Exploring the American Landscape
Shannon 
In a true testament to the ruggedness of New Mexico terrain, the distance from our campground at Bandelier National Monument to our next campsite at the Cochiti Lake Recreation Area is less than 10 miles as the crow flies, but our relocation drive was 75 miles long and involved backtracking through Santa Fe. We had … Read more
As certified science geeks, we could not visit northern New Mexico without making a stop at Los Alamos, home of the scientific laboratory component of the Manhattan Project which created the world’s first nuclear weapons. The extreme secrecy of the project’s purpose and location – personnel, supplies, and mail all arrived in Santa Fe – … Read more
We knew Santa Fe would be a busy urban destination for us, filled with museums, historic buildings, and lots of different art offerings. But before arriving I don’t think we really appreciated just how much there is to see and do in this vibrant destination. In a busy 9-day stay we barely scratched the surface … Read more
On our first day visiting Taos, as our very first activity, we visited the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church (pictured above) in the small suburb of Ranchos de Taos. We reached the 18th century church via a maze of narrow, unpaved, muddy roads with Spanish names. The plaza of the church is ringed by … Read more
When we originally planned our summer sojourn in Colorado, for this past week we had penciled in a stay at yet another scenic national forest campground near Salida/Poncha Springs — O’Haver Lake. But several weeks ago we reevaluated our situation and decided that we wanted to do something different. O’Haver sounds very charming, but it … Read more