Embracing Winter in My New State: Recent Northern New Mexico Adventures

If you haven’t spent much time in New Mexico, you’d probably think winter here was warm, sunny, snow-free, and quintessentially Southwest. Well, you’d be right about the sunny part, but that’s about it – something that I quickly learned after our first big snowstorm on Thanksgiving Day and several more since then.

I’m a summer gal, born in August and loving hot weather more than anything else. But for a variety of reasons, we didn’t buy a house somewhere that’s 70-degrees year around. Once again, I live in a place with four distinct seasons, so I’ve been trying to shift my mindset to embrace the winter and the beauty this season brings to New Mexico.

Over the past month, the husband, pup, and I have taken two regional road trips to get to know our new home state a bit better. The first adventure was a ski/snowshoe trip to the Taos area in the RV…actually (and sadly) the first legit time we’ve taken the RV out for an overnight trip since plopping it in front of the house when we moved in. The second adventure involved a little tour of nearby national monuments to celebrate our dog Monkey’s sixth birthday.

Even without the steady pace of full-time RV travel, we’re no homebodies. Yet these trips were a welcome change of pace from the DIY renovation projects that have been filling up our weekends lately and a reminder of how much more of the Southwest we have yet to explore.

Here are the highlights of our recent Northern New Mexico travels within just a few hours of our new home base!

1. Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo is a living Native American community that’s also a heritage site and historic landmark at the same time. That means it’s open for tours but also a place where people live and stray dogs roam free. While my expert skier husband was hitting the slopes, I did a little solo outing with a self-guided tour to see it. The only building I could go in was the church, but the multi-storied structures were still undeniably impressive in this mountain landscape.

2. Snowshoeing Around Taos

During this trip I was in my sixth month of pregnancy, which meant that breaking out the snowboard wasn’t the best idea…especially considering that any time I hit the slopes, I spend just as much time falling on my ass as actually gliding down the mountain. But not one to miss out on winter fun, I strapped on my snowshoes, grabbed a couple poles, and took Monkey out into the wilderness. The Carson National Forest near Taos has some nice snowshoeing trails that we checked out together, even one near Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico.

3. Downtown Taos

Downtown Taos is lined with random boutiques, hippie shops, and interesting restaurants. After checking out the Taos Pueblo, I took a stroll around the area and bought myself some cool new rock/gem dangly earrings, just because.

4. Taos Ski Valley

Meanwhile, Ski Husband was loving his first experience at Taos Ski Valley, which I’m told has lots of challenging runs and is geared more towards skiers than snowboarders. Here are a couple scenic shots he snapped while I was out doing my own thing.

5. Rio Grande Gorge Bridge

The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is the fifth-highest bridge in the U.S. and not a destination for the faint of heart. It’s along Highway 64 and has rest area where you can park and then get out to walk across the bridge on a pedestrian sidewalk, where it always seems to be windy. I’d walked across the bridge once before in the summertime but was curious to see how it looked in the snow. The snow cover was minimal, but that didn’t make the views any less impressive.

6. Earthship Biotecture

Sure, I recycle and buy eco-friendly bath products, but I have yet to go as far as building my own earthship. Earthships are self-sustaining, off-the-grid, and otherworldly housing structures that have a big presence in the high desert outside of Taos. Outside the Greater World Earthship Community (which sounds suspiciously like a cult but is probably just a cooler version of my house’s HOA), there’s a visitor’s center that I popped into to take a self-guided tour. The tour involved a short film, museum displays, and getting to see a couple of the structures up-close. They sound like a lot of work are inspiring nonetheless.

7. Snow Camping

During our time in Taos, we stayed at the Taos Valley RV Park, a private campground that was close to town and had some great bathrooms so we didn’t have to bother fixing up our broken fixtures in the RV. Better yet, it had full hookups so we could plug in a space heater to supplement the propane tank that we’d filled up before the trip for some extra warmth.

Although we didn’t have snow in this RV park, we got stranded on the trip back home from Taos due to a snowstorm that got kind of crazy. It was actually the worst snow that we had ever driven the RV in, and this monstrosity named Dragoon was nearly swerving off the road, totally unable to handle the slick conditions. So, we cut our losses and pulled off at Piñon RV Park just outside Santa Fe. We were less than an hour (in normal non-blizzard traffic) from home so it felt kind of silly calling it quits that close to home. But driving any further in the RV felt unsafe and stupid. Besides, we had our laptops with us, so it was a good opportunity to squeeze in a snow day workday.

8. Jemez Historic Site

A few weeks later, we set out on our second Northern New Mexico adventure on a Sunday-Monday “adjusted weekend” to celebrate Monkey’s birthday. Our first stop was the Jemez Historic Site, which is a well-preserved Native village that dates back 500+ years. There’s a short trail that goes through the ruins, as well as a kiva you can climb a ladder down to see and a self-guided brochure to read as you walk around the site.

9. Jemez Soda Dam

Between the Jemez Historic Site and the Santa Fe National Forest, where we did a little icy hiking, lies a weird roadside spot called the Soda Dam. It’s along New Mexico State Route 4 and a neat geological feature formed from calcium carbonate that’s thousands of years old. It’s a natural dam, not a man-made one, and a place where you can park along the side of the road and get out to snap a few pics.

