After a hot two days camping in west Texas, we finally arrived, after a long, boring drive, to Red River, New Mexico! Ahhhh! We breathed in the cooler mountain air. Unfortunately for us, there was a heat wave while we were there which caused a lot of the snow in higher elevations to melt and flood the river. So, it was hotter than normal, and the fishing wasn't very good, but it was still cool enough to wear a sweatshirt at night. Now that's my kind of summer weather! The town is so picturesque. It is a small town, but there are lots of things to do in town and places to explore outside of the town. Shawn and I finally decided on a campground a little outside of town called Junebug. The campsites were right on the river! The only downside was that there were only vault (decomposting) toilets and no showers. We were on day three of no shower and would go two more days until we had one. The campsite was nice and spacious, though, and we soon got to know some of our neighbors. We set up a tarp as a rain sheild, and I'm glad we did because as soon as it got dark on Monday when we arrived, it started to rain!Soon, though it passed and we were able to have a night of sleep without getting drenched. The noise of the river was so calming. There is something about going to sleep when it gets dark and waking up with the sun. There were so many times during our five day stay at Red River that I just didn't want to talk at all... it seems like when you're in the mountains, everythng around you just says "shhhh," and it makes you want to lay in the sun like a cat and take a long nap. I think there were a few times when Shawn thought there was something wrong with me, but it was hard to explain that I didn't want to talk with all that nature around... I just wanted to listen.
Tuesday, we just took it easy, (we were still recovering from our crazy middle of the day canyon hike) shopped around in some of the tourist shops, ate some good pizza (with New Mexican food and sopapillas the night before), and tried out our fishing poles in the river. Turns out I was a little out of practice, and had to brush up on my casting skills. It's been awhile since the days Dad and I fished with catawba worms in Caro lake with a floating bobber. We drove to see some of the town, and then went back to camp, relaxed in our chairs and read. I have to say that Shawn is an excellent camping partner. He knows every way to make camping the best possible, and we do NOT go hungry with his right -on fire making skills. In all seriousness, it was great to spend the week with him in a place that he has been so many times before. It was like a dream fulfilled for us to be able to visit that place together.
On Wednesday we woke up early and drove to Little Costilla, a wilderness refuge and the bottom part of where Shawn and his guy friends usually camp. May 1-June 30, the fields are blocked off so the elk can have their babies, but we stopped off on the site of the road to fish by the river. It was so clear and pristine out there, and pleasantly cool. There was so much to see! Eventually I picked up the fishing rod again and tried to catch some of those wiley trout. But, was unsuccessful. Yes, I had a few bites, but it's complicated to catch those things! Especially when you can't use a hook with barbs or any special bait. After a couple of hours of unsuccessful fishing, Shawn drove me out to the campsite where he usually camps. On the way we saw beautiful views of snowcapped mountains, mountain irises... but no elk or bears. The aspens up in that elevation are so pretty. We ate lunch at an alpine lake called Shuree. We ended the day in Taos, and ate dinner a little outdoor cafe. By then we were deperate for showers, so we paid $6.50 a piece to take a shower at a fitness club in Taos.
On Thursday we hiked to the Pioneer trail where we saw old abandoned silver mines and an old mining cabin. It's unbelieveable how much the elevation can affect you. I thought I was in shape, but I sure was breathing hard once we reached the cabin. We had lunch at a little place called Tia Buena that served awesome quesadillas with green chilies. We tried to fish again, but the water was still too high.
On Friday we packed up camp and set off to ride a jeep up into the mountains. We were the first ones of the season, so the trail was still a little bumpy and there were some places we couldn't go, but it was still fun to see everything from higher up.
After the jeep tour, we met some friends in Taos for lunch, then drove the Albuquerque. Tonight we get to sleep in a hotel! This was something we hadn't planned, but it is definiately ok. This marks the third shower I've had in about eight days. I'm definately welcoming a good night's sleep in an actual bed with air conditioning! Tomorrow we head to Flagstaff!
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