Day 10

Drove East from Durango through the Rockies. Another almost 11,000 ft pass, but roads not as interesting as yesterday . At coffee stop we were almost forced to purchase two enormous slices of pie, of which more later.

We ended up at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. This is an amazing enclave of 40 square miles of full-on Arabian sand dunes, right in the middle of the Rockies. It’s pure photographic gold, with aforesaid sand dunes, mountains, trees in fall colour, dramatic dead trees and very much alive deer available in all required combinations.

Food slightly more of a challenge as the only eatery for about 30 miles has closed for the season. However sub sandwiches from the shop were not too bad, and aforementioned coconut and peach pies turned out to be absolutely superb, rescuing us from potential 3/10 danger.

Early start tomorrow to catch dawn on the dunes.

Photography 9/10
Food 7/10
Large animal count 20+

Day 8

Spent the morning wandering around Durango, then set off for Aztec, 30 miles south, which hosts what must be the world’s most unlikely Highland games. Spent the afternoon watching very large Americans with some Celtic heritage throwing tree trunks while dressed in skirts:-) Excellent.

The event also featured a display of Scottish country dancing by some very Hispanic young ladies – we now know what the Gomez tartan looks like – a Jethro Tull sound-alike band, the local IRA supporters club, and the oddest sign yet… (see below)

Moderately disgusting fish meal in Durango – I should stick to the beef.

Photography 7/10
Food 5/10
Large Animals 3 (excluding strongmen)

Just in case you can’t picture Mesa Verde, here’s a more traditional shot of Cliff Palace, with Frances behind the lens this time!

Day 6

We started today with a visit to Shiprock, basically a big lump of rock jutting up out of the plain. This is sacred to the Navajo, and can look very dramatic in the right light, but was a bit boring in the mid-morning light we found. However, I was very impressed by the long “blade” of rock which leads up to it from the South, which must be two miles long and only a few feet thick.

After that we set off for one of the highlights of the trip – Mesa Verde National Park. This is where the Puebloan Indians built dramatic villages into rock alcoves on the cliff sides of the mesas. Very inspiring, and stunning photography, particularly with the sun setting on Cliff Palace.

First Prime Rib of the trip, at the diner next to the hotel in Durango.

Photography 9/10
Food 9/10
Large animal count 8 (2 wild horses, 2×3 deer)

Day 7

Not much to write about, but very much the photographic core of the trip. We spent the day in Mesa Verde, exploring all the sites. In the evening we went into the historic centre of Durango (absolutely heaving!) and had a very good meal.

Photography 8/10
Food 9/10

Day 5

We had an early start today – up at 5.30 and a 50 mile drive to get to the “Bisti Badlands” for dawn. This was initially a bit disappointing, but then we bit the bullet and followed Martres’ 2 mile hike route into the centre. This was absolutely the right decision – the rock formations are stunning. Frances was rather worried about getting lost and our bleached skeletons only being discovered in years to come, despite leaving an SOS note in the car, and tracking on multiple GPSs. However after being accosted by both German and Japanese tourists following the same route she relaxed a bit!

After a lazy afternoon at the hotel, we decided to try another of Martres’ recommendations for the end of the day, and spent golden hour at Angel Peak, which is just a few miles from Broomfield. This proved to be yet more photographic gold, with dramatic Badlands lit by the fading sun, and then a sunset which turned the sky crimson above them.

Food at Broomfield’s sole diner OK, but a constant battle to spot and reject the enforced carbs! I am not prepared to publish Frances’ description of the guacamole – suffice to say it was inedible.

One delightful highlight – being treated like royalty by the young teller at Broomfield’s Wells Fargo bank, and for her reward, she just wanted us to say “cheerio”!

Photography 10/10
Food 6/10
Animal count 4 (rabbits)

Day 4

We moved North West from Albuquerque, via the Jemez Mountain Trail, a very pretty mountain road providing an excellent alternative to just sitting on a very boring dual carriageway. As usual, Laurent Martes’ recommendations of what to photograph are spot on. The Jemez Monument and Soda Dam were the real gold mines, but I also got some very nice shots of “fall color” on the perfectly serviceable dirt road down to Cuba.

Hospitality was very variable. The Jemez Indians don’t make visitors at all welcome in the Jemez Pueblo area, and most of the cafés on the route appear to be closed on a Wednesday. The local winery was much more inviting, although all we really wanted was coffee. We did manage a few sips, but there’s a limit to how much red wine we can drink before 10am! We finished the day in Bloomfield which has a decent hotel, but only one diner, which is very much “fries with everything”.

Photography 7/10
Food 3/10
Hospitality patchy

… And here she is, now in her new home. “Spirit Maiden”, by the New Mexico sculptor Greg Gowen. This guy really does amazing things with a few bits of copper!