10. Valles Caldera National Preserve

Remote, snowy, and sometimes inaccessible, the Valles Caldera National Preserve had been on our regional bucket list for a while. A volcano erupted here 1.25 million years ago and created a big depression that’s 13-miles wide. We broke out our snowshoes to explore this area and its deep snow on a couple of the trails that allow dogs so Monkey could join in the snow-filled fun.

11. Bandelier National Monument

We tried to visit Bandelier National Monument on our first little winter weekend getaway to Taos but had to scrap that plan because the snowstorm shut down the park. However, we beat the snow on our second attempt and pretty much had the place to ourselves, which was awesome. Ancestral people lived in these dwellings carved out in the rock from about the years 1150 to 1150 and left behind some neat spaces to see. We climbed ladders to experience the dwellings first-hand while hiking along the rugged canyon and mesa country and seeing some petroglyphs along the way.

12. Hotel in Los Alamos

While the RV served as our once-again home on the road for the first new adventure to Taos, we opted for a comfy Holiday Inn Express in Los Alamos for the second weekend trip to the national monuments. While once beloved, the RV caused us more headaches that it was worth on weekend #1, with lots of things breaking and causing drama. The second time around, we splurged for the sake of not getting stuck in another snowstorm and treating ourselves to a little warmth and comfort. On an unrelated note, the birthday outfit I got Monkey will never cease to make me double over with laughter. I mean seriously….that tutu!

So, with those 12 highlights, that’s a wrap! We have lots more New Mexico to explore from our new home base, not to mention the rest of the Greater Southwest region. But we’re chipping away, taking our time, and really loving what we’ve seen so far.

From the Islands to the Desert: Hawaii, New Mexico & Colorado for RV Life Month #35

Unlike every other month over the last couple years, this one didn’t start out in an RV. Instead I woke up in a tent on a beach in Hawaii. I won’ lie…it was a pretty awesome way to kick off month #35 of life on the road, as well as our anniversary and the husband’s birthday.

However, we did Hawaii a bit differently than the average tourist. Instead of going the insanely priced, all-inclusive resort on Waikiki Beach route, which really isn’t out style, we camped in a tent for five nights and treated ourselves to a cabin for two nights. Then after a refreshing non-working vacation, we checked into Santa Fe, New Mexico for a whole three weeks, an area we’ve really enjoyed in the past and may be enjoying even more of in the future.

Here’s a quick recap of this past month’s batch of homes on the road.

Oahu Hawaii: Home on the Road #118 (part 1)

Our few days in Oahu were filled with a mix of touristy things and trying to get off-the beaten path as much as possible. We hit a couple of the famous must-dos, but ditched the super-popular hikes for more chill ones that were just as scenic. Definitely one of the best parts was falling asleep and waking up to the sounds of ocean waves just a short distance from our little blue tent on the beach.

  • Highlights: Successful beach camping (it’s not easy to find good camping on Oahu!), learning how to use outdoor showers, poke bowls, having scenic Ka’Ena Point  all to ourselves, non-stop entertainment at the Polynesian Cultural Center, surprising the husband with a birthday luau, delicious chikoo boba tea in Honolulu’s Chinatown, random Hawaiian diner food, all the beautiful plants, wonderfully warm weather, Dole Pineapple Plantation for touristy indulgence, getting daily updates about Monkey from our dog sitter back in Albuquerque 
  • Lowlights: Other people’s loud late-night parties at the campground because we’re old and tired, remembering how awful air travel is and wondering why the hell one of my post-RV life goals is to travel more internationally, rain and humidity, the trafficky and stressful Waikiki Beach area, missing Monkey and knowing how much she’d love these sandy beaches

Big Island, Hawaii: Home on the Road #118 (part 2)

While Oahu was definitely nice to visit, the Big Island was more our style. It was a bit more laid-back, less-touristy, more outdoorsy, and had plenty of wide-open spaces. To go “all out” for our anniversary, we booked a stay in a cabin at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and let the tent dry out from the recent rain showers.

  • Highlights: Rainbow Falls and checking out Hilo, a real bed after all those tent nights, anniversary dinner with a view of volcanoes at the national park’s Rim Restaurant, tasty Korean and Thai food, black sand beaches, checking out a real estate open house and legitimately considering buying it, the self-guided tour at Pu’uhouna o Honaunau National Historic Park, swimming in the warm ocean water, snagging a free trial day at a Planet Fitness to do some yoga and get a much-needed shower, free coffee samples from Kona coffee farms, that got me through the jet lag phase, delicious honey and macadamia nuts from Paradise Meadows farm, public beach camping that wasn’t as loud as I expected, lava rocks galore, shave ice with ice cream underneath, the mostly-outdoor Kona airport that puts all other airports to shame, seeing a rainbow just before we flew home, getting updates that Monkey is doing amazing at the dog sitter and playing well with as many as 8 (!) dogs at a time in a backyard 
  • Lowlights: Bummer there’s no lava flowing, lots of national park trails closed after the 2018 earthquake and volcano damage, struggling to find a shower when you need one (thanks for the free trial day, Planet Fitness!), never could find rental snorkel equipment when we wanted it (should have brought our own, I guess), more getting rained on, disappointing service at the Kona Brewing Company

Santa Fe, New Mexico: Home on the Road #119

After flying back to Albuquerque (with a brief layover in Phoenix), we collected our little Monkey from the dog sitter’s place, headed straight to a self-serve dog wash to scrub away all that stranger-dog grime, and collected our RV from the storage lot. That same arrival day, we made the short journey up to Santa Fe, a destination we’d settled on plopping down at for three straight weeks. Not only were we feeling exhausted with all the moving around, but the corridor between ABQ and Santa Fe has emerged as real possibility for post-RV life.

