Madrid, NM to Madrid, NM
Today was our last full day in New Mexico. Our plan was to explore Bandelier National Park, Chimayo, and find some hot springs to hike to.
We slept in little bit today and only saw the sunrise from bed. Still not a bad view in sight here. On the road to Santurio de Chimayo, the church I referenced a few days back that Jason bought a painting of, the scenery kept changing on us. Different mountains, different colors.
Jason went into the church and spent some time roaming around. Some areas you cannot photograph. The sands here in this church are somewhat mythical in nature. It is believed to have healing powers and allow miracles of health to occur. You are encouraged to take some with you so he took some.
We got slightly turned around on the way out. We stopped at an overlook to check the maps. What. An. Overlook.
We were deciding if we should add Nambe Falls to our day since we passed signs for it. It was 25 minutes out of the way and we feared there would be no water when we got there so we decided to go to Bandelier National Park.
With our Annual National Park pass in hand (called America the Beautiful), we drove into Bandelier. This place is gorgeous right away.
The hike into the Pueblos of Bandelier was short so Jason was going to go first to check it out and see if I could do it. Bandelier doesn’t allow dogs on the trail so we sat in the picnic area and I looked for a place to stay in Arizona the next night. A raven decided to caw at me for the next hour or so. Lovely.
Jason loved the hike but between the time of day, what looked like an impending storm, and ladders needed to navigate the Pueblos, I opted to go to the gift shop and cafe instead.
They had a plant burger on the menu and after a few questions to the chef about the bread, I ordered the burger to share with Jason.
The drive out of Bandelier to Jemez Hot springs was stunning and unreal. A few years ago there was a massive fire and it destroyed 60% of the park. The devastation was easily seen but there was still so much beauty.
Another hot tip from the Kennedy’s was Jemez hot springs, which was right outside of Bandelier. It was a short .7 miles in to a beautiful set of hot springs. It had rained earlier so the going was wet. Bear and Patch didn’t mind! There were many people at the hot springs but we found a spot we could have to ourselves and be able to hold the dogs. There was even a secret cave that was hotter that Jason went into.
Great hot spring, but they were a bit too busy for us on this day. It was time for home.
Home from our long day of adventures, we decided to stay in. Jason started a fire and it was my turn to cook. Since the burger I had earlier was just okay, I was still craving what I wanted. I set out to make it.
I cut up hatch Chile’s, jalapeños, onion, and mushrooms and sautéed them. I had another pan with broccoli and zucchini squash steaming down with sesame oil and soy sauce. Then when they were done the beyond meat burgers went on with a little vegan worcheshire sauce, liquid smoke, and maple syrup. In search of sauce to hold the Chile mixture together, I took some BBQ sauce and added that.
Jason had gotten the fire going and I was heading outside to out the napkins and such out when I GASPED. And ran!
My camera was still in the car from Bandelier. I couldn’t miss this. Jason looked up and knew, checking on the food in the kitchen I left on the stove.
The moon was a rust orange. I remembered the settings I used the night before and aimed. You don’t have much time when the moon is full and in bright color. I acted fast and was so excited with the results.
We ate by the fire and talked about the trip so far and the things still to come. We tried to play glow in the dark lawn darts but remembered we forgot to solar charge them (get it!). We really didn’t want to leave New Mexico. We were deciding our next move- Colorado or Arizona. We drowned the fire because Smokey the Bear taught us well. The full moon illuminated the sky as we cleaned up and packed up for leaving in the morning.
Vegan On the Rhode 