We're Back, Baby!

So, we left out an important item to note...Babbitt found a water damaged iPhone at the top of the mountain we hiked to near Santa Fe & had to bring it back to The Rig to see if he still had what it takes as a cell phone repair technician.  Lucky for us there was no way to contact the previous woner & with a little finesse the iPhone was restored.  Although Katie would have been content using her AAA books & other assorted literature to continue our trip, even she agreed  that this modern day convenience made exploring Coloardo Springs much easier!

King's Chef Diner
This tiny castle provided us with an outstanding Pepper Melt & Breakfast Buritto
with green chile, plus the BEST waitress, cook & dinning companions around

Three of the Seven Falls
We spent a good amount of time here & climbed quite a few steps to view this natural wonder

The O'Babbitt's taking a break & taking in the view while hiking to Inspiration Point
While at the Seven Falls we also hiked to Midnight Falls

Garden Of The Gods

The O'Babbitt's at the Balanced Rock in the Garden Of The Gods
While touring Colorado Springs it rained a number of times, but in the end it cleared
up enough for us to do a bit of trail running around these beautiful rock formations

The Rig driving past the Balanced Rock
Although our photos of the Balanced Rock are better, Katie's favorite formation was the Kissing Camels

IRONY!

While driving through Angel Fire & the mountains of New Mexico we got into quite the heated debate about how much actual camping we've done since January (pretty sure most readers can decide who thinks there should be more camping and who think there should be less camping). In the end, we cut our losses and drove straight to a Wal*Mart in Trinidad, Colorado, where an RV owner took it to the next level & played Frisbee in the parking lot with his dog!  The next day is when tragedy struck & Babbitt's beloved Nexus 4 was cracked beyond repair on the streets of Pueblo, Colorado.

Last photo taken on the Nexus 4 of Babbitt in an old timey phone booth in Pueblo, CO
We also checked out the Riverwalk & Wild Wild West Festival before heading to try a Slopper

While looking up directions to Gray's Coors Tavern,
Babbitt's phone slipped right out of his hands & cracked on the sidewalk
Ironically this is the first time the former Cell Phone Repair Shop owner has broken a phone beyond repair

Gray's Coors Tavern - Home of the Slopper
Although we weren't sure how we would navigate the rest of our trip or research
anything without the Nexus...we couldn't resist stopping here to try their Slopper,
which is an open faced cheeseburger smothered in green chile, onions & french fries

WINNING!

The next couple of days included more gambling at a number of fine establishments, resorting & sightseeing as we made our way through New Mexico!  We also had our first off roading experience, when Babbitt took The Rig & Katie on a road much more suited for four wheel drive vehicles & donkeys pulling wagons.

The Buffalo Thunder Casino Pool
Even though this casino lacked much Free Play, we were still able to relax
at this resort pool, while viewing beautiful artwork throughout the casino

New Mexico's own...Blake's Lotaburger
Babbitt wanted to reward himself with a burger after breaking even on
the house money at the Santa Claran Casino & Katie couldn't resist the name

The O'Babbitt's at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
After more gambling at the Ohkay Casino & an extremely bumpy ride up the side of a
mountain we were able to breath a sigh of relief while taking in the spectacular views

View from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge

Michael's Kitchen in Taos, New Mexico
Our new friends at Bobcat Bite recommended this delicious restaurant
& the green chile was top notch

Katie biting into a giant fruit filled cinnamon roll at Michael's Kitchen
After this lunch, we had to walk off what we could at the Taos Historic Square

The Taos Pueblo
We were going to tour this village, but opted out when we learned it
cost $20 to get in & checked out their casino instead

"I just wanted to shout it from the top of a mountain."

In an attempt to not backtrack & save gas we arrived to lunch at the original Bobcat Bite one hour before they opened.  So, to waste time we jogged along the highway, which is apparently what people who don't have DVR do!  We then dined with complete strangers on delicious food & made our way to Santa Fe National Forest for a 12-mile+ hike.  Afterwards we could think of no better way to reward ourselves then with margaritas and a little Free Play gambling at a couple of casinos on our way North!

