Heading East

August 27-28: Rio Bravo Campground, Orilla Verde Recreation Area, NM

The drive from Mesa Verde to Taos wasn't that long. When we were almost into town we stumbled upon a housing development called Earthship. There was an info center but it had already closed for the day. The community is centered around solar power and using alternative building techniques.

Farther down the road was the Rio Grande bridge, a spectacular view of the grand river basin. The river was low. 

To get to our campsite we were directed to a dirt road. Yes another and it was just as bad and full of hairpin turns. Mat did a great job of getting us down! That night we had fun playing games in our screen tent, and we met our camp host who travels with her 2 cats, and the old cat goes on hikes with her in the hills, on a leash of course.

The next day we spent in Taos. It is a cute town full of shops and galleries. 

August 29-30: Caja Del Rio Dispersed Camping, Santa Fe National Forest, NM

This site was our first real camping in the desert. Hot sun and not much cover. We were thankful for our solar charger to keep our fan and refrigerator working! Here we also saw the huge "super blue moon".

Santa Fe is a beautiful city with lots of tourists. Lots of them with money! The shops on the downtown square had some of the most beautiful Native American jewelry I have ever seen. I enjoyed looking at it, and Mat was patient with me, he found bookstores and benches to keep himself occupied. 

Our first full day we went to Meow Mouse, an artist created "museum" full of psychedelic paint, animals, and passageways, all infused with a story and clues and mystery. when we asked if the gift store person knew what the story was about, she said that even the artists cant remember what it was. The museum was created 20 years ago and things get added in . Meow Mouse was a great time! Mat LOVED it!

August 31: John Martin Reservoir State Park, Hasty, CO

At this point the heat, sun, sand and driving was starting to get to us. There wasn't much for camping and we settled for a site near a dam in Colorado. Sadly it had lots of bugs and the lake was low. Mat was getting down. The good ending is that we did our laundry and in the morning we both felt better. I guess it was the start of dove hunting. Our neighbor and his son were there for the opener. He likes to eat his dove wrapped in a green chile and bacon.

September 1: Dodge City KOA, Dodge City, KS

We are starting to get homesick and are taking longer daily drives and one-night stays. Today we stayed at the KOA in Dodge City, Kansas. KOAs are expensive but have many great services, including electrical and water hookups, Wi-Fi, showers, laundry, camping supplies, and snacks/drinks.

We picked Dodge City because the Internet "agreed" it was one of the hippest cities in Kansas. It was a key city in the wild west and they have a great interactive museum that included a gunfight reenactment.

We also enjoyed a brewery/pizza joint and a distillery in town.