Ideas for New Mexico trip?

[Dale00]

I spent a couple months working at Bandelier National Monument and loved it. Largest range in elevation of any national park: from the Rio Grande up to the caldera of the extinct volcano. Elk, golden trout and pika up high (not sure how much of the high country is open to hiking these days). Nothing compares to hearing the thunder booming down the canyons. Of course it is not the same doing the typical rushed tourist visit to see the park headquarters and museum.

Los Alamos is next door...interesting history, lots of mysterious labs to drive past and the highest concentration of nerds in the country. ....Whenever anyone is going through Albuquerque I recommend the Atomic Museum....great display about everything "nuclear" - historical and current weapons.

 

[Simon]

So we're heading to NM on June 4th - hopefully. Assuming I get my motor and transmission in and my truck back by then... lol.

We have from the 4th until the 12th, when we drop The Boy at Glorieta Adventure Camp and head home. And we'll have our 2 year old German Shepherd with us.

We will drive to Santa Fe on the 4th and 5th, stay the weekend, and we have a rafting trip on Monday the 7th. We'll probably just relax around town, visit restaurants, maybe wander the town, etc.

On the 8th, we'll probably head NW towards Four Corners. Part of our plan to 'visit' all the states - we can knock out several at once, lol. For The Boy, not us, we've been to all 4. That's only 4½ hours from Santa Fe, so it's an easy trip.

We kicked around the idea of Carlsbad Caverns, but that's another 8½ hours to far SE NM from Four Corners. Our trip wraps up on Saturday the 12th back in Santa Fe dropping The Boy at camp and we'll head home with the dog.

We like nature and scenery and such, but we don't want to hike 6,000 ft peaks. We're going for leisure and hiking isn't my idea of relaxation. I'm more of a beach guy, but we ain't putting up with airline/flying restriction BS this year, so we thought we'd drive around NM.

Maybe southern Colorado would be nice, too? I think there're some gondola rides through the mountains or something? I dunno... again, we have the dog with us, so if it's someplace we can't take her, we'll have to find a doggy day care somewhere nearby.

Native American ruins and culture ain't really our thing, either - we have been to tons of that stuff in OK, and it's cool in passing, but it seems to get a bit redundant to me. So I know that's a LOT of NM - hiking and Native American stuff. lol. So why are we going there??? lol

Oh, and I think we're looking at some kind of hot air balloon thing near Santa Fe or Albuquerque as well?

So anyways, we've got a few days to kill from June 8-12th in northern NM, maybe southern CO, I'm open to ideas that don't make me walk mountains, right?

Let me know what you guys think.

The El Moro National Monument is unique. Natural water hole with a sandstone cliff that has names and dates from the Spanish exploration from the mid 1500,

 

[dennishoddy]

In red River, rent a side by side 4 seater and spend the day taking the trail to goose lake. Absolutely stunning views right at the timberline with alpine meadows.
Take a lunch and refreshments.
Take the ski lift in town to the restaurant at the top. It runs year around.
In the Silverton Co area rent a UTV or jeep and spend the day on mountain trails. You can get up to almost 13000’ altitude at California pass.
The train from Antonito Co to Chama Nm is very scenic. The last passenger car is the club car where you can purchase beverages.
The Rio Grande gorge bridge just outside of Taos is a place a lot of folks visit. You can park and walk out on the bridge to take pictures.

 

[tRidiot]

In red River, rent a side by side 4 seater and spend the day taking the trail to goose lake. Absolutely stunning views right at the timberline with alpine meadows.
Take a lunch and refreshments.
Take the ski lift in town to the restaurant at the top. It runs year around.
In the Silverton Co area rent a UTV or jeep and spend the day on mountain trails. You can get up to almost 13000’ altitude at California pass.
The train from Antonito Co to Chama Nm is very scenic. The last passenger car is the club car where you can purchase beverages.
The Rio Grande gorge bridge just outside of Taos is a place a lot of folks visit. You can park and walk out on the bridge to take pictures.

That sounds awesome, I would LOVE to rent a 4WD and go up in the hills. I'm definitely going to look into some of this!

 

[PanhandleGlocker]

If you go to Taos then Michael’s Kitchen is the best place for Breakfast.

 

[dennishoddy]

That sounds awesome, I would LOVE to rent a 4WD and go up in the hills. I'm definitely going to look into some of this!

We were right at 12,000’ at this location. It’s a blast!

 

[El Pablo]

If you go to Taos then Michael’s Kitchen is the best place for Breakfast.

It’s great for breakfast, lunch, etc. Love that restaurant.

 

[El Pablo]

In red River, rent a side by side 4 seater and spend the day taking the trail to goose lake. Absolutely stunning views right at the timberline with alpine meadows.
Take a lunch and refreshments.
Take the ski lift in town to the restaurant at the top. It runs year around.
In the Silverton Co area rent a UTV or jeep and spend the day on mountain trails. You can get up to almost 13000’ altitude at California pass.
The train from Antonito Co to Chama Nm is very scenic. The last passenger car is the club car where you can purchase beverages.
The Rio Grande gorge bridge just outside of Taos is a place a lot of folks visit. You can park and walk out on the bridge to take pictures.

+1 for gooselake. I do it on a utv over a jeep so you can actually pass people somewhat easily.

 

[xseler]

If you go to Taos then Michael’s Kitchen is the best place for Breakfast.

I've been known to drive to Taos just to eat at Michael's Kitchen, then drive back! If the dining room is closed (it was last time I was there), get the meal to-go and eat in the park across the street. Lots of picnic tables to use.

 

[rawhide]

That sounds awesome, I would LOVE to rent a 4WD and go up in the hills. I'm definitely going to look into some of this!

That would be fun. But, if you drive the roads around Red River they're better than the roads I drive in Lincoln county. Pagosa Springs is a nice place to stop while driving through southern Colorado.