Bobcat Bite: Home of the self-proclaimed best green chile cheeseburger
We would have had to wait 45 minutes for a table, because we didn't understand the
waiting process, but a lovely couple offered to share their four top & interesting conversation with us

The O'Babbitt's about half way up the Aspen Vista Trail to Tesuque Peak

One of the many outstanding views we saw
Babbitt assured Katie that it would take an hour and half to hike to the top,
but it took closer to three hours to hike to the top

The ski lift on top of the mountain during the off-season
Luckily the views made up for the trek & the extra time

Tesuque Village Market
We are pretty sure locals are charged lower prices for their tasty margaritas &
because of the altitude it was almost as if Katie had 5 or 6 glasses instead of just 1

The Santa Fe Trail

It's official...the O'Babbitt's are green chili obsessed and our trip across America has now become a quest to find the tastiest green chilies in the world.  So, we had no other choice than to start our first day in Santa Fe at The Pantry, which was voted the #1 Breakfast Restaurant in Santa Fe, only to be let down.  We then had a bit of a tiff regarding parking that didn't last too long, walked through Canyon Road, saw the site of a miracle & ended up at The Shed for dinner & more green chilies.

Breakfast at The Pantry
Although the best presentation so far...the food was just not as tasty as Nopalito or The Pepper Pot

The historic Canyon Road was a lovely place to take a stroll &
look at art much too large for our Rig & way out of our price range

The Loretto Chapel has been turned into a museum, to preserve the Miraculous Stairway
It seems the carpenter who built this staircase is unknown, the wood used would never have been able
to be shipped to Santa Fe in the 1800s & the physics of the actual construction still baffle some

The Miraculous Stairway
Katie believed in the miracle right away, while Babbitt is still skeptical

The Shed
We were told that this restaurant was voted the #1 Mexican Restaurant

Katie sipping on a frozen margarita while waiting for our table
Our favorites were the margaritas & the garlic bread

Albu-Quirky!

We were thrown a few curve balls while in Albuquerque!  The first being that we were not feeling 100% after our escapades at the Hard Rock Casino & the only cure we could think of was to have lunch at the Frontier Restaurant.  We then made our way to the next casino on our list...Sandia, but while driving there, our Rig was struck with a rock that cracked the windshield (no need to worry though, our insurance covered the repair.)  Lastly, the casino enticed us in a number of ways; they had an incredible resort pool that no one seemed to be monitoring, Free Play, unlimited soda & a buffet that kept calling Babbitt's name!

Katie at the Frontier Restaurant near the University Of New Mexico
This fast food version of New Mex did not disappoint &
the all you can eat red chili was quite the hangover cure

View of the golf course & mountains from the Sandia Pool
Katie couldn't get enough of the resort life, so we snuck into this pool two days in a row

Sandia couldn't have been more welcoming to the O'Babbitt's & our Rig
However, after enjoying the buffet here, Katie has requested a break from all
buffets until we hit Las Vegas...we never feel well afterwards

A reminder of our sweet pooch Murphy in Old Town Albuquerque
We were also hoping to take a hot air balloon ride & the Sandia Peak Tramway,
but our timing didn't work out & we struck out on both accounts

Guess We Got The Consequences...

After living in the Rig for quite sometime, we decided that we needed a break from our quaint home & made online reservations at the Blackstone Hotspring Lodge in Truth & Consequences, New Mexico.  While driving there we made a pit stop in Hatch, New Mexico for an outstanding meal & thought the day could only get better.  Boy, were we off base!  Because of a glitch in Blackstone's computer system, our room had been booked for the wrong day.  The new receptionist told us that we could cancel the reservation if we let her know in an hour, but when Babbitt went back 5 minutes later to cancel...things really escalated.  The receptionist claimed that she never told us we could get a refund & then the manager showed up with a woman, who kept screaming, "You need to leave!"  In the end, they refused to give us a refund, cussed Babbitt out & called the cops.  Leaving us no other choice than to speed out of town to try our luck at the slot machines.  This has been by far the weirdest incident to occur so far & we are hoping it's the last!

