Left Coast Camping: Texarkana to Santa Fe

As you know we avoided the I-40 corridor in Oklahoma to hopefully miss predicted bad storms and flooding in that area so we dipped down into Texas for two days including a rest day. From there we had two and a half days of driving to get to the Santa Fe area but before we left the 90 degree warm weather there we enjoyed a nice dinner and sunset on the Wright Patman Lake.

First stop was at another Corps of Engineer (COE) Park (Chisholm Recreation Area) on Waurika Lake in Oklahoma - I know, we were trying to avoid Oklahoma but this was right near the Texas border and we thought it would be alright. There had been severe weather and flooding all over this area of Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. When we booked our sites the day before we didn't know if we were on the lake or back from it....turns out Kathy and I were almost in the lake as the water was way out of it's banks. To top that off there were additional tornadoes in Oklahoma that night and two people were killed in El Reno - as it turns out just 99 miles north of where we were....enough already with the bad weather.

Needless to say we made an early departure the next morning heading for Amarillo, Tx for what was to be a maintenance stop....laundry & some shopping. We contemplated spending a night there but the nervous weather lady reported that Amarillo predicted strong storms that afternoon and evening. Since we left Chisholm so early we were arriving in Amarillo in the early afternoon - we decided to do laundry and push on down the road but not before a pretty significant thunderstorm rolled into Amarillo. Guess what the name of the Laundromat was?

Before we could depart the Amarillo area we had to get the Cadillac Ranch checked off our list. You can read about it here: Cadillac Ranch
On our way (short drive) to the Cadillac Ranch Kathy and I read about some folks who had slogged through mud to get to it and we decided up front we were not doing that since it had just rained. Well when we got there we were amazed that there were a lot of cars/campers stopped and slogging through the mud to get out there so off went. Crazy but fun!

Click here for a short video of Deb dealing with the mud

Leaving the Cadillac Ranch pointed west with plans to drive until evening and bed down in a free camping area - either Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or a New Mexico rest area, both are legal here. As we entered New Mexico you guessed it - the skies turned dark so we began tuning into the weather more closely and as we approached Tucumcari, NM there was a tornado warning....we survived but it was pretty scary for awhile. We never actually saw a tornado but it was definitely a sever storm and scary event for us. After getting through that the next welcome/rest area was the perfect spot to spend the night. We were the first to set up in this area but woke up to many camping neighbors the next morning.

Click here for a windshield view of the storm

After a good nights rest we moved on into the Santa Fe area and set up camp at a COE park called Tetilla Peak Campground. Friends we'd met back in February in Big Bend N.P. (Jim and Cindy Blair) who live nearby visited that evening and gave us tips on what to see in the area - more than we have time to but we set out to explore this area for a couple days and see what we can.

Tetilla Peak Campground View

Tetilla Peak Campground

Feeling the need for exercise and beautiful scenery we headed out to the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument that offered a really cool four mile trail that included a slot canyon and it was a great outing. The temps here are very cool overnight and nice (no humidity) dry during the day with temps near 70 degrees so it made for some really nice hiking. We hiked through the slot canyon, enjoying some really cool rock formations, and up to the top for a beautiful view before returning.

Heading into the slot canyon trail

View from near the top of trail

Next stop was a small town on the Turquoise Trail called Madrid. It is a quaint little town with a few bars and more than a few shops and art galleries. This is also the town where at least part of the movie "Wild Hogs" was filmed so there is a draw for the motorcycle folks. Donald and Debbie, being the bikers they are, were interested in the diner in the movie called "Maggies"s Diner" - all geared up for an ice cream or some other diner delicacy they were disappointed to learn that in reality it had no kitchen and was now only a tee shirt shop - it had been built just for the movie and it never was a real diner :-(

Diner without a kitchen

Movie Set

Our friends said this would be a better place to buy turquoise jewelry than Santa Fe as it is very expensive there. They even mentioned a particular shop called Cowgirl Red and the girls were on a mission but unfortunately it was closed. Debbie did manage to find a bracelet in another shop but for Kathy the search continues.

But the real reason we wanted to stop in Madrid is because we'd heard so much about the Green Chile Cheeseburgers at the Mine Shaft Tavern....and after our four mile hike we were ready for some good food and a cold beverage. In the southwest chile is on everything, almost and this hamburger was no exception. This was a 1/2 lb angus burger that luckily we each (both couples) decided to share and it was very good and a good decision! The bar was pretty cool too!

Mine Shaft Tavern

Madrid, New Mexico

Back at camp for some rest and cleaning up before we headed out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant called Los Potrillos that was recommended to us. The Mexican fare here is much different than the Mexican restaurants back east but is very good (better). This was a great way to end what was my 64th birthday - Life is good!

Shopping as hard as I can go in Madrid (read the sign behind me)

It was a Happy 64th Birthday!

Day trip on our last touring day in this area - our plan was to make a large loop that has numerous possibilities of things to see and do and we had a couple in mind that we wanted to do for sure and several others if time permits.

First stop was Puye Cliff Dwellings. Kathy and I had seen them before in Mesa Verde Colorado and found them very interesting. These were not quite as spectacular and the visitor center while nice, was not comparable to the National Park in Colorado. The tour they offered didn't start until noon and we were on a tight schedule with a lot of miles to cover so we opted to view the dwellings from the visitor center and watch their movie - very interesting/informative about the Pueblo Indians but not very much info about the cliff dwellings themselves.

Puye Cliff Dwellings

Next on our loop was Los Alamos - this was maybe my favorite spot here in this area as far as educational/museum visits go. We went to the visitors center where we watched a short film and got information about the various sites of interest as it related to the Manhattan Project and the development of the bomb.....all very interesting!

At that time (World War II) the U.S. government took over a boys Ranch School and the entire area for the project. Some of the old buildings are still there and available to see, a couple different museums including one that is more scientific - looking back it is amazing what happened there and how it changed the world and continues to influence the world.

The part of Los Alamos where the laboratory still functions today is a secure area (no stopping, no photos, & no left turns) that you can drive thru but really can't see much since it is all in the secure area so we didn't plan to do it but on our way out we took a wrong turn and ended up at the gate - so we ended up driving thru anyhow - turned out to be a good thing because as we drove along Debbie scared the bejesus out of all of us when she saw a bear near the side of the road as we headed up over the mountain - it was fun to see one and we all got a good laugh (remember, no photos)

Leaving Los Alamos we headed over the Jemez Mountains en route to Jemez Hot Springs.....we planned to end our day with a soak in the springs since we would likely be worn out tired AGAIN! The drive was really pretty with many scenic stops along the way.

Jemez Hot Springs

Soaking those aching muscles

One hour in the springs was a perfect way to end our loop drive....water was very clean and pretty hot and relaxing. It also turns out that is how we are ending our stay in the Santa Fe area as we move on westward with areas around Flagstaff, Arizona (Sedona & Grand Canyon) in sight....come along!

Additional photos from this area below: