NEW MEXICO

Santa Fe

On January 18 of this year I arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, staying four nights at Los Suenos de Santa Fe RV Park. I’ve always wanted to experience the art culture here but unfortunately, like so many other things, museums and galleries were closed due to COVID-19. I ventured to Los Alamos only to find those museums closed also but I was able to see the original entrance gate to the nuclear facility used for the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. Not far from there is the beautiful Bandelier National Monument with ancient Indian cliff dwellings.

Old Santa Fe Trail off I-25 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My campground was on this road.

My campsite at Los Suenos de Santa Fe RV Park in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The main gate to the Los Alamos site of the Manhattan Project.

The view from the drive to Bandelier National Monument.

Cliff dwellings at Bandelier National Monument.

Bandelier National Monument.

View from Bandelier National Monument.

Old Town Santa Fe is a restored section of the original town.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Old Town Santa Fe.

ARIZONA

Meteor Crater

The main reason for my stay here was to see the Meteor Crater in the desert and I spent a week here so I could also get in a few other sights like Petrified Forest National Park and the town of Winslow. I stayed at Meteor Crater RV Park, run by the same company that operates the crater site just a couple miles down the road. The crater museum is wonderful and my entry ticket was good for the week so i returned a couple times to photograph it under different lighting conditions.

My site at Meteor Crate RV Park on the beautiful day I arrived.

But the next day, it looked like this!

Meteor Crater is a mile wide and 550 feet deep.

Winslow

I was in this area last year but didn’t get the chance to visit Winslow’s “Standin’ on the Corner” tribute to the 1972 Eagles song “Take it Easy.” There are statues of Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey, a flatbed Ford and a mural depicting the theme of the song.

Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park

When I was here last year, all the national parks in the country were closed but this time they’re all open with some restrictions. Petrified Forest and Painted Desert are adjacent to one another and are operated as one national park. I entered into the Painted Desert off I-40 and drove the scenic road south into Petrified Forest.

The Painted Desert is supposed to be quite beautiful at sunset when the colors come alive in the golden light but with the recent snowfall, the striped landscape wasn’t as prevalent. However, the snow accentuated the texture of the valley floor in a way not seen under warmer conditions.

The Painted Desert under a light blanket of snow.

Hundreds of millions of years ago, floods uprooted trees and then over time, they were covered by sediment and turned to stone. Millions of years later, erosion has exposed them for our amazement.

Hundreds of petrified (fossilized) trees litter the landscape.

Erosion on the side of a hill has exposed a fossilized tree.

These specimens are about four feet in diameter.

Sedona

By the end of January, I moved to Sedona to explore the famous red rocks in the area. I stayed for a week at Lo Lo Mai Springs Outdoor Resort, which proved to be a delightful little campground with a stream and waterfall behind my site.

My tranquil site at Lo Lo Mai Outdoor Resort near Sedona, Arizona.

When I arrived at the Visitor Center at Red Rocks State Park, I met Aaron from West Virginia. He was photographing a tree and wanted to now what kind it was so I showed him the PlantSnap app I have on my phone and we determined is was a Juniper tree. We then decided to keep each other company as we hiked the park trails.

I met Aaron from West Virginia at Red Rocks State Park.

The rock formation known at “Cathedral” in Red Rocks State Park.

Also in Sedona are Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte located in Coconino National Forest. There are several easy hiking trails to the base and around these interesting rock formations.

Bell Rock on the left and Courthouse Butte on the right.

Courthouse Butte.

Courthouse Butte.

Bell Rock.

Kingman

I spent two nights in early February in Kingman, Arizona simply because it was on my way to Nevada. It was just enough time to buy groceries and do laundry before going into a remote state park north of Las Vegas and a whirlwind photography workshop in Death Valley.

All the sites in this section of Kingman KOA have privacy bushes between them, which was a nice touch.

My 870-mile trip from Amarillo, Texas to Kingman, Arizona took three weeks.

Next post: Death Valley Photo Workshop.

My name is Lindsay Reed and I’m a photographer and retired graphic artist with a passion for both lighthouses and road trips. I am living as a full-time solo RVer in my 33 foot Grand Design Reflection Fifth Wheel trailer and plan to spend the next few years traveling the U.S. and Canada photographing not only lighthouses, but everything else there is to see in this wonderful land. I hope you enjoy my blog and will follow my adventures in the months and years ahead.