After a bit of hemming and hawing, we decided to leave Elephant Butte and the dusty desert and head north for some culture--Santa Fe. It was pretty much a straight drive up Interstate 25 and about 200 miles away.



Along the way we spied a sign for the El Camino Real International Heritage Center. We decided to take a look, exited and drove about three miles directly into the desert. To our surprise, there was a nearly new New Mexico state monument and museum right in the middle of nowhere. It is a museum that interprets the history of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Spanish Royal Road that ran from Mexico City to Taos. The exhibits were very modern in presentation, with a mixture of new media and old artifacts, and lots of explanatory panels in both English and Spanish.



For much of the time, we were the only visitors in the museum, a family arrived just as we were leaving. In fact, when we arrived, there wasn't anyone at the entry desk; we figured that we would pay the entry fee when we finished. We finally came across a volunteer in the gift shop at the end of the exhibits and the ranger was at the entrance when we returned.



We asked why there was a museum in the middle of the desert and he answered that it was where the Bureau of Land Management gave them the land. The actual route of el Camino Real is now Interstate 25. We could have easily spent most of a day looking at and listening to the exhibits, but decided to get back on the successor to the royal road.



Perhaps we should have taken the advice of the man in the tourist information office outside of Santa Fe and passed up the lovely mountain state park that was our destination. He suggested another campground, one where eagles nested beside a lake. It seemed too far to drive; we had been on the road since early morning and it was now late afternoon, that dreaded time of day when energy flags and wrong decisions are all too easy.



Steve bravely drove old Speedy and her trailer through the dense and twisting streets of old Santa Fe, heading to the north of the city and Hyde State Park and Ski Area (what were thinking?). The road passed a wonderful spa (called 10,000 Waves) that we had visited during a trip here in 1995; it continued through some very upscale residential areas; and finally made its way into the deep and dark pine woods. We arrived at the campground about 5:00 but it was already dark because of the steep mountains on either side. It had about a dozen spaces and maybe four of them were occupied by people who had been there a long time and appeared to be squatting in the woods. It was very cold. Did I mention it was getting dark? Did I mention there was snow on the ground? A lot of snow. We decided this may not be a good choice for us and headed back into Santa Fe. As we descended the steep and twisty road, snowflakes swirled through the air.



By now it was too late to make it back to the campground where the eagles nested so we chose an RV park about ten miles outside the city. We don't usually like commercial RV parks because they are crowded and overpriced. But it was getting late so off we headed into the sunset. When we got to our destination park, it had a closed sign on the gate, reopening mid-March. Groan.



We took a drive through the park anyway and there seemed to be a few year-round residents and not much else. Now it was really dark. We knew there was a KOA Kampground not too far away. We have always disliked KOAs because of their locations beside highways; their expense (about $40 a night); and their very tight campsites. But now it was quite late so we pulled into the KOA. Oh, also we dislike them for spelling campground with a K (good grief!) (you did know Ellen spent her working years correcting bad spelling among other sins against language).



We followed the late check-in instructions and found ourselves under a parking lot security light that rivaled a car dealership. Under our own initiative, we moved to an unauthorized site, one shaded by trees. The park manager came out to tell us of our mistake but allowed us to stay in the relative dark, but not quiet, because this park is right beside Interstate 25. After a quick pasta dinner and a glass of wine, our dispositions improved and this morning we're making the best of our expensive campsite by taking showers and doing laundry. When we're done, it's off to find the eagles.



Photos