Exploring Tent Rocks in New Mexico

As an avid lover of the outdoors, when I learned we were going to New Mexico, I naturally started researching beautiful hikes. One of the first places I came across was the Tent Rocks! They are one of the most beautiful natural geologic formations in the world! Just look how pretty and unique!

Those "balls" on top of the pillars are actually rock! They formed naturally! How cool!

The hike consisted of narrow pathways between GORGEOUS rock walls. It was a curvy, winding path with plenty of big step-ups. We even saw a few snakes which I wasn't overly thrilled about. 

This was my favorite part. In order to get up to the top and check out the spectacular views, we had to do some serious scrambling. The path is generally pretty tame, but man oh man was the last part steep. It was pretty much straight up, and even had handholds you needed to use to get up. The end result was very few other tourists up top. Challenging, but so worth it!

How beautiful!

If you are ever considering adventuring around New Mexico, I highly recommend checking out Tent Rocks! I would love to help you coordinate your trip! Check out my website at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Hiking Necessities

I'm a huge fan of the outdoors, so naturally I jump at the chance to go hiking anytime I can! Besides going on plenty of local hikes, I've gone for a hike in New Mexico and an extreme hike (coasteering) in Portugal. Coming up? The Grand Canyon! We are planning to go hiking just about every day. We are quite excited! That said, it's so incredibly important that you are well prepared for your trek. Here are some items I recommend bringing with you on your day hike!

Here we are hiking La Luz Trail in New Mexico! I'm in the middle wearing orange and rocking that knee brace. Note the tall socks, long-sleeve sun-shirt and hat. #Prepared

Safety Equipment

Even if you are going on a small day hike, you should be ready for an emergency. I personally like the bring things like: waterproof matches, some rope (I have a paracord bracelet), emergency blanket, first aid kit and a whistle. That way should I fall or get hurt, I would have what I need to survive a night or two in the wilderness. Obviously, I hope to never need any of these items, but I can hike with a relaxed mind knowing I've taken the necessary precautions.

Of course, you should also carry your cell phone, but unfortunately, that's not fool proof. Phone batteries often die when you are out in the wilderness (thank you, roaming). That being said, you can opt to bring an external battery to recharge as needed. I also highly recommend bringing a paper map - don't really solely on your phone for navigation!


Protective Gear

Regardless of your skin complexion, you need to protect yourself from the sun! Skin cancer doesn't discriminate! That being said, I recommend wearing sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, a long-sleeved sun-resistant hiking shirt and tall socks. Bug spray will also make your hike a little more comfortable. And don't forget to re-apply your sun screen!

If your neck is prone to burning, I recommend flipping your collar up, tying a bandana around your neck, or investing in a buff. A buff is a stretch tube of sun-protectant fabric that can be worn in a  zillion different ways. I tend to wear mine as a headband or as a neck/ear protector. Don't forget that bandanas make great multi-purpose items! You can bandage a wound, wipe down your gear, use it as a sweat rag etc. Always a good thing to have nearby!



More Food and Water Than You Think You Need

This seems obvious, but I can't stress it enough! Bring more food and water than you think you need. Do not skimp! What if you get lost? Or the water source is dry? Don't set yourself up for a bad situation - come prepared. Regardless of the length or duration of your hike, you need to treat nature with respect.

If you'd like some help planning your next big trek, I'd love to help. Visit my website at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Hiking the La Luz Trail - Albuquerque, NM

Now that we are back from Portugal, we've already started brainstorming ideas for our next trip. We are tentatively thinking about hiking the Grand Canyon which got me reminiscing about our hiking trip to New Mexico in 2015. It was gorgeous, and I don't think I properly shared photos from that, so here we go!

Our biggest hike was La Luz, which is a trail that goes up the side of Sandia Mountain. I believe it's roughly 8 miles, but it does go up a mountain so leave yourself plenty of time!  That elevation change will get ya. We took our time and enjoyed the views, so it wound up taking us about 10 hours.

But look at the views! So beautiful!

And here's a shot of the triumphant gang at the top of the mountain. Go team! If you're in New Mexico, an outdoor enthusiast and up for adventure, I highly recommend this hike! 

Santa Fe Round Up

Santa Fe was nothing short of amazing. We were a little scared it was going to rain so we squeezed both hiking destinations into one day. It turned out to be a lot more than we bargained for, but we definitely had fun and aren't even too horrendously sore.

Stop one was Bandelier National Park! It was truly beautiful and we had an absolute blast. Though the signage was horrendous (we wound up trying to figure out where to park and where to pay for parking for something like 20 minutes, but we got there eventually!) Once we got started we got to witness some pretty beautiful views. We got to climb straight up the side of a canyon using these crazy ladders and super narrow trails. It was a little scary, but really, really cool. We got to see how people lived hundreds of years ago.

