On my way from NM, I stopped at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona and spent about 2 hours exploring the 28 mile park (mainly the Painted Desert and Crystal Forest areas). After stopping at the Painted Desert Kachina Point look-out to get the overlook views, I traveled to Blue Mesa and Blue Forest, walking around with Bella and enjoying the sunshine. We then walked the Crystal Forest to view the petrified wood. Petrified wood looks like precious gems in ...

After two weeks in New Mexico, I ventured to Arizona. But there were some additional memories I wanted to share from NM - check out my "NM Memories" photo album.

Wow.....may I just say, the pictures don't so this incredible National Park justice. It was my on my "absolute must do" list of places to explore to visit White Sands National Park in New Mexico, and I'm so glad I did. The dunes of White Sands are unlike any I've ever seen or experienced before. The most popular way to experience them is to go sledding down the dunes slopes. So of course, we went sledding! Bella experienced it as well (video to come), and it wa...

Hiked the Sandia Mountains today (eastern ridge of Rio Grande). Rode the Sandia Peak Tramway to get to the base of the hiking trails. Sandia Peak Tramway is the longest aerial tram in the Americas, and has the world's third longest span. Started at a base elevation of 6,559 feet and ascended to 10,378 feet (took approximately 15 minutes). The weather was chilly - about 29 degrees F, not counting the wind factor. We headed north on Crest Trail #130 from the Sandi...

My trusty co-pilot and I drove across the top of Texas on our way to New Mexico, enjoying the clear blue Texan skies and flat dessert views. It was 4 hours of these views, but gosh was it beautiful. I had to ensure I had sufficient gas in my car (gas stations are few and far between on some stretches), and perhaps due to the big game today, there was a lot of police activity on the interstate. What kept me focused was the views of the NM mountains getting closer...