For my 28th lap around the sun, Sofia offered to plan a trip for the two of us. She informed me of the dates I’d need to take off work and roughly what to pack, but not where we were headed! That would be a surprise. You could say this was definitely a move out of my comfort zone as I typically have everything planned out to eliminate surprises. That’s just my inner-engineer way of doing things. That said, I trust Sofia and knew everything would work out in the end.
Departing Phoenix, AZ after work on Thursday night, the two of us traveled north on the I-17 and spent the night camping in Flagstaff, AZ. We did a quick pull-off onto Schnebly hill road for the night, a place we camped on a previous trip. As we found out by a ranger in the morning, the area was closed for construction due to a rock slide further down on the road. That was the fastest I’ve ever broken down camp and been back on the road. Maybe 12 minutes in total? At this point, I still had no clue where we were going. That’s when at the gas station, Sofia finally told me. We were headed to New Mexico!
Arizona’s Meteor Crater
One of the stops along the way was a meteor crater site. As you can see, the crater is quite large! What’s really fascinating is that during the Apollo space program, NASA sent their trainees to this site to train for the moon mission. One of those people in the photo is Neil Armstrong training for the Apollo 11 mission..
Petrified Forest National Park
The next stop on our drive to NM was PFNP. This is definitely one of those lesser known parks, but don’t let that fool you. The park was huge! Sofia and I drove from the south entrance to the north entrance and stopped along the way for a hike.
The 2926 Steam Powered Locomotive
Ever think of trains when you think about New Mexico? Perhaps the letters BNSF ring a bell. It’s one of the largest railroad companies in North America. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say America wouldn’t be the developed nation it is today if not for the railroads. Anyways, there was a cool “museum” in Albuquerque. Less a museum, and more-so a living piece of history. In fact, this 80+ year old locomotive has been under restoration for the last 23 years. You can read more about the 2926’s story here: https://2926.us. It was such a special experience complete with a personal tour of the locomotive and the ability to play engineer inside the cab.
Santa Fe
Following the train tour, Sofia and I drove up to Santa Fe where we would be spending the remaining part of our weekend. Some of the highlights included:
- Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
- Meow Wolf Art Exhibit
- New Mexico History Museum
- Santa Fe Farmers Market
- Our stay at El Ray Court Hotel
I was blown away at how much this small town had to offer. So many high quality museums, restaurants, and experiences to partake in. One other surprising detail was the moderate climate. Coming from Phoenix where summer temperatures are well above 100 degrees, Santa Fe was in the comfortable low 70s for the duration of our stay. I suppose that can be attributed to the 7000′ altitude of the town. There was so much greenery and vibrant colors radiating from the local flora.
And that’s it! Be sure to subscribe to my blog for future posts.