  • Highlights: Meeting up with awesome fellow full-time RVers Jamie and Ross for African fusion dinner, experiencing the bizarre world of Meow Wolf, drinking at a couple local breweries, house shopping in nearby Placitas and Eldorado at Santa Fe, checking out some remote national historic sites, dry and warm weather for the most part, super-chill vibe over Memorial Day, hikes and trail runs nearby, Shakespeare performance in the botanical garden, quirky Currents New Media art show, best community center I’ve ever been to (Lap pool swimming and ice skating in one afternoon? Sign me up!), hanging out with alpacas at Blue Mesa Alpaca Ranch
  • Lowlights: Literally having snow here the day after getting home from Hawaii, waking up to 34 degrees in a tin box with no insulation in late-May, crazy winds for biking, trying to navigate the strange world of real estate and having our first-ever offer rejected, post-vacation laundry chaos, ran out of time to mountain bike and rock climb

Pagosa Springs, Colorado: Home on the Road #120

It’s been a long time since we’ve set up camp in Colorado, and there are still lots of this state I’m dying to see. We’ve somewhat put off Colorado because we’re pretty confident that we’ll plop down in the Mountain West eventually, which means that Colorado destinations will be right in our backyard. But for now, we’re checking out the small resort town of Pagosa Springs, which is beautiful, peaceful, and has just enough to see and do without being overwhelming for a week-long stay.

  • Highlights: Easy access to hiking and mountain biking trails in the San Juan National Forest, hopping back on the mountain bike again, cute downtown area to walk around, hot springs even though our days here topped 85 degrees, lots of sunshine, snow-capped mountains in June, cutting out of Friday work early here soon to go for a long mountain hike followed by hot springs and dinner as rewards
  • Lowlights: Having to pay for electric meter usage at a weekly RV site for the first time ever (WTF?), the exhausting annoyance of trying to communicate with inept campground workers to make future reservation, lots and lots of hours working ahead in advance of the upcoming Illinois trip, crappy Verizon reception, lugging huge laundry bags across a campground only to pay high prices for machines that don’t work


Looking Ahead to Next Month

From here, we’re heading to Durango…a Colorado spot we’ve day-tripped to in the past but never spent a whole week in before. Then, this upcoming month will be our annual RV-free summer road trip to Illinois and back for a friend’s wedding that I’m bridesmaiding in, to squeeze in some Chicago meetups with old buds, and to put in an early birthday visit with my family. Like last summer, we’ll be tent-camping between Colorado and Illinois to check out some new parts of states we never spend much time in across Middle America.

When we get back to the West, property-hunting mode starts all over again. I’m perpetually torn about the concept of buying land and a house, because on one hand, commitment freaks me out, it’s all a big money suck, and I don’t want to lose this grasp I have on the minimalism lifestyle. Then on the other hand, I’m beyond ready for a next life phase after nearly three years of RVing, I don’t have much more energy for more full-time travel right now, and I despise the idea of settling for a crowded apartment environment as our next move. Full-time RV life has somewhat come to define me at this point, but I can only do the same thing for so long before becoming restless and wanting to experience something else, and that time has come.

We’ve put an insane amount of time, thought, debate, and conversation into where this next phase should begin, and at least right now, the stars are aligning over Placitas, New Mexico. The St. George, Utah area, the previously-agreed-upon promised land, proved to be far less affordable than expected for the type of property we’d be happy in, and somehow, we’ve gotten pretty picky with what we’re looking for.

These are my top priorities:

  • Over an acre for good neighbor distance
  • Scenic landscapes and views
  • Separate offices for work
  • Tons of windows and natural light
  • Solar panels if possible
  • Backyard with a fence for Monkey to play in
  • Outdoor space for growing plants and food
  • A place for my gnomes to come out of storage
  • Deck or patio to hang outside in my very own space
  • Laundry machines that actually work
  • Separate area for crafts and hobbies
  • No HOA or overbearing rules
  • Onsite camper parking
  • Able to put a little hiking trail in/around the property
  • Remote location but not totally inaccessible
  • Decent airport distance for international travel
  • Not insanely priced

That’s not too much to ask, right?! 🙂

I’ve learned that I care more about the outside than the inside of a house, and the husband’s list looks a bit different than mine, but we’re mostly on the same page. We went out on a limb and actually put a low-ball offer on a house and it fell through…live and learn. When it comes to “adulting” with things like real estate, I still feel like I’m 15 years old. But I’m learning along the way slowly and in no huge rush until this magical “home off the road” decides to emerge from the universe and present itself.