We knew Hatch, New Mexico was the town for us when this giant man
holding a tiny RV welcomed us off the highway

The Pepper Pot Restaurant
We split more delicious New Mex here, but if we could go back,
we would have each ordered two meals...it was that good

Delicious Hatch Red Chilies
Had we known Hatch is the Chile Capital Of The World, we would
have stayed here a bit longer & forgotten all about the Blackstone Hotsprings

The Hard Rock Casino Albuquerque
The casino gave us $50 in Free Play, unlimited soda & a safe place to spend the night

Katie enjoying the relaxing Hard Rock pool before winning big
Our strategy was to play $5 on the slots,  go out to the Rig for some adult beverages
& do it all over again...this was the perfect place to hide from the cops

"Since when does Grandma go to the dunes?"

Babbitt recently read that the White Sands National Monument is thought to be better than the Grand Canyon by some, that guests can sled down the dunes in cardboard boxes & that any time is a good time to visit...unless it is raining.  After seeing the White Sands in person, we'd like to clear a few things up & make some comments.  a.) While beautiful, the mounds of sand are no Grand Canyon.  b.) Cardboard boxes are NOT sufficient substitutes for plastic sleds...sadly we found this out the hard way.  c.) Apparently it never rains in New Mexico, however luck would have it that it rained nonstop the day before & we also got to see a short downpour while leaving the dunes.

View of the gypsum dunes from our first turn off
Gypsum is rarely found as sand because it is soluble in water...this is what makes these dunes so special

Babbitt looking for the rare bleached earless lizard...it's light blue in color
We learned that many animals living here have adapted over the years to survive in this unusual habitat

Babbitt throwing away our useless cardboard boxes...generously donated by Sam's Club
An extremely lovely family took pity on us when they saw how much we were struggling
with our boxes & lent us their sleds for a bit

The O'Babbitt's on top of a mound
They also had hiking trails, but we decided to skip those, due to the impending storm mixed
with the fact that Babbitt just didn't get it & made our way to Las Cruces instead

View from the Rio Grande Winery in Las Cruces
Although the view is spectacular, we wouldn't recommend going out of your way for this winery

Babbitt outside of the AMARO Winery after some wine tasting
This winery & the staff were much more our style

The not to be missed Nopalito Restaurant!!!!
This restaurant introduced the O'Babbitt's to their new favorite food...
New Mexico's Christmas Chile, which is a mixture of both red & green chile

Only YOU Can Prevent Wildfires

We did not think it would take us very long to reach to the White Sands Monument on the next leg of our trip, but we were dead wrong!  While driving through the Lincoln National Forest, we made so many road side stops that we didn't make it anywhere close to our destination until well into the evening.

The O'Babbitt's with Smokey The Bear
The mountain range in the distance is where the real life cub was found after the Captain Gap Fire
in 1950...originally named Hotfoot, this brave little orphan was the fire's only survivor

We also stopped at Smokey Bear Historical Park
The mascot of the United States Forest Service lived to be 26 years old & is buried here

We stopped & cooked a homemade lunch of soup & baked potatoes
with this beautiful view in the background

We had to stop when we saw the World's Largest Pistachio
McGinn's Pistachio Tree Ranch & Arena Blanca Winery had tons of samples & savory wine tastings

Take Me To Your Leader

We're pretty sure that most tourists in Carlsbad, New Mexico concentrate on spelunking, because we couldn't find much else to do there!  However, Babbitt did find the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park and after some animal watching we made the short drive to Roswell in hopes of an encounter of the third kind.

Babbitt at the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park
The O'Babbitt's disagree on the quality of this zoo, but at least there were
prairie dogs, buffalo, roadrunners, rattlesnakes & a sweet mountain lion named, Leon

Babbitt with a giant bat head at the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park

The UFO Museum
We learned quite a bit about the Roswell Incident, but if anything,
the museum left us with more questions than answers

Katie representing Indianapolis at the UFO Museum

The O'Babbitt's hanging with aliens at the UFO Museum

Katie eager to spot an alien at the UFO Museum
She is now torn between, which conspiracy she cares about more...Roswell or JFK

Roswell Wal*Mart
Katie insisted on spending the night in Roswell in case the aliens were waiting
to descend until nightfall...although we weren't probed, we still had a great time