrie passed away last year from
a ruptured brain aneurysm. Some of the family was able to travel up to Santa Fe
to sit as guests for the House vote. The bill passed unanimously, a good day
for a tribute to Teresa. It was a great honor.
On Sunday, March 19th, the whole family gathered
together to go to Bandelier National Monument, one of my sister Terrie’s
favorite places for hiking and viewing ancient Indian dwelling ruins. This day
was the one year anniversary of her passing, so we hiked there in her memory
and knew her spirit was with us. It was great to be with the family and spend this
special time together. Bandelier is in the mountains near Los Alamos (where the
Los Alamos National Laboratory is located). On the way out, we stopped by White
Rock Overlook. This is in the small town of White Rock and is part of a city
park. My father, Bruce, loved this place so much that he always stayed up there
when he came to New Mexico. After his passing, my sisters spread his ashes off
the overlook cliff which was his wish and very fitting for his love of the
area. We went out to the overlook to enjoy the views and a special place.
One day, Kurt and I drove down to Old Town Albuquerque,
where Kurt had never visited. It is the historic area of the city and is well
preserved. There are many historic buildings, shops and restaurants there. We
had a great Mexican food lunch. We walked around the plaza and looked at some of
the shops. It was a beautiful day to walk around the town.
On our last day, I planned a family picnic day at Elena
Gallegos Park in the Sandia Foothills. While there the family could hike, bike
or relax in a great park. We had a nice day, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs,
relaxed and had fun. Kurt and Jim rode the mountain bike trails and enjoyed
them. I left that day with heavy heart knowing that it will be at least a year
before I can visit my family there again. These nieces and their children are
special to me, as the descendants of my sister Terrie.
On our way out of New Mexico, we decided to take the back
mountain roads toward Arizona. We were able to visit the Very Large Array (VLA)
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, in a remote area of western New Mexico. This
laboratory consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the
Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. We drove back
into this remote scientific lab to see the amazing instruments that collect
radio frequencies from around the universe and convert them to visible images
that we have all seen in science shows. Kurt was so excited to see this, he
always wanted to visit there.
After a long day of driving we finally made it into Arizona.
Stay tuned for the updates on our Arizona adventures.