Original plan was day trips around Tres Ritos, but we found the day trips selected were lengthy and hard on the little car, so night 2 in Tres Ritos became abandoned.
Departing Tres Ritos, we struck camp, ate a little breakfast, played some catch, and got on the road.
From there, we wanted to see BSA Camp Tres Ritos (this was Boy Scout Camp Plan B that was canceled due to drought and fires). It was HARD to find. Absolutely ZERO signs. Samuel had been there before, but couldn't remember the turn-off. Again, no signal in the mountains so no Google maps.
We found it. It's a beautiful location. I can see why Samuel enjoyed it Summer 2015.
Next, possible day trips to Taos and Red River...but we hit the NM State Fish Hatchery. It was open, but not by much. Still, a pretty good time.
Taos was pretty to drive through. Not much to offer two guys who aren't much into SW art or Indian culture. We took the quick drive to UNESCO site Taos Pueblo, took a quick peek, and drove on.
Next stop was Red River. I'll be unpopular for writing this, but other than the surrounding beauty - which was awesome - I didn't really 'get' Red River. It seemed to be that a 1.5 mile stretch of Highway 76 in Branson, MO had been cut and pasted into NE New Mexico. There's only so much $11 hamburgers and $25 per pound fudge I can stand. Plus, there were no grocery stores, no gas stations, and no place for a kid to use the restroom. After standing in line unsuccessfully for 8-10 minutes for an overpriced hamburger, we stepped out, ate a PB&J, and discussed our options in a driving rainstorm.
Drove on to Eagle Nest for a leg stretch, fuel, data signal, and bathroom. Tried to get a tentsite in Trinidad State Park in Colorado, but 3 minutes of legal disclaimers with a litany of ifs, ands, and buts, was too much for me. Colorado State Parks (not the Federal side) makes it FARRRRR too hard to rent a 15X15 ft patch of ground to pitch a tent for one night. It shouldn't need the assistance of a tax accountant to do that. Grrrr.
And yet, Colorado State Parks administrative deficiencies serendipitously led us to a hidden gem outside Raton, NM. Introducing Sugarite Canyon State Park. Straight. Simple. Sold. (borrowed from purplewave.com).
It's an abandoned mining community. Ruins of the coal mining camp. Well marked trails. Easy peasy camp site reservation. Water. Utilities. And Georgie - the senior citizen woman at the Visitor's Center who made the trip quite wonderful. Thanks Georgie!!!
We ended up getting rained on our first two nights. On to Colorful Colorado.
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