Until then, you can find me feeding alpacas in my dreams.

Next month will be my “three-year anniversary (eeek!) of full-time camper life” post, so tune back in on the 14th for some more rambling if you’re game. Thanks for reading along!


Catch up with the journey:

Four Legs That Can’t Pedal: Adventures in Biking with a Dog

There are a two types of dog owners: ones that take their dogs with them on adventures and ones that leave their dogs behind. Now I’m not hating on those that hire dog sitters when they go out of town, because these are the folks that helped me build my side gig and make a few extra thousand dollars here and there.

But when we adopted Monkey, I knew that I wanted her to be as much a part of our travel adventures as humanly and canine-ly possible. That’s why when we recently took a trip to New Mexico and planned to put some serious miles on the bikes, I knew it was time to invest in some new equipment.

Just a few days before leaving Atlanta, we Amazon Primed a red-colored, medium sized Solvit HoundAbout Pet Bicycle Trailer to our apartment. We tried to coax Monkey inside it in the living room with toys and treats, but she was just not having it. After a while, we gave her a little push to see if she’d get used to it. But it was immediately clear that either she was too big or the trailer was too small, because it was so cramped in there that she could barely sit down. It was great quality, but just too small for a 43-pound dog.

We promptly returned the trailer with no remaining days to spare before hitting the road on an epic five-week camping trip. Fortunately these days, you don’t have to stay in one place to receive packages, and we arranged to have a larger bike trailer shipped to a UPS store in Albuquerque.

This new blue Solvit HoundAbout Pet Bicycle Trailer was a size large with a lightweight aluminum frame. The product description said it would be suitable for a pet up to 110 pounds, but I’m not sure how the heck that would work. For 43-pound Monkey, this was much better though.

ABQ Ride 1The trailer folds down for storage and the wheels come off and stow inside. It’s actually pretty easy put together after you’ve done it a couple times, and there are mesh screens to boost air flow. It came with a black cushion pad, but I whipped out my sewing machine and made her a cushier one to entice her to ride a bit more. She loves soft things.

Admittedly, the first ride or two had their challenges. I had to pick her up to get her inside the trailer the first couple times, but these days she just walks right in on her own and plops down. Whew! ABQ Ride 2Our very first ride was on the Paseo del Bosque Trail in Albuquerque, which is a multi-use 16-mile paved trail goes from the north to the south edges of the metro area through the Rio Grande’s cottonwood forest. There are lots of access points with free parking listed on the City of ABQ’s website.

ABQ Ride 5

This was an amazing trail for a first dog trailer ride because it was flat, smooth, wide, and not too crowded. With the equipment we have, the trailer only connects well to my bike, so we switch bikes halfway through the ride to break up the labor. This also gives Monkey a break to get out and stretch her legs.
ABQ Ride 3On this particular day, it was lovely weather in the low-70s, and we cranked out a total of about 26 miles round-trip. Afterwards, we let Monkey hike around a bit on a nature trail and then got drive-in milkshakes at Sonic. It was just too-conveniently located right off the trail and too tempting to just gain back the calories we’d just burned. Ice cream and fro yo are my ultimate junk food weakness.ABQ Ride 4 She was a real trooper on this ride, and I felt better about bringing her along than leaving her along in a strange campsite to fend for herself. I don’t believe in keeping dogs in cages at home, especially if they’ve already put in plenty of cage time in a shelter. But I hope the pretty scenery whipping by and the fresh air flowing in are fun for her inside that trailer…especially when we pass by other dogs huffing and puffing by with jealous looks on their faces.
ABQ Ride 6

The next time we broke out the bike trailer on the New Mexico adventure was in Santa Fe, on the Santa Fe Rail Trail. This trail posed a different kind of challenge because it was not paved and quite hilly.

Santa Fe ride 1This 17-mile trail follows the old Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway line from the Railyard park in Santa Fe to the tracks, Highway 285, El Dorado, Lamy. There’s a little bit of everything along this ride in urban, suburban and rural surroundings. Santa Fe ride 2Where we started near our (highly recommended) campground, Rancheros de Santa Fe Campground, we encountered hilly, red-dirt terrain in the countryside with yucca and green junipers growing nearby. A 43-pound dog in a trailer feels incredibly heavy after lugging it up and down hills and over rocks with a pretty standard hybrid bike.Santa Fe ride 3But after a grueling while of this, the dirt suddenly transformed into pavement, and we were smooth-sailing again down the trail. Those first few pedals after the dirt felt like flying!
Santa Fe ride 4We took our mid-bike pit stop at Second Street Brewery, which unfortunately wasn’t really all that dog-friendly and had some questionable happy hour rules. But a cold brew after that challenging ride tasted delicious nonetheless. A local commuter train called the Rail Runner ran alongside the bike trail and the brewery, which we checked out while giving Monkey a bike break.Santa Fe ride 5The sun was starting to set by the time we made it back to the Jeep, which was perfect timing to collapse the trailer and hit up a local grocery store to cook dinner. The sunsets here really are pretty amazing.Santa Fe ride 6

Another bike trip we did in Santa Fe was to the Santa Fe Railyard. This was a shorter and more paved ride we did, with the intent of sightseeing and walking around a bit more with Monkey. From what I’d read about this neighborhood, I was surprised to see it not crowded and quite a few of the shops actually out of business and moved out. But it’s still a really walkable area, and I think Monkey enjoyed a little more time out and about.

