October 13, 2026
A year delayed thanks to the federal government shutdown in 2025, the grand New Mexico adventure was finally happening! With a summer and early fall of failed plans due to my shoulder injury and subsequent surgery, the reviving of the NM adventure was pretty “last minute,” with the idea coming into being in early September (maybe it was August?) when I realized I had a hotel reservation in Socorro the night before the Trinity Site open house. I skipped over to Lindsey’s office, and popped my head in with a “how do you feel about another adventure?!” Of course she agreed, and the plan was set into motion!
While the itinerary was similar to the 2025 plan, there would be some differences: we would be driving instead of flying and renting a car, and would visit some National Park Service units along I-25 instead of those further west on I-40. Nine NPS units would be covered (with eight being new ones for me), along with standing where the world’s first nuclear bomb was detonated, a major bucket list item of mine. Let’s commence the seven day trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park, Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Manhattan Project National Historic Park, Petroglyphs National Monument, White Sands National Park, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, Pecos National Historic Park, and Fort Union National Monument… with some extra stuff thrown in!
Lindsey and I hit the highway at 1pm in the remnants of Hurricane Rachel, which are not words I ever thought I’d write about Wyoming and Colorado… since when do we get hurricane leftovers?! I digress… luckily it was smooth sailing down I-25 to Denver, where we turned off the interstate onto US Highway 285 for a more scenic route down to our first stop, Great Sand Dunes National Park. I love love love this route, especially Kenosha Pass, South Park area, and once you drop into the Arkansas River Valley. The most expensive gas of the trip was obtained in Salida, along with having the most disgusting bathroom experience of the entire trip. “Be warned there’s no toilet paper…” I announced to the line outside the door. First time in a long time I’ve had to hold my breath and hover…
Day 1 of this adventure was mostly a transit day to get down closer to New Mexico, so light on the adventuring. Of course, that didn’t mean it was just all driving! We took the chance to pop into Crestone since we were so close. Crestone is a mountain town in Colorado that has a lot of lore behind it… spiritual centers, energy vortexes, a cult popularized by a recent documentary on HBO, UFOs, open air crematorium, and being a flat out good ol’ hippie town. Recently having read a book on the whole Mother God thing, I figure we needed to at least pop in and check things out, confer with the Galactics a bit, ascend to the 5D, and have some shenanigans. By now it was raining steadily, which added to the mystique. (No, I’m not really a follower of the beliefs of the cult of Mother God… all said in jest!)
With sunset and steady rain, we had a fifty mile drive to Great Sand Dunes National Park, our home for the night (specifically the park’s campground, Piñon Flats). This was Lindsey’s first visit overall, and my first camping within the park. Arriving in the dark, I kept swearing to Lindsey there was sand, but I’m not sure she believed me. We set up the tent quickly and managed to make a late dinner of turkey sandwiches before the rain started falling again. A chilly and damp night awaited us as we tucked into our sleeping bags for the first time on the trip. Yay, adventuring!
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