Day 36 - Santa Fe, NM (Day 1)

We said goodbye to Ruidoso today.  This small, mountain city is very attractive to tourists and provided us with a pleasant stay.  It has lots of accommodations (lodges, hotels, inns, cabins and RV parks) and many nice restaurants.  They offer horse racing, gambling, skiing and many other events.  The Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally was set to begin tomorrow.  We've been here for three days and really didn't want to wrestle with the "bike" traffic.

The Route:
It was sunny today.  The 254 mile trip was delightful.  We took NM-48 from Ruidoso to Capitan, NM-380 from Capitan to San Antonio, and I-25 north from San Antonio through Albuquerque to Santa Fe.

Discoveries:
All roads were clear and in very good condition.

We learned that NM-380 (near San Antonio) was closed on Sunday due to flooding from the Rio Grande river.

The Buckhorn Tavern is in San Antonio.  We've been there before, but forgot that it was on today's route.  It "appeared" just as we were discussing lunch.  This place is unassuming and service is incredibly slow, but ... they serve the best green chili cheeseburger you can imagine!  It's rated #7 in the top 20 hamburgers in the country.  Yes, we stopped there for lunch.

Scenes Along the Way:

Some rain showers lingered in the mountains

We're coming out of the mountains on NM-380

Valley of Fires ...
NM-380 descends into the Tularosa Basin and passes through the Valley of Fires.  We're traveling through the northern extent of the White Sands Missile Range.

The Carrizozo Malpais is a large lava flow in the Valley of Fires.  The lava came from Little Black Peak, about 10 miles N-NW from Carrizozo.  It ends about 12 miles north of the White Sands Monument.

NM-380 runs through the lava flow

We continue west on NM-380 and enjoy the terrain change.  We're heading for I-25 at San Antonio.

Oh, what a view!

NM-380 crosses the Rio Grande river just east of San Antonio.  The road was closed on Sunday.  The high water continues today.

Rio Grande river at NM-380

I-25 north of Socorro
We're really taken by the wide-open
views along this highway

I-25 passes Albuquerque

The Campground:
We're camped at Traveler Ranch RV Resort.  It's a small, older campground located within Santa Fe.  The sites are small.  The facilities are well maintained and the staff is very helpful.