Cedar Crest Stables - Cibola National Forest, New Mexico

 

Staying at the Cedar Crest Stables adjacent to the Cibola National Forest, about 30 miles north of Albuquerque.

There is enough room to turn the trailer around and back into a spot next to the guest cottage.

This allows us to access electric and water as well as wifi. The wifi is outstanding.

No sewer, but we are only here for a few days.

Our horses were due for a trim, so Donald, the owner, arranged for a local farrier to come out. He did a light trim on both horses - $45/each. The farrier says since we are riding them so much we can go four to five months between farrier visits. Before our trip, the farrier was coming out every eight weeks.

The horses are sharing a large pasture (not very much grass) with some shade trees and really happy about it. They like chatting up the horses in the pasture next to them.

There's a nice sitting area with a pergola behind the guest cottage.

also a large fire ring - you could cook an entire pig in that pit

Views from the trails were fabulous. 

The trails are right out from the campsite, so we are quite happy. The trails are easy and well marked. Rode both horses barefoot and they did just fine.

We used Gaia to keep track of where we were. We rode about 90 minutes, which is plenty as I am having to get back in shape. My horse was totally fine.

We will do another ride tomorrow and then we head to Santa Fe.

Spur Stables - Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

The horses are in a really nice shared pen connected to a barn, so they have some cover. This is good, because it decided to rain on the second day of our stay.

We are currently at Spur Stables, a little south of Albuquerque.

We have full hook-up for our trailer in a back-in site. 

We are the only ones here. This is a really nice place for a layover.

We are big fans of Albuquerque. I spent a couple of years commuting here once a month while working on a project with Sandia Labs.

There are trails you can access from the stables. Ari took Lennox on a solo ride. They rode next to the Rio Grande.

It's an easy flat trail.

Tuesday Ari went to a local dentist for a cleaning. He was sure he had a cavity, but it turned out to just be a small pocket under one of his teeth that needed to be cleaned out. He was really glad he went to the dentist and he was really impressed with the dental office.

Wednesday morning I went to see a podiatrist for my final set of x-rays to verify that my broken bone was healed. The x-rays looked good. The doctor said I would probably have some pain and swelling at least for another couple of months, but I could resume my normal activities.

So, after the podiatrist visit, we headed to Old Town Albuquerque, hoping to have a nice lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in the area. Unfortunately, COVID had shuttered the restaurant and about half the shops were closed as well.

We did walk through the sculpture garden by the Albuquerque Art Museum. They were hosting a Frida Kahlo exhibit, but they were completely sold out. I was a bit disappointed, but then I recalled we had seen a Frida Kahlo exhibit in Mexico City about 30 years ago, so I couldn't feel too let down.

Prayer

Cervantes

Julia

Heads

Bird bath in Old Town

My Pixel cell phone is not operating properly - battery issues due to age. I ordered a replacement cell phone and it is due to arrive Wednesday evening.

I hope to pick it up tonight or tomorrow morning and then we head off to our next place.

Kiva RV Park - Bernardo, New Mexico

 

On the way to our next stop, we took a break at this food truck along the side of the highway in Carrizoso, New Mexico. Ari got their BBQ brisket burrito. I got their BBQ chicken sandwich and a side of potato salad. I had told Ari I would share the potato salad with him, but it was so good I ate the entire thing and he didn't get a single bite.

We are now at the Kiva RV Park south of Albuquerque. 

The horses have a huge pen with shelter - plenty of space to move around.

We have a nice site - no fire ring or picnic table, but FULL hook-up, the best internet WIFI we have experienced in a long time, and a laundry room. Also the staff here is super kind.

While Ari took Lennox out on the trails, we gave pony rides to some of the kids in the campground.

There is BLM land right behind the campground, so plenty of riding for Ari.

My foot has not recovered from the one hour ride I did a couple of days ago, so I am staying out of the saddle for now.

 

The Art of the Trailer

 I love seeing how other people have decorated their trailers. It gives me great ideas. A lot of people will put murals, tin ceilings, etc. Ari and I tend to prefer a minimalist environment. We have learned that possessions make noise - look at me, take care of me, dust me.

So, while we have added some art to the trailer, it has been very specific and intentional.

This tile features Carol Grigg's First Nation series artwork - a woman on a horse. I am a big fan of Grigg's work. I purchased the tile at the antique shop at Gillespie Ranch. She was only asking $15 for the piece. On eBay, a similar tile is going for $45. She has another tile in the shop - so if you are also a fan, you should buy it before someone else gets it. 

I hung it in our bathroom by the sink. Ari drilled a screw into the wall to secure the tile and I added some gorilla tape for extra security.

I purchased this print at an art gallery in Jackson, Wyoming. I then took it  to Michael's and had it professionally framed. I paid $45 for the print and another $100 for the frame and matting. The art gallery was asking $150 for the print framed, so I probably should have just purchased the framed artwork.

I purchased this large oversized card at a gift shop in Mesilla, New Mexico when we were staying at the Lazy Sue Ranch. The card cost $5. I paid $4 for the frame at Walmart and used gorilla tape to mount it to the cabinet. So, the entire thing was under $10.

The lesson is you don't have to pay a whole ton of money to decorate a trailer.  If you choose carefully and wisely, you can add personality to your trailer without blowing your budget.

Cave Campground - Lincoln, New Mexico

 

Cave Campground is a dispersed campground - meaning you can stay for free. There is a vault toilet, picnic tables, fire rings, and shade areas, but no water, electricity, or sewer. 

Ari's cell phone works here, so we are hot-spotting off his phone.

I couldn't wait any longer, I decided to get in the saddle and ride.

We saw a wild antelope in the distance on the ride - this is as close as we got.

The trails are fairly extensive and pretty easy to ride. There is a river we rode through, so if we were desperate for water, we could pump some water from the river for the horses, but we leave tomorrow, so we should be OK for the duration of our stay.

Snow at the Lincoln National Forest Gillespie Ranch

We experienced a light snow both Saturday and Sunday at the campground. Ari was able to ride in the snow as it was more of a dusting than anything. Just pretty.

 

Lincoln National Forest - Gillespie Ranch -New Mexico

 

The morning of our departure a flock of white herons visited the pasture where Lennox and Mercutio were.

It was really beautiful.

The truck route to Gillespie Ranch was a five and a half hour drive through Roswell detour, so we called the ranch and they reassured us the direct route Google maps gave us was just fine and two hours shorter. 

You are on highway up until you turn on Carr Gap Canyon Road. The next six miles are gravel and dirt road. 

When you reach Gillespie Ranch, you are on dirt and rock road which is very rough, but doable.

All the campsites are back-in. Full hook-up - hurrah! 

I do not recommend for trailers more than 40'.

There is room for easily a dozen trailers. We are the only horse campers, but the place is filled with hunters hoping to shoot turkey. They are all dressed in camo. I see wild turkeys all the time and I don't think the camo is really needed to hunt turkeys.

The owner has a small antique store where you can access wi-fi. There is a single park bench to sit on to try to use the wi-fi. It is super slow and not that usable. There is no cell service.

So, consider this place no wi-fi unless you have your own satellite service. We use Winegard in places like this.

The antique store is stuffed with odds and ends, curios and whatnots. Well worth a stroll through.

This weekend light snow is expected. It is not enough to prevent Ari from riding, but it is pretty.

Trails are mostly old logging and hunting tracks.