Santa Fe Railyard

Since returning back home to Atlanta, we’ve taken out the bike trailer a few more times, and these days Monkey’s a pro at riding in style. We took her on a ride on the Big Creek Greenway between Roswell and Alpharetta, Georgia a couple weeks ago, which was super chill. This is mostly a 12-foot wide paved path that runs through the deciduous woods along Big Creek. But there are also dirt mountain biking trails nearby on the east side of the creek. Monkey and I haven’t been adventurous enough to try those out with the trailer just yet.

Another local spot we biked on the 4th of July to “celebrate our independence from motor vehicles” was the Silver Comet Trail. This trail picks up about 13 miles northwest of Atlanta and extends for a whopping 61.5 miles and ends at the Georgia/Alabama state line. And it doesn’t stop there! Once you cross over into Alabama, you can keep going to Anniston, Alabama for a total of 94.5 miles if you start in Smyrna.

But we took it easy clocked in at just over a leisurely 20 miles to get some fresh air and exercise. This is another wonderfully paved and shaded trail that you can squeeze into a morning ride, even when the day’s high temperatures are going to be 100 degrees.

IMG_3534 (1)

I have this bad habit of never taking photos or writing about the places I’m living in, which is unfortunate and something I want to work on. I lived in Chicago for over 6 years and now Atlanta for 1.5 years and haven’t written or photographed much of anything in either city. When I’m traveling, everything seems more blog-worthy and photo-worthy, but these places have treated me well too, and I apologize deeply to them for leaving them out of the mix. Perhaps someday I’ll visit them in the future when I’m living somewhere else and then they’ll make the cut.

Unfortunately, there’s not room in the Jeep or camper to bring the bikes and Monkey’s trailer on our next big adventure, which kicks off in just eight days. This is mostly because it’s summer and we’ll be focusing on water sports instead, like kayaking and SUP. Sadly, a tiny pop-up camper only has a limited amount of room for sporting goods storage, so choices must be made. But come fall, I’m hoping to retrieve the bike gear and introduce Monkey to some new trails that we can explore together on wheels.

IMG_3529 (1)Final Closing Tips for Dog Biking

  • Try before you buy (companies often claim trailers are rated for way more poundage of dog than actually comfortable)
  • Pick a trailer with good pockets for her water bowl, treats, and poop bags
  • Make the trailer as cozy as possible with a soft pillow and favorite toys
  • Be patient, but not afraid to shove her in after a fair number of tries
  • Start with short rides and build up to longer ones
  • Stick to paved trails, at least at first
  • Don’t put a dog in a trailer when it’s crazy hot outside
  • If biking in a pair, let the bike with the dog go first to set the pace and so she can see the other person behind her and feel more comfortable
  • Allow time for stretching and walking breaks
  • Adjust your biking expectations and be prepared to ride slower and not as far with a trailer
  • Scope out dog-friendly breweries to celebrate the end of your ride together!

Drinking Beer in New Mexico & the Tragic Decline of Brewery Blogging

Back in 2012 when I started this blog, local craft breweries were still something of an anomaly. Coincidentally, this is also when I really started to travel and get into beer culture. Four years ago, it was incredibly exciting to stumble upon a brew house in a warehouse district, along the railroad tracks, or on Main Street downtown. But that’s when breweries were relatively few and far between in general, and definitely still new to me.

I celebrated each brewery with a strict attention to detail, with a trusty notebook in hand and a camera-toting boyfriend in the other. I used to write about each and every individual brewery I visited, noting the ambiance, the service, and casually rating my favorite and least favorite flavors.

Reminisce with me for a moment…

Fast forward to mid-2016, when every small town on the map has it’s own brewery and every big city has about a dozen. I certainly don’t love beer any less than I did four years ago, but the suddenly overcrowded marketplace has made that initial excitement wear off a bit.

Don’t get me wrong, I still incorporate breweries into my travels and plan to check out at least one in each new place I visit. But I just can’t muster up the energy to write about each and every one of them anymore. It’s a daunting task that I’m just not up for…or getting paid for! So just like every other random craft beer fan out there, these days I simply plop down, pick my poison, and leave it at that.

Okay, so maybe I’m being a bit over-dramatic. I still do jot down travel notes and try to snap a photo of brew houses I visit after hikes or for an afternoon break. But after days of writing full-time for my day job, I just can’t bring myself to write more, especially about an ever-growing niche that I no longer have hope of conquering.

Then again, to bring things back into perspective…IT’S JUST BEER FOR GOD’S SAKE!

When I recently spent a month in New Mexico, not surprisingly, I visited lots of breweries to scope out the local beer scene. In no particular order, these are some of the breweries I managed to document in some way and little bits and pieces of the things I can remember about them.

