The boys and I cleared out to go camp in the Jemez, giving Karen a home-alone vacation.
Bodie was pushing for a Colorado trip, but we were a bit late getting out of town (not as easy getting everything ready by myself) so I opted for a local trip to the Jemez.
Although the Jemez mountains are just west of town, past experience has shown that one can drive for hours and hours—to end up in a spot just 20 miles in a straight line from our house (as the crow flies).
This trip was perfectly representative. We explored a new rough road, looking for new remote sites. It was bumpy, steep and muddy, and nowhere along the new stretch did I find a spot that lived up to my camping expectations.
About three hours in, we were sort of committed to passing straight through. We descended some steep rock steps that I wasn’t eager to try backtracking up. So we kept driving. Just a quarter mile away from meeting up with a good, previously-known-road (144) there was a tree across a steep section of the road. That took a little while to clear out, and then once we made it back to 144 we went to a spot that we’ve camped at multiple times before. It’s a great spot, but I admit to being a disappointed not to find anything new along 117. The boys had a great time in the car though. Thank goodness, because I think we drove at least 5 hours all told. Could have made it to a good spot in Colorado after all… That’s the Jemez for you!
