Amazing sights in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico

It seems as though every time we see something that we think can’t be topped, we see things just as beautiful and even more incredible.  Our journey into Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico at times left us speechless.   We went to Page, Arizona on the recommendation of Ben, one of Jean’s nursing friends who had worked at the hospital there.   We camped for 3 nights in the Page – Lake Powell Campground and took the Lower Antelope Canyon tour.   The canyon is a series of slot caves and is accessed by hiking and taking steps and ladders down into them.   They are subject to flash floods if it rains so we were lucky to take the tour the day before rain and high winds were to hit the area.   It was 109 degrees outside but down in the slot caves, which were about 80 feet below the surface, it was comfortable.  As the sun broke through the slits in the crevices at the surface, it lit up the canyon walls and the red, yellow, and purple colors made swirling patterns that were indescribable.    The passages we went through went from very narrow, barely wide enough to pass through, to large enough to park a car in.  Even though we took hundreds of pictures, none can quite do justice to seeing it for yourself.

Lower Antelope Canyon slot caves

Jerome the photographer!

Jean walking through the slot caves

Our campsite at Page - Lake Powell Campground

Only a few miles down the road from Antelope Canyon was Horseshoe Bend, another incredible place.    There were no railings and no rangers supervising the crowds, just signs warning of the danger of getting to close to the edge of the canyon.    It was beautiful but Jean was glad to leave just so she wouldn’t have to keep feeling so panicky about all the people clammering over the boulders so near the edge to get “the perfect picture.” 

Jerome the daredevil!

....but it was worth it to get this picture of Horseshoe Bend!

Our next stop was at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado to see the cliff-dwelling ruins of the ancestral Pueblo people (sometimes referred to as Anasazi).  We stayed in Morefield Campground in the park and had to pull out our long sleeves and blankets again as the nights dipped into the high 30’s.  We decided we weren’t keen on the cold mornings, so we only stayed 2 nights but deer wandered through our campground and we really enjoyed our stay.    The popular Spruce Tree House has been closed due to rock fall, so we signed up for the Balcony House tour.    It is considered the “most adventurous” tour but we thought we could handle the crawl through a 12ft long 18inch wide tunnel and the climb up 2 long wooden ladders.  What we didn’t realize was that the last ladder to get back to the parking lot, was 30ft high, straight up the side of the top of the cliff!  Jean, who is afraid of heights, got a little panicky about 2 feet from the top, but she lived to tell the story and is quite proud of herself!  We both thought it was worth it!

A beautiful 4-color rainbow welcoming us to Mesa Verde National Park

Cliff Palace

view of Balcony House from a nearby overlook - the entrance ladder is at the bottom right, the tunnel is behind the boulder at the top left, and just above that to the upper left is the last exit ladder - cars in the parking lot are in the background at the top of the picture

the entrance ladder to Balcony House - one of the windows to the "house" is at the top left of the picture

listening to the ranger inside the "house" with kivas (the cellar-like rooms) and the sheer cliff drop-off  in the foreground

this was the base of the last ladder to exit the Balcony House -  the chain-link fence is at the cliff edge - this was a don't look down and don't even think about it, just do it moment!

Heading southeast from there, into New Mexico, we stopped briefly at Ghost Ranch in “Georgia O’Keefe country” to see the land that she fell in love with and where she got the inspiration for her paintings.   Once we left there, it was time to be looking for a place for the night.   We are very blessed or have the “luck of the Irish” or both because we have found some wonderful places just by accident.   Jean was furiously studying the map to find a place that looked interesting and low and behold, there was Bandelier National Monument, not too far off of our route, near White Rock.   We had never heard of it before but decided what the heck, it would be a lot prettier and cheaper than anything else we could find.   What a great place!   It is another ruins of the ancestral Pueblo people, but this area has ruins on the valley floor as well as cliff-dwelling.  It is quite different from Mesa Verde and we enjoyed it just as much.   This time we climbed up 140ft on ladders to the Alcove House cliff-dwelling.   The ladders here were longer but at a slight angle and with smaller, less smooth ladder rungs than at Mesa Verde.  Also, the cliff wasn’t as sheer and the cliff house not as high up as the one at Mesa Verde, so we made it up to this one with more ease!   We stayed in the Juniper Campground in the park and one of the nights that we stayed here we experienced our first hail storm in our trailer.   The campground maintenance man’s wife asked us the next day if we were ok as it knocked out the electricity to the bathrooms.   After the storm at Tailrace in South Dakota, this storm was a piece of cake!

City ruins in the valley at Bandelier National Monument

Jean in one of the cliff-dwellings

Looking up at Alcove House - it's a 140ft ascent up steep steps and 4 ladders to the "house"

Jean on one of the ladders

Jerome inside the Alcove House

From Bandelier National Monument, we headed south to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  The northern part of New Mexico is beautiful country but south of Santa Fe is wide-open, barren, desolate country… yuck.   Man were we happy to get to Carlsbad.   We had planned on staying in the Brantley State Park just north of town.   When we pulled in there we were thrilled to see a roadrunner but realized the campground was farther from the caverns and the town than we wanted to be.   We called the Carlsbad RV Park in town and were able to get their last spot.   It was a gravel parking lot with a few trees and the office, laundry room, game room, and pool closed at 6pm nightly.   It was expensive and a neighboring dog barked each morning as the working people got up and left at 4:30am driving on the noisy gravel… exactly the kind of campground that we agreed to never stay at.   All in all though, it was the best place for us here.   The Walmart was only 2 miles down the road and we were able to get the oil changed and new tires on our truck.   It was only 30 minutes from the caverns, so we were able to tour it in the morning and go back in the evening for the “bat flight.”    Hiking through Carlsbad Caverns is an amazing experience.  We thought we had seen some awesome caves before, but none can compare with Carlsbad Caverns.   ‘And then, there are no words to describe what it is like to watch the bats fly out of the mouth of the cavern  in a swirling mass that snakes out into the pink and light blue sunset.   We watched them for 45minutes and it was getting almost too dark to see them but they were still coming out by the thousands.  The park ranger said that it lasts for 2 to 4 hours and there are from 200,000 to ½ million bats that fly out each night at dusk.   You just have to see it and experience it…..

The entrance to Carlsbad Caverns

Jerome walking down the many switchbacks on the trail  into the caverns

Jean inside Carlsbad Caverns

Jerome inside Carlsbad Caverns

Our campground was also right next to the Noah’s Ark Animal Rescue.    Yes, for those of you who know Jeanie well, you know this was a “dangerous” or “wonderful” place to be near, depending on which one of us you would have asked.    Of course, we visited and while we were there, little Carly (named for Carlsbad), graciously agreed to join us on our journey!  She’s only 4 months old, the perfect little traveler, and makes us laugh constantly.   She plays fetch and even has learned to walk on a leash outside already.

our precious little Carly!

Now that fall is officially here, we wish you cooler days and evenings and special times with family and friends.        ‘Until later,  Jerome and Jean

('just a reminder that you can click on the pictures to enlarge them for better viewing of details)