Trip Cut Short and Beeline for Home - Sunday, July 5, 2020

Well, that was rude. We had six days left on our one-month vacation, but that came to a screeching halt today. Storm clouds have been brewing on the horizon, so to speak, because of coronavirus. Here is a brief recap of what transpired. (Longer blogs will recount more of our trip.)

While it's true that a couple of campgrounds canceled our reservations (Curt Gowdy State Park in Wyoming and Cochiti Lake Corps of Engineers Park in New Mexico), we were able to make reservations at private parks and complete most of our plans. 

The Black Hills of South Dakota was wonderful. The town of Custer was open and welcoming. (We wore masks.) The trails were open and places of business were happy to have us spend our tourist dollars. Crazy Horse National Monument was open for business and we were happy to go there as well. 

Custer Skywalk Nature Trail
Observation Deck.

Devils Tower National Monument was open for hiking (Visitor Center was closed, though) and we stayed at the KOA at the park entrance. That was a delightful experience.

Devils Tower Red Beds Trail.

We continued into Montana where the state capital was open and Bob, my friend Diane, and I were able to take a self-guided tour. The next day, we went on the Gates of the Mountains Boat Tour which was beautiful and informative.

Helena, Montana capital with Diane.

Diane on Gates of the Mountains Boat Tour.

Then we traveled to Wyoming. As I said above, Curt Gowdy State Park canceled our reservations and told us Wyoming State Parks were only for Wyoming residents in the 2020 season. We made new reservations at private parks. When we got to Wyoming, reader boards on the freeway announced that Wyoming State Parks were open, but you had to have reservations. Grr! No way were we going to stay with them now!

From there, we went to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and did a self-guided tour of the newly renovated capital. We also went to Vedauwoo and did the Turtle Rock Trail. No problems.

Turtle Rock Trail at Vedauwoo. 

Bob in front of Cheyenne, WY, capital.

We spent one night in Lathrop State Park in Colorado where we hiked the three-mile loop trail around the lake. Masks were required in the Visitor Center, and we wore them. 

Lathrop State Park, Colorado.

Next stop, Santa Fe, New Mexico. We arrived on July 1. 

Here's where we encountered more caution on the part of the state. I can't say I blame them, but it got ridiculous today, July 5. We met my brother and his wife at a private RV park in Santa Fe and stayed four nights. By day, we walked all over Santa Fe (with masks on because they were required and you could be fined $100 if you did not have them on). We played pinochle every night. We did not turn on the TV or hear news during our stay.

Bob, Frank, and Gina (and me)
played pinochle after Los Alamos.

Our plans included going to Los Alamos to see the Bradbury Museum and the Los Alamos History Museum, Bandelier National Monument, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, and a few museums in Santa Fe. All of those places were closed, except Bandelier (but the trails we wanted to hike at Bandelier were closed for refurbishment). We did take a scenic drive up to Los Alamos and did a short walking tour around the city.

This morning, Frank made a pancake, egg, and bacon breakfast for us on his outside grill. Oh my goodness, that was so good. We enjoyed spending time with Frank and Gina, but we had to say our goodbyes. They will leave Santa Fe tomorrow and plan to spend a couple of nights in Albuquerque with Jeremy (my nephew). Their plans had included Monument Valley and Moab, but they found out today that the Navajo Nation is on lockdown and they won't be able to go to Monument Valley. They, too, are cutting their trip short and will hightail it back to Washington state after they visit Jeremy and their grandkids.

Today, we left as planned for Las Cruces where we had reservations for two nights. On the way out of Santa Fe, we saw a reader board on the side of the road. It said New Mexico was enforcing a mandatory 14-day quarantine. I immediately looked up information on this quarantine. What I read online said that if you were in New Mexico, you were subject to a 14-day quarantine stay. If you stayed even one night in a motel or RV park, you had to stay 14 days. Say what?

We decided to cancel our reservations in Las Cruces and get out of New Mexico ASAP. The manager at the Las Cruces RV park said the way she understood it was we did not have to stay 14 days, but we did have to wear masks and social distance. We told her we made up our minds to just pass through and to cancel our reservations. It seems people in New Mexico are very confused about this new mandate. We certainly are!

Frank & Gina's "girls,"
Pepper and Hannah.

Pepper & Hannah asking
for "pupcakes" (pancakes).

New Mexico scenery.

New Mexico.

Rio Salado Sand Dunes
Rest Area.

Rio Salado Sand Dunes.

We are out of New Mexico!!

And into Texas. Yay!

We are now in Texas on our way home. We will arrive in San Antonio, Monday instead of Saturday. Tonight, we are in Ft. Stockton, Texas. The lightning show was awesome around 9:30 p.m., but we only had a little bit of rain.

East Texas scenery.

Fort Stockton's "Head East" sculpture.

We will be happy to be home. 

2S2G* - Moab, Utah to Santa Fe, NM - Day 13, Wed., Jun. 25

*2S2G = Two Susans to Go

Susan had never been to Moab before so she walked to window shop along the main street on the way to Jailhouse Cafe. Yes, the building where we had breakfast was once a jailhouse.

