Santa Fe done, on to Pagosa Springs

We wanted while in Santa Fe to get the kids to one of our favorite hikes, Tent Rocks.  It is only about 25 minutes away, and is a fantastic 2.7 mile hike through a slot canyon and then climbs 750' up to an amazing overlook.  Lots of scrambling and climbing.  While both Faith and Christian were up to it, we found that our flatland grandkids were a bit out of shape:)

The beginning of the hike

Messing around along the way

Contemplating the crawl through

Scrambling up a steep spot

At the top

We had a great time and Faith and Christian both enjoyed it, although they were a bit worn out.  Then off to Albuquerque to go to REI for that item I mentioned a few posts ago.

Jan and I, as we have altered our focus to more fishing and having the inflatable and motor, have filled the bed of the truck.  That's okay, but we haven't been completely satisfied with where to put the rods and reels or even what to do when we need the backseat.  So we were brainstorming a bit along our whirlwind drive and had a thought about the rooftop cargo carriers we were seeing.  We did some online research, and found out much to our surprise there aren't just a few choices, there are millions.  We already have our Thule bars on the truck from carrying our canoe and kayaks so mounting a carrier would be simple.  We also lucked out, and while in NC, we were able to go to an REI in Asheville to actually look at a few carriers, and found out that Thule was having their annual 20% off sale at the moment, wow!  So we measured and contemplated and made cardboard carriers to see what size and shape we would want.  So we settled on a Force Alpine with dimensions of 81.5"L X 24.5"W X 17"T.  We would have gone with a shorter one but they were much wider and since it would be sitting way up on the truck we didn't figure we'd be able to reach across a wider carrier.  And even though we though 81.5" was way too long, it turns out that you cannot even see it inside the truck.  We had to order the carrier and went to pick it up in Albuquerque.  We got it mounted in just a few minutes, we are very pleased with it and think it will do the job, and even speed tested it up to 85mph!  It's roomy, unobtrusive, quiet, high quality, and fits the bill.

So since we were only going to be in Santa Fe for 2 days, we also wanted to get the kids to have the best cheeseburger in the world at Santa Fe Bite.

Waiting for lunch

Yum, yum!
Christian said he could eat one of these everyday!

Faith finds her's delicious as well

Then we needed to do the most important part of our visit, and that was to see the kid's great grandmother Viv, Jan's mom.  She is a spritely 94 years young, and was very happy to see all of us, especially the kids.

4 generations
Christian, Viv, Faith, and Jan, only missing our daughter and their mother, Kelly

So now we are off to Pagosa Springs for more fun and to see Harvey and Jan for a week.