Santa Fe Brewing Company, Santa Fe

This was a post-hiking brewery stop after checking out La Tienda Trails. We actually only got about 1.8 miles into the hike before a work emergency came up and we had to turn back for the laptops in the car.

Santa Fe Brewing Company 1But fortunately, all the emergency required was a little attention and an internet connection. And Santa Fe Brewing Company was right around the corner. Santa Fe Brewing Company 3They had an insane number of beers on tap, but a terrible organization system for samplers. The reason I have so many photos of this place is because I actually had to compare and match up a photo of the beer listing board inside with faded abbreviations under tiny glasses, making about four trips back and forth from the bar to the patio.

But with 13 tiny beers in front of me, how seriously irritated could I really be? Santa Fe Brewing Company 4

Second Street Brewery, Santa Fe

This was a post-biking brewery stop in Santa Fe after pedaling along the hilly, dirt roads of the Santa Fe Rail Trail. This wasn’t one of my favorite breweries because of the questionable and inconsistent rules. Apparently, I’m getting a bit crotchety in my old age.

Their large patio was not dog-friendly, but we read online that people have brought dogs to the tiny smoker’s area and didn’t get bothered, so that’s what we did. The brewery advertised happy hour specials but they didn’t honor them for the beers we picked, and they couldn’t justify their sizing and pricing. Oh well, you can’t win every time.
Second Street Brewery Santa Fe 1

Spotted Dog Brewing, Mesilla

This was a great little brewery we visited after walking around Old Town Mesilla. There were lots of cute shops and historic buildings here, and the brewery was in walking distance from all that.

Here we powered up the laptops and cranked out a bit of writing over a sampler to finish off the day in an awesome way. As any good gnome collector will tell you, these little guys love gnome-sized beer and make the very best drinking companions.

Spotted Dog Brewing Mesilla

Red Door Brewery, Albuquerque

They really did have a red door! This was one of the first breweries we went to in Albuquerque after hiking the Sandia Mountains. I remember liking this place because it had a little outdoor patio that was completely empty and super chill. After sharing a sampler of 10 tiny beers, I grabbed our growlers from the jeep and got one filled up with the wit and the small one with the scotch ale.

Red Door Brewery ABQ 1

Sometimes I forget to snap a shot or two of the brewery I’m at to help me remember it, or I’m just not in that mindset at the time. Unfortunately, this was the case with three breweries in the Albuquerque area: Canteen BreweryMarble Brewery, and Turtle Mountain Brewing Company.

Canteen was a frustrating experience because Monkey was acting like a total nut-bag and stressed us out to an extreme degree. I barely even remember what the beers were because of that, but Canteen did have a nice side patio and an attentive server.

Marble Brewery had an amazing set-up but an awful smell. The city was doing sewer work just outside the brewery in the street, and some people nearby actually complained about getting sprayed by sewer stuff. If that wouldn’t have been doing on, this Albuquerque spot would have rocked. We stopped by after a DIY Breaking Bad tour around town. There were a couple food trucks with tacos out front and a stage with a band playing music despite the crowd avoiding the outdoor space due to smells and sprays.

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company is in a fast-growing suburb of ABQ called Rio Rancho. I didn’t get any pics of this place either for some reason, but we went here after biking about 26 miles on a very nicely paved trail along the Rio Grande. Like several other breweries we went to, this was a place that has a dog-friendly patio but no service out there. I actually prefer this arrangement because I don’t have to wait on a server to come out, allowing me to just walk my own two feet inside and up to the bar when I need something.

Taos Mesa Brewing, Taos

Hands down, this brewery had the best outdoor scene ever. The ski resort town was experiencing crazy high winds the day we visited, but that didn’t stop us from sitting outside to enjoy the mountain scenery.

Taos Mesa Brewing 1We stopped by after hiking at Rio Grande Del Norte and having a picnic lunch on BLM land near the parking lot. The brewery had stages both inside and outside and clearly hosts a lot of events and concerts. However, the taste of the beer paled in comparison to the views of the mountains. The beers were mediocre at best, with standard flavors and nothing truly interesting. But those views though! Taos Mesa Brewing 2

Pecan Grill & Brewery, Las Cruces

This was a rare find that we stumbled across after taking a wrong turn following a hike in the Organ Mountains. I was actually on the hunt for a PetCo because Monkey was (gasp!) nearly out of food. I had seen the Pecan Grill and Brewery come up in a Yelp list a few days before, so we stopped in to try it to make the wrong turn worthwhile.

I was hesitant at first because it seemed like it would have more of a restaurant vibe, which often means that the beer takes a back seat in quality. However, this place pleasantly surprised me more than pretty much anywhere else on this trip. They had happy hour specials that they honored the price on, cheap appetizer specials that were quite tasty, and a laid-back environment where I got a little writing done. Our server did a killer job too.

Pecan Grill Las Cruces

High Desert Brewing, Las Cruces

Another Las Cruces brewery we visited was High Desert, which was our destination after hunting for peridot gemstones at Kilbourne Hole. Some of these New Mexico breweries serve food, while others are drinks-only. We try to save money by making our own food in the camper, but making beer from the road isn’t really all the feasible. However, at this place, we splurged and split a couple appetizers to go along with the sampler.

