A Return to Santa Fe and the Pecos Wilderness

Fallen aspen leaves, Pecos Wilderness

For several weeks colder weather has been pushing us farther south and to lower altitudes and now the holidays are fast approaching.  So we are headed back to Texas.  We have been having so many adventures and such great fun that our time away has really flown by.  But we will be glad to be seeing family and friends very soon.

It was fitting on our way back that we returned to Santa Fe, our first stop in June when our adventure began.  During our week in Santa Fe we took several hikes in the Pecos Wilderness, reconnected with some friends we made at our campground in June and visited my cousin, Carol Ann.

Frozen Nambe Lake, Pecos Wilderness

At an elevation of over 10,000 feet, the Pecos Wilderness was getting cold.  Many of the streams and lakes were starting to ice over and the aspen leaves had fallen.  We had never hiked the Pecos at this time of year and although the hiking was cold, it kept most people away leaving us almost alone in the wilderness.  No snow had fallen yet and the views were more open through the bare aspen trunks.  Each season has its beauty and we enjoyed the quietness of approaching winter.



Nambe Creek

On top of Hamilton Mesa, Pecos Wilderness

 

One afternoon we met friends Keri and Melody and their dog, Oso, who now live in Santa Fe.  They were the first friends we made on our journey.  Back in June we were staying at Hyde Memorial State Park and Maya and Oso (a handsome Great Pyrenees) became buddies, so we did too. We found out that Keri and Melody had just arrived in Santa Fe from Rhode Island and were camping until they could find a place to live.  It was so good to catch up and see them happy and settled in Santa Fe.  Oso and Maya had some catching up to do too and seemed to really enjoy their time in the dog park.

Keri, Maya, Oso and Melody

It was also wonderful to reconnect with my cousin, Carol Ann, that I hadn’t seen in many years.  She recently built the cutest little adobe house not too far from downtown Santa Fe.  We had a wonderful New Mexican dinner together at the Zia Diner and then a tour of her house.  So much fun!

Although we had some chilly hikes up in the Pecos, Santa Fe itself had been enjoying unseasonably warm weather.  But as the weekend drew near a front was  on the way with snow in the forecast and temperatures at night in the teens.  Time to move on again….