Our first day in Chama, I decided to hop on a different kind of ride. Trains are okay, but horses, oh yeah! The famous Ghost Ranch was an hour south so while Craig geeked out at the railyard, I rode a horse through the spectacular New Mexico scenery. (The name originates from the days of old when cattle rustlers hid stolen herds on the land and convinced people the area was haunted.). Georgia O’Keeffe fell in love with the area and many of her paintings are of the awesome landscape.
Before we leave New Mexico, let me add one side note to Craig’s last post. Many of the train scenes in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed on the Cumbres and Tolec Railroad we rode and used their cars. This quick clip shows the iconic scenes that were filmed in the area:
Here are my shots of the spots we recognized from movie:
After Chama, we drove towards home into Colorado to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. They were formed when a huge lake dried up thousands of years ago and left the sandy remains on the eastern shore. The contrast between sandy and mountain peaks was phenomenal. We hiked up 300 feet in elevation but it felt like miles on the sinking sand. I was huffing and puffing like an old lady while Craig sprinted ahead like a kid.
As far as possibly moving to Durango or Michigan, at this point, we’ve decided to keep Fort Collins as our home base. These smaller communities are wonderful but they don’t have great health care options. At 86, my mom has an expansive network of excellent doctors and hospitals here in Northern Colorado. I just can’t move her to a place where she might have to be flown to a city for surgery! For now, our vacation home can be anywhere in the USA, aboard Liscia.
We’ve spent a few wonderful weeks in Colorado catching up with friends and family. To add to the insanity, I decided we needed to foster a litter of kittens. They were a handful but a huge joy. Roswell wanted to play rough and we worried he might make himself a tasty little kitten snack, so it wasn’t the the love fest I had hoped for.
On July 5th, we’ll head out to Green Lake, WI for a short visit and then Michigan for 2 months. Can’t wait to see the beautiful water of the Great Lakes again. For now, Happy 4th of July!
Team Joy Girl Adventures 
Looks like fun. Spectacular sunset
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Thanks! We both had some really good times on the trip, each with a little something special to appeal to our at times somewhat divergent tastes.
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Wonderful pictures & I enjoyed hearing about your travels.
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Thanks, sweetie! Can’t wait to see you tomorrow!!
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Cool trip, people, adventures and HORSES! Loved the horses!
… so close, but yet so far… VERY nearby Great Sand Dunes is: Great Sand Dunes, Hooper Hot Springs Recreation
https://www.sanddunespool.com/
It even has a grass/dirt runway… because the owner is a pilot. Poke around the pictures with: <>
Best regards,
Jer/ Eberhard, Mountain Flying Aviation, LTD, Ft Collins, CO 970 231-6325 CELL jer@jerslash.net http://www.jerslash.net [20]
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Hey Jer/, we did get to the Hooper Hot Springs! How cool that you flew in there! After the newly renovated Durango Hot Springs, we weren’t terribly impressed but it was very wild to see that pool out in the middle of nowhere. Thanks for traveling along with us!
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Love reading about your adventures! We will be Michigan sometime in August. No finalized plans yet. Perhaps we can meet up for a lunch or dinner.
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Hello dear! So good to hear from you 😊 It would be wonderful to see you in Michigan! Not sure where you’re thinking about but we’ll be in Petoskey until mid August, then Holland till mid September.
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We will be in touch. Hope to see you!
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We’re in full swing here, enjoying Summertime in Northern Michigan! Looking forward to seeing you soon! Safe travels!
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WOO HOO! We’re excited to see you and the beautiful Michigan summer soon!! Yay!
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