It was an awesome environment, despite Monkey being super-restless after a long and bumpy car ride. The patio was cozy and closed in, which provided some shelter from the crazy high winds that I’ll always remember about Las Cruces.

High Desert Brewing Las Cruces

Don Quixote Distillery & Winery, Jaconita

But of course, there are many other things to drink besides beer…namely wine and spirits. This was a stop on the way back from Chimayo, which is a Catholic pilgrimage site in the middle of nowhere.

Don Quixote Distillery & Winery 1We arrived to Don Quixote a few minutes before it opened and downed cans of soup and beans in the car while we waited. The bartender/sole staff worker was the most unfriendly host I’ve encountered in a tasting room. We were the only ones there, but she talked on her phone the entire time and seemed genuinely annoyed by having to serve us (paid) samples. Don Quixote Distillery & Winery 2I remember really liking the lavender and juniper gin, which was a surprise because I’ve never been a gin drinker. The flavors were intensely good though. I also remember liking the rose-infused wine. However, I didn’t buy anything except the tasting, mostly because of the service.

Breweries and Dogs

Although I may have started off writing this a bit disenchanted with the ever-expanding craft brewery scene, I still believe there are new experiences to discover at each one. Lately, my brewery experiences can be best defined as dog experiences too.

We’ve been slowly but surely training our newly adopted lab/pit, Monkey, to become the ultimate brewery companion. Breweries and dogs seem to go hand-in-hand, and I’ve always wanted a chill and friendly pup by my side while I sip my brews on a patio.

Before visiting any given brewery, I’ve gotten really good at one particular phone call that goes something like this:

Brewery Person: Hi, XYZ Brewing Company, how can I help you?

Me: Hi, do you have a patio that allows dogs?

(response #1) – Yep, sure do.

(response #2) – Nope, sorry, only service dogs.

(response #3) – You wanna do WHAT?!

Santa Fe Brewing Company 5On dog-friendly patios, Monkey is getting better at the fine art of hanging out, usually equipped with a comfy pad, bone, and travel water bowl.

But of course, sometimes she likes to do this and sit like people, which is a bit awkward.
Red Door Brewery ABQ 2Then other times, she does this and sleeps all cute-like and curled up under the table. And I forgive her for all wrongdoings.Second Street Brewery Santa Fe 2Perhaps one of these days I’ll manage to secure a writing gig that pays me to write about and review breweries. Then, without a doubt, I’d be all over this scene as if I’d never lost a beat since 2012. I’ve already started to break into the wine scene with a steady gig at The Grapevine Magazine, so perhaps craft beer writing could be in my future as well.

But until then, I’ll just jot down a sentence or two at the end of the day, snap a picture if I think of it, and not stress out over missed writing opportunities. After all, quality beer is best enjoyed with a chill state of mind, right?

Seeing Santa Fe on Foot: Southwest Road Trip Series

My next post in this “Southwest Road Trip Series” is all about Santa Fe, a two-week destination that I enjoyed so much that I’ve considered moving there. There aren’t too many places that I’ve visited and thought I could see myself living for a while (Portland is another one of them).

So to get to know the city and surrounding area a bit better, we decided to spend a couple weeks at a campground in Santa Fe. Much of this time was spent on foot, hiking in the nearby parks and strolling around town with Monkey, adventure dog extraordinaire.

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Santa Fe weather was all over the place…this was taken one morning when we woke up to SNOW!

One awesome part about our home base, Ranchos de Santa Fe Campground, was that there was a half-mile wooded trail right behind the tent sites, yet still on the campground’s property. This was a great place to walk or jog Monkey first thing in the morning and as work breaks throughout the day before heading out for whatever activities we had planned.

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Dale Ball Trails

The big trail system in Santa Fe is named after Dale Ball, the lead guy who designed and constructed the trails, and our first hiking outing in the area was here. The Dale Ball Trails are a 22-mile network of trails managed by the Santa Fe Conservation Trust at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The trails here are also connected to the Atalaya Trails and Dorothy Stewart Trails.

We parked at St. John’s College and hoofed it on sidewalks to the trailhead.

P1060272We chose the route that led to Castle Rock, because well, that seems majestic enough right? The route was pretty steep and actually one of the more strenuous ones we’ve done in a while.

Oh, but the views!P1060293The approach to Castle Rock, which was an impressive exposed rock outcropping, involved scrambling up boulders and teaching Monkey the basics of rock climbing. She has a crazy amount of stamina, a severe lack of patience, and an obsession with all creatures from lizards to squirrels. But despite her little personality quirks, she proved to be a pretty solid rock climber.
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La Tierra Trails

A lesser-known hiking area lies outside the city, but apparently it’s a pretty popular spot with mountain bikers. La Tierra Trails extend over 25 miles and were formalized by Santa Fe less than a decade ago to develop a multi-use trail system northwest of the city.

We started this journey on La Cuchara Trailhead at the south, which was near a dog park we intended to visit but never actually made it to.

