Day 2 - We took beautiful small highways to Roswell whereupon we visited the UFO museum. It was then down to Brantley Lake State Park where we set up the tent.

Day 3 - It was an extremely windy night... which continued on into the day. So we headed underground to escape in Carlsbad Caverns. The enormous cave was absolutely stunning! We drove back to the tent, secured it with a few more heavy rocks, then went for a short stroll to the lake. We didn't get very far before we were cut off by a swamp, so we returned to the campsite only to find the tent across the way in a thorny tree! We managed to rescue it but were forced to disassemble it and spend a chilly night in the tiny seats of my car.

Day 4 - We headed west to White Sands National Monument where the scenery was simply dazzling! We were planning to camp at a state campground but passed by Faywood Hot Springs Resort on the way and couldn't resist! Some of the pools were clothing optional... so we went optional! Wonderful sunset, beautiful area, relaxing hot pools, a glowing Milky Way, a crackling campfire... and a leaking air matress! Aparrently it had been punctured last night during the tent incident. Within a couple hours, we found ourselves resting on hard rocks in sub-freezing temperatures. It was a long night!

Day 5 - We jumped in another set of hot pools to help us thaw in the morning, then drove a long way up into the hills to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. We arrived just in time for a ranger tour. We left along a very twisty road down the other side of the mountain, stopping at the old Opera House in the historic town of Pinos Altos. We arrived in Silver City too late to set up the tent so we found a cheap hotel and savored the warmth, quiet and comfort of a soft bed!

Day 6 - In Silver City we walked through the charming old town and saw the homesite of Billy the Kid. We headed into the hills to Fort Bowie... reached only by a 1.5 mile hike, past a cemetery which included one of Geronimo's sons. We had a bit of a rocky drive over Apache Pass to spend a couple nights camping in Chiricahua National Monument.

Day 7 - We took an amazing 9.5 mile hike through the magnificent rock formations. In the evening, I took a stroll around some of the old original homesteads.

Day 8 - We visited the touristy yet fun town of Tombstone, including the infamous Boot Hill cemetery. The night was spent in a cheap, somewhat loud Tucson motel off the highway.

Day 9 - It was quite warm in Saguaro National Park as we wandered among the numerous prickly plants. We opted for a shorter hike! We camped at Catalina State Park.

Day 10 - We took a short morning hike to some old Hohokam ruins, then decided to return to civilization a bit in the form of a cheap matinee movie. We slowly began the drive back to Colorado, camping at Roper Lake State Park.

Day 11 - It was a very long driving day. We decided to take the scenic (except for the strip mining town of Clifton) mountain route up to Albuquerque where we spent the night in a lovely little hostel.

Day 12 - After many more hours of driving, we made one final stop at Bishop Castle. The structure was both incredible and terrifying to climb! Eventually we arrived back in Boulder.

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