Day 4 - August 15...floating the Rio Grande

After letting the kids sleep in and Sariah getting her walk in, we hopped in the car for our marquis adventure here in Santa Fe - whitewater rafting.  We headed north about 50 miles through Espanola into the river gorge.  The company we signed on with is New Mexico River Adventures...

We arrived before noon and had plenty of time to change out before the loading and tour started at 12:30.  The pictures can do most of the talking, but we all loved it.  Fun facts about the river:  it is over 1800 miles long, we were 100 miles from the headwaters, we floated the only east-west portion of the river in New Mexico, mining operated on the south side of the canyon around 1900 for a decade, the river is at a record low this year, and all of the area was named by the Spanish in the late 1500s.  The red cliffs on the south are called the Sangria de Christos.



We got out of the water after our 5-mile journey with a sadness it couldn't last longer.  It was Nathan and Sariah's first time to whitewater raft  and Sam got to cannonball off of a big rock.  We will always remember the trip fondly and got some ideas of  bigger trips to take in the future.  Our guide's name was Jacob, a big and friendly fellow from Michigan, who spends March to the end of August here at the company, then travels to West Virginia for 2 months and then lives in nearby Taos during the winter months as a ski safety instructor.  He was very knowledgeable and was a fun fit for our family.

Day 3 - A day in Santa Fe!

After letting the kids sleep in, Solinda and Nathan went on a nice walk before coming back.  We all went swimming in the small pool and enjoyed our first swim together of the summer as a family. 

After that, we came back and caught up on some blogging and reservation changes before eating lunch together in the resort as planned.

Our trip for the day was to the State Capitol building here in Santa Fe.  We parked by the entrance to the West Annex building and were then directed by a kind security guard.  We walked through long halls of artwork until we came underneath the Capitol and then rode the elevator up.  Once there, we enjoyed a very new rotunda.  Since New Mexico has only been a state since 1912, it looked really new compared to some others we have been in.  We made our way to the front for some pictures and then were able to poke our heads into the Assembly and Senate Chambers for the kids.  Interestingly, this Capitol building has no dome and is designed in the style of the Native American, Hispano and Anglo architecture of the area.

We then drove through small and relaxing streets to the downtown Plaza area.  It was established as the center of the city in 1610 and is a relaxing atmosphere.  There, we looked at art, Sariah purchased some keepsakes with her budget money and we got some postcards at the Nickel and Dime store. Due to closing times, we just missed some of the chapel tours, which we will need to see next time here, as we are definitely returning.

After purchasing some ice cream sandwiches, we ate a relaxing meal at home with the balcony and view of the mountains opened up.  We got to enjoy another rainstorm from the north before bedding down for the big day tomorrow! 

Day 2 - Blanding to Santa Fe, New Mexico!

After getting up early for a quick continental breakfast, we left the 4 Corners Inn at 7:15 and headed south toward 4 Corners.  The countryside was dotted with occasional Native American homes and open livestock often.

We drove through mainly Utah, then a small portion of Colorado before arriving.  This stop was very exciting for Sariah, as it was a big inspiration for the trip.  She had just learned about 4 Corners at the end of the school year and loved it.  All of us got pictures in all 4 states and read up on the history of the site dating back to 1868.  Then, we all read plaques for each state and walked around the facility.  Nathan read Colorado, Solinda Utah, Sariah Arizona and then Samuel read New Mexico.  Sariah purchased a keepsake Navajo bracelet with a turtle on it from her daily budget.

Our journey took us into Arizona for 5 miles, before turning east toward Shiprock, an incredible landmark thousands of feet tall in the flatlands of New Mexico.  We continued east to Farmington through the massive Navajo reservation before leaving into wide open and uninhabited spaces of the Carson National Forest for 80 miles of beauty.

We then entered the Apache Reservation and ate lunch in Dulce at the incredible Panda Garden Chinese Restaurant.  The food was cheap and delicious.  All of us enjoyed Egg Drop Soup.  Sam and Nathan were amazed at the speed and efficiency of the waiter.  He appears to be the owner of the establishment.  He not only filled Solinda's glass 5 times without all of us noticing, he was also bussing tables in the blink of an eye, besides running the till and balancing books along with serving all tables.  He reminded us of  the phenomenal Jason Bourne!

We headed east until on Highway 64 until the Junction with US highway 84 and then turned south.  Unknown to us until that moment was the fact that we were in the heart of the Rockies.  Looking at the map, we realized the high peaks run all the way down to Mexico border! The charming little town of Chama was over 8000 feet in elevation and gorgeous.  Temperatures had been between 70 and 85 degrees the whole day and we loved the green meadows, pine trees and mountain vistas on the east and the west.

We dropped in elevation until the town of Espanola before climbing to over 7200 feet in elevation at Santa Fe.  Our resort, the Santa Fe Villas, is new, charming and quaint.  With a wonderful view of the peaks and mountains over 12000 feet above us, a nice thunderstorm dumped rain for about 20 minutes with lightning and thunder cracking over the city.  We all loved it as we watched the veil of rain approach us and then move off to the south.  The smell of pines and rain and cool temps is wonderful!

2018 - August 12, 2018 Day 1 - Payson to Blanding, Utah

Well, our litle summer vacation started off with new territory the whole day for Sam and most of the day for the rest of us.  With temperatures soaring over 100 degrees and thick, smoky skies for the first hour and a half of our journey through the Wasatch Mountains via Spanish Fork Canyon on U.S. Highway 6, we were able to clear from most of the smoke after  leaving Price and heading east.

Temperatures continued to hover around 100 degrees all the way past lots of open spaces and prominent cliffs down to Green River and then south into the heart of Utah's canyon country and Moab.  We stopped at the Information Center to get our bearings as to the locations and distances of things to do in the area before giving ourselves a small self tour of the town and then heading south to see several attractions.

The first attraction we stopped at was Hole in the Wall.  This is a cool 5,000 square foot home blasted into rock.  It was built from 1932 to 1952 and then was a cafe.  For generations, this was a great stop for travelers.

Wilson Arch was a great big rock formation along the highway.  We ran into a family from Virginia before deciding to hike up partway to the massive structure.  With Nathan's bad back and a lack of appropriate footwear, the guys only made it up about halfway.

Continuing south, we continued to climb and climb towards massive Mount Abajo.  The little town of Monticello was a nice stop.  At 88 degrees as we walked around the temple, we were surprised to be over 7000 feet in elevation when we looked it up.  Lots of windmills, sagebrush and native pine trees gave us a hint of uninviting and cold winters.

Further south, we arrived to spend the night at the Four Corners Inn in Blanding, Utah.  A 20-minute downpour greeted us as we ventured out to gas up the car and get dinner at A & W.  At over 6000 feet elevation, Blanding is full of well-cared-for homes.  The majority of youth in the area are Native American.