Mescalero Fitness Trail 10k AKA Carrizo Walking Path - Saturday, April 23, 2022

A good breakfast can give you some great energy for a walk. This morning, Bob took me to Cornerstone Bakery Cafe. I ordered mixed berry crepes and a fried egg over medium. Bob had the Bernalillo Burrito. Bob's burrito was excellent! I had a few bites of it.

I was disappointed with my crepes. The crepes were not thin French crepes. Their "crepes" were more pancake-like. Plus, I expected that the crepes would be filled with berries and have more berries on top. I believe what I was served are called blintzes elsewhere. They had a ricotta filling which didn't sit well with me. I squished out as much of the ricotta as I could and only ate two of them. Bob ate the third one.

Cornerstone Bakery Cafe
breakfast.

High wind warnings are in effect again today. Sustained winds are supposed to be 20-30 mph, gusts could be up to 50 mph. The temperature is going to top out at 64 degrees. Reading all of that made me take a windbreaker and a sweatshirt in the truck for our Mescalero Fitness Trail 10k walk.

The trail starts across the highway from the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalero, New Mexico (about ten minutes from Ruidoso). When we got to the Inn of the Mountain Gods, Carrizo Canyon Road was CLOSED (barricades and all). It's a good thing that Susan Medlin and I did this walk in 2018 because I knew where the walk started. We were able to drive through the Inn of the Mountain Gods property to the other side of the construction. At that point, we crossed the highway to the upper parking lot. That's exactly where we needed to be.

The Carrizo Walking Path is an out-and-back, wide, paved trail. It's a good workout because the walk is hilly. It's also called the Mescalero Fitness Trail because there are workout stations along the length of the trail.

As soon as I got out of the truck and the wind hit me, I added the sweatshirt to what I was wearing. So I had on a T-shirt, sweatshirt, windbreaker, jeans, warm socks, and a hat. I was barely warm enough. Even Bob bundled up. The wind was howling!

A map of the walking path. 

The trail started out going uphill and the path was hilly pretty much all the way. There were only a few short flat stretches. When we started, the wind was blasting us in the face. I had on a hat with a chin strap so I didn't lose it in the wind.

The walking path and forest scenery.

I'm all bundled up!

The whole walk was on the paved trail and mostly through the forest. And the wind howled. 

We passed the Inn of the Mountain Gods RV Park and Hunting Lodge, a daycare center, and a construction yard with big equipment in it. When we got to the end of the trail, we turned around and headed back to the truck. 

Bob and I were totally perplexed because the wind hit us in the face most of the way back to the truck. We thought we'd have a tailwind on the way back. Nope! It was still in our faces. Crazy!

I had to take a video of the howling wind. The trees were dancing and the grasses were getting flattened.

Fitness trail stations.

The three-mile marker.

Mescalero Lake, golf course, and
Inn of the Mountain Gods.

Inn of the Mountain Gods Hotel 
and Casino.

After our walk, we went back to the 5th wheel to relax until our group dinner tonight at Texas Grill & Bar in Ruidoso. The Texas Grill & Bar is a beautiful place. We had 40 in our group and took up most of the main dining room.

Texas Grill and Bar.

Bob and I both had a mixed green salad, salmon, and a baked potato for dinner. It was very good. It was a nice way to cap off the walking weekend. Most people will walk in the morning and then head home. We'll be here a few more days. 

Tomorrow morning Bob and I will do the 5k walk in White Sands National Park. It is not supposed to be windy in the morning. 

That's it for today.