Then we even decided to tackle the water fall trail. Due to construction (which we had no idea was gonig to be in our way) it took us an extra mile to even reach the trail head turning a 3 mile hike into a 5 mile hike. Yeesh! It was totally worth it though. The trail was very different than the others, it felt less traveled and more like you were actually in the wild.

We were meant to grab lunch in between hiking destinations, but Arby's betrayed us! Again, terrible signage got the better of us. We failed to locate said Arby's and mistakenly assumed another fast food establishment would pop up along the freeway before we reached the Tent Rocks. WRONG. We wound up eating trail mix for lunch (not ideal) and arrived a little tired, but excited. Tent rocks are these interesting  rock formations where a harder rock is sitting on top of softer rocks that have worn away so it looks like a boulder sitting on top of a small pillar. That hike was intense! It started off not too bad, the whole thing was only 3.2 miles, but man! A chunk of it was straight up. We had to climb over boulders and make our way through narrow passages, but the view from the top was spectacular. You could see for miles and miles. It was exhilarating! The drop off was literally right next to the trail. Talk about a rush! No worries, we made it back down safely.

We finished out the trail with only the occasional snake sighting (NO THANK YOU) and made our way back to town. We definitely stopped and ate a HUGE meaal at... Arby's. No shame. We had earned it!


The next day was our museum day! We essentially spent the day looking at Folk Art, History and an old beautiful church called San Miguel. The museums were very interesting and we had a great time! It was nice to sit down and admire the galleries (we were definitely tired from yesterday's hike!). I even bought a beautiful turquoise ring made by a Native American. I actually got to meet the artist and it was just a great experience. We finished out the day at a restaurant recommended to us by Schuyler's sister. It was called Santa Fe Bite and the burgers were delicious! We called it a night and were asleep by 9pm. Bliss.

Today we departed Santa Fe and took the quick route back to Albuquerque. We bopped around Old Town, had lunch at a local favorite (and had us a lunch time adult beverage because vacation), and did a little bit of light shopping. I found a New Mexican book store and bought a little souveneir. Surprise, surprise I bought a book.

We then headed over to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History and took a look around. It was intense, sad, scary and fascinating all at the same time. It was pretty incredible to get a look at what we, as a race, are capable of.

Then we headed to meet up with Schuyler's family and get the guys fitted for their tuxes so we are all ready for the wedding! We went out to a Thai restaurant and are now relaxing at the house we are staying at.

Tomorrow we are taking on our big hike! La Luz Trail is around 8 miles, uphill. Let's do this!!

Malena

Raleigh to Dallas to Albuquerque to Santa Fe All in One Day

This week is a very exciting week for Schuyler and I. We are taking a week long vacation in New Mexico before finishing out the week celebrating his sister's wedding. We left home this morning at 3:30am to catch our early morning flight to Dallas. After a brief and uneventful layover (my favorite kind of layover) we were on our way to New Mexico!

Upon arrival we picked out our rental car (which I can totally drive now #RealGrownUp) and headed to meet up with Schuyler's sister and her soon-to-be-husband for a nice lunch. They gave us some tips and what to see and then we were on our way! We decided to take the scenic route from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, AKA the turquoise trail. We kicked off our mini road trip on route 66! We even got to go over the singing highway which was cool, but not quite as big as we thought it would be. We ran over the rumble strips and heard America The Beautiful, so that was neat.

We made a few pit stops along the way, but stopped to walk around properly in a little town called Madrid. No, not that one. This one is actually pronounced Mah-dread. It drives me nuts, I'm not going to lie. The emphasis goes on the first syllable.
Anyway, moving past the pronunciation, the town was super hippie and artsy. There was a store with a zebra on the roof that sold a 4 stringed instrument made from a cake pan cut and shaped to look like a moon (definitely almost bought it). It was phenomenal. I picked up a little $1 knick knack box as a momento. Oh and we definitely got to witness a random customer talk about how he played the saw. Yes, the saw. He convinced the shop keeper to lend him her saw and did a demonstration right there in the middle of the tiny shop. An awesome experience.

We also had some fun looking at all the funky jewelry and I even bought a pair of really pretty earrings! After a quick perusal of a chocolate shop with unique flavors (and the owner was rocking a raven's jersey and had articles from the Baltimore Sun on the wall!) we were off towards Santa Fe! We made a few stops at scenic pull offs to enjoy the view before arriving at our  hotel.

We basically then just planned out our day tomorrow because it's supposed to rain on Tuesday which messes up our hiking plans. Let's just say tomorrow is going to be intense. I. Can't. Wait.

I'll keep you posted as I can!

Malena