IMG_4588We nearly made it two miles and then had a work emergency and had to turn back to retrieve laptops from the campground and settle things. These types of emergencies don’t happen often, but when they do, unfortunately hiking has to take a backseat to the day jobs.IMG_4592This was a pretty rugged hiking area with downed dead trees and few trail markings. The trails were sandy, and my feet sunk in a bit with every step to make that 1.85 miles feel a bit more challenging than it really was.

We were all frustrated with having to turn around so soon in this remote and peaceful area, but fortunately a trip to Santa Fe Brewing Company picked our spirits back up when the work emergency had been resolved.
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Santa Fe Plaza

However, each one of our week-long (two weeks in the case of Santa Fe) area explorations include some urban hiking as well. When we first got into town, I took myself out on a solo outing to check out the downtown plaza and do some jewelry shopping.

Solo time is totally a must when you’re traveling and camping one-on-one with someone (no matter how cool they are) in a very confined space. I spent my Santa Fe solo time checking out local community/donation yoga classes at Yoga Source and wandering around town. I had read about the Native American Vendors Program of the Palace of the Governors, which is a government program that encourages artists from the nearby pueblos to “set up shop” on the plaza sidewalk to sell their treasures. I ended up buying a ring for myself and a necklace for my best friend here from a guy from Santo Domingo (a pueblo we actually visited on the way to Santa Fe), and he cut me a decent deal for buying two pieces.

IMG_2075There are tons of shops around the plaza, most of them out of budget but nice to look at anyway. I love the architecture in Santa Fe, which was surprisingly consistent in the churches, shops, restaurants, and homes in the local neighborhoods.

The Santa Fe Plaza is the central part of the city and has been the heart of downtown for over 400 years. Native American and Spanish markets are the centerpiece, and there are a lot of concerts and community events scheduled here at certain times.P1060394A lot of things appealed to me about the southwest: the laid-back atmosphere, the weather, the outdoorsy-ness, the artsy-ness, the lack of traffic, the abundance of good hair days. However, one thing left me a bit unsettled.

There were tragically few gnomes living in New Mexico…none in shops, none in front yards…nowhere.

This is my one and only gnome encounter from my month in New Mexico, which was at a Christmas shop of all places in Santa Fe’s downtown plaza. I’m convinced that it is not a Santa nor an elf, but a full-fledged gnome and an instant friend on a surprisingly cold southwestern day.
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Railyard District

Lots of cities have industrial areas that they’ve been trying to transform into the next trendy place to hang out. In Santa Fe, this is the Railyard District. The railroad has played a crucial role in Santa Fe’s history, and old-timey photographs of it were once pitched to East Coast-dwellers to entice them to come experience the Wild West.

IMG_4607The railyard was declared a blighted area in the late 1980s and started undergoing serious redevelopment. Today this area is home to a popular farmer’s market, arts and cultural organizations, shops, art galleries, and restaurants.

We visited the Railyard as a hybrid hiking/biking excursion after finishing the day’s work back at the campground. We biked to the Railyard and then locked up our bikes to check out the area on foot and venture into a few shops and indulge in some fro yo.

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Museum Campus Trails

The weather was all over the place in Santa Fe, and some days were just too cold and windy to be able to enjoy a good hike. But that’s okay because I also enjoy a good museum from time to time. The only issue was what to do with the dog because nine times out of ten, dogs and museums don’t mix.

That tenth time was the dog-friendly International UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico…more to come on that later!

So to solve our dog woes, my husband and I took turns going into a museum of our choice while the other walked around with Monkey. There’s a big museum complex on the outskirts of Santa Fe, so it’s easy to walk from one to the other. I decided to check out the International Museum of Folk Art, and the husband chose the Spanish Colonial Art Museum.

IMG_2083I definitely enjoyed the displays of miniatures and flamenco culture. Museums are a great place to soak up some solo time, especially if you like looking at certain things more than others or like browsing at your own pace.IMG_2097But something unexpected at the museum campus was an extensive set of hiking trails! What started as a crappy day actually turned out to be a pretty nice one. So when my museum turn was over, I took Monkey out behind the museums to do some hiking.IMG_2120The trails were pretty flat, but winding and not marked. I found it surprisingly easy to get lost (as my directionally challenged self usually does), but eventually found my way back to the Jeep before the storm clouds rolled back in.IMG_2115

Not far from Santa Fe, we also got off-the-beaten path to check out Chimayo, Ojo Caliente, and the Turquoise Trail. Details on those day trips coming soon, slowly but surely!

So is Santa Fe still in the running for a possible future residence?

Maybe. The big thing holding me back thus far is price. Santa Fe is not a cheap city to live in, or even visit for that matter. Rent is high, taxes are high, and restaurants and shops are pretty pricey too. We scoped out a bunch of Craigslist postings for houses and apartments for rent and drove around Santa Fe neighborhoods to see what they were all about. Even if you’re not super-serious about moving to a destination, this is great way to get an inside look into what a city really looks and feels like away from the tourist circuit.

But only time shall tell where the next long-term destination will be, or if they’ll even be anything permanent for a while. Life on the road is just too way much fun 🙂