I drove and met her at the cafe at 7 am. We each enjoyed a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Susan said it was the most expensive breakfast she ever had. She ordered a breakfast skillet with eggs, potatoes, cheese and a side of their thick-cut bacon. I had scrambled eggs, potatoes and toast ($10.49) with a side of bacon ($3.49). I couldn't finish all my bacon, so gave the rest to Susan. She couldn't finish her breakfast, but did take her left-over bacon. The bacon came in handy the next day when she put it on her tuna sandwich.

Arches National Park: so near and yet so far. We didn't set foot in the park because we had a schedule to keep. Heading south, we made a ten-minute stop at Wilson Arch on the side of the highway.

RV park in Moab

Scenery leaving Moab

Wilson Arch history

View across road from Wilson Arch

Wilson Arch, early morning light.

Susan M. at Wilson Arch

From here, we drove and drove and drove toward Santa Fe with a scheduled arrival time well before 5:00 p.m. (which is when the Visitor Center -- our walk start point -- closed). We made it to town at 3:00 p.m., checked in for our walk at the Visitor Center, then looked for a nursery Susan had been to before. She was hoping to find a small plant or two to take home for her garden. We found where the nursery had been, but it was closed. All their plants are now mail order. She was disappointed.

Check-in at our motel was next. The historic Silver Saddle Motel has themed rooms; ours was the Calamity Jane room.

Susan's car in front of our room.

Nice landscaping at the motel.

The room was much smaller than we thought it would be with only a double bed. (Susan had planned ahead and had an air mattress and sheets with her. She set it up on the floor by the door to the room when it was time for bed.)

Next door was Jackalope Furniture. Susan wanted to take a look around. They had furniture, lawn decorations, old doors, and garden pots. I had fun walking around taking photos.

Jackalope Furniture store

Doors of all kinds

Stagecoach with yard decor

The Jackalope

Birdhouses and birdbaths

Yard art

After about ten minutes I had a text from Susan asking where was I. She was waiting at the car.

We headed to the Visitor Center to start our Santa Fe Capital Adventure 5K Volkswalk. Our very first stop was the New Mexico Capitol Building, also known as The Roundhouse.

State Capitol Building, AKA The Roundhouse

Looking up at the rotunda ceiling

Sculpture in behind the capital

Another sculpture on the capital grounds.

We crossed the street to the Bataan Veteran's Memorial with its eternal flame.

Bataan Veteran's Memorial

We then passed the Hotel Loretto and Loretto Chapel. Unfortunately, the Loretto Chapel had closed a few minutes earlier so we didn't get to go inside to see the "miraculous" staircase.

Hotel Loretto

Puma sculpture in Hotel Loretto's courtyard

Susan M. walking the Santa Fe Trail.

Loretto Chapel

Hotel La Fonda, oldest hotel in Santa Fe,
a former Harvey House on the Santa Fe Railway

Cool shop sign

Below is San Francisco St. where Santa Fe's Plaza is located. The historic plaza was the end of the 1,800-mile Camino Real (Royal Road) from Mexico City, and the end of the 800-mile Santa Fe Trail from Missouri. It was also the beginning of the 1,120-mile Old Spanish Trail terminating at the Los Angeles Plaza.

San Francisco St.

Burro sculpture at Burro Alley

In former times, firewood vendors would use burros to haul firewood to this alley where buyers would come to purchase the wood. Across the street from the burro sculpture is a plaque about Billy the Kid.

With Burro Alley behind us, we proceeded to Peralta Park, passing the statue of Don Pedro de Peralta, the founder of Santa Fe.

Don Pedro de Peralta statue

Down the block we entered the grounds of the Greek Revival style U.S. Federal Courthouse.

Park-like grounds of the U.S. Federal Courthouse

Santa Fe's U.S. Federal Courthouse

You never know what you'll find when walking. I found a business with my blog name (except for the Susan part).

Santa Fe's Travel Bug business

After a few more blocks and some confusion about the Volksmarch directions, we found The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

Our walk then took us through Cathedral Park, Sena Plaza, under the portal of the Palace of the Governors established in 1610 (this building served as the seat of government under Spanish, Pueblo Indian [following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680], Mexican and U.S. territorial rule). The Palace of the Governors now houses historic collections of the Museum of New Mexico.

From here, we headed back to our start point at the Visitor's Center. I took a few more photos on the way back...

Mural at Del Charro restaurant

Del Charro looked like a fun spot to eat and drink.

Beautiful horse sculptures at an upstairs outdoor cafe

 Below is the 400-year-old San Miguel Church, the oldest church in the U.S.

San Miguel Church

We finished our walk 1/2 block later at the Santa Fe Visitor's Center. Our Volksmarches of state capitals were over for this trip. The only capital we didn't walk was Salem, Oregon. Each of us plan to be back in Oregon at some point; we can do our Salem walks then.

After freshening up at the motel, we walked two very long blocks to Tortilla Flats Mexican restaurant to have dinner and celebrate all the walks we did. Susan M. had a Classic Margarita and quesadilla; I had a Santa Fe Sunset and guacamole salad.

Me with a Santa Fe Sunset

Having never heard of a guacamole salad, I thought I'd give it a try. Here's what it looks like...

Guacamole salad loaded with cilantro and tomatoes

Guacamole salad

You have to REALLY like guacamole to down all this! I do like guacamole, but I had to admit this was too much guacamole for me!

We walked back to the hotel after sunset which made the air very nice. Each of us relaxed and got ready for bed, slept, and were up at 6 a.m., on the road by 6:50 a.m.

Travel Bug out.