Mud-on-the-tires Full-time RV Adventure: NM -- Red River, 20-27 May 2016

One week in Red River, New Mexico…
Why we came…
To explore more of scenic northern New Mexico and check out a town on our “Potential Places to Live” list.

We liked Red River!

The campground…
Road Runner RV Resort was really nice! It’s big, with 120 campsites, and about two dozen well cared for mobile homes spread across 23 acres. It truly is a “resort” offering things like basketball, tennis, a putting green, and fishing. The Red River flows through the campground and is stocked regularly with trout. The campsites vary from open pull-throughs, to back-ins next to the river, to big private sites tucked under tall trees. There is even an adult only section that we requested and liked.
The campground was nearly empty during our stay. However, it’s mostly full and busy from Memorial Day weekend until roughly Labor Day weekend. Most of the visitors are from Texas and Oklahoma and many of them set up for lengthy stays. Most of the mobile homes were vacation get-aways proudly displaying Texas flags.
We had site 204 which was a huge back-in site tucked under tall trees. The site would have been perfect, but there was a popular ATV route about 50 feet from our back window. The noisy motorized toys were annoying at times. We had full hook-ups, decent wi-fi on our computer, but not our phones, and a decent Verizon data signal. We had a tough time getting satellite due to the trees, but made it work.
The campground has a good-sized staff and they do a great job maintaining everything. The bathroom and shower facilities were nice and clean. The laundry was actually just outside the campground entrance and open to the public. It had a good number of washers and dryers and were well maintained like everything else.
We really liked Road Runner RV Resort and the town of Red River and would eagerly return. Next time we’d request sites 220, 217, or 59.

Our site was in the adult section tucked under tall trees

There was a popular ATV route in our back yard / I caught 20 small stocked rainbow trout in about a half hour!

There are whimsical decorations spread throughout the campground

Nearby towns…
Red River NM, population 477 and elevation 8,671 feet, is a nice mountain town that we could consider home some day. It gets busy each summer as thousands of Texans and Oklahomans invade, but maintains its small mountain town charm the rest of the year.

Red River is a charming mountain town

The town is squeezed along the river valley

Taos NM, population 5,716 and elevation 6,969 feet, is the main supply and health center for the area. It’s a scenic 36 mile drive to the southwest.
Adventures…
On 21 May we did a loop hike through Red River and explored the upper valley…
Our campground was on the eastern edge of town. We got a quick glimpse of the Bavaria style community as we drove through and wanted to inspect it up close. So we set out on foot. It was an easy mile and a half into town.
The Red River 5K and half marathon were in progress. We walked far to the left as runners trotted by. Some still had a good strong pace, while others struggled.
We first stopped at an outdoors and fly-fishing shop. This is a mandatory stop when there is quality fishing nearby. We bought a few of the hot flies and swapped fishy stories. As we neared the middle of town, we heard the cheers and cow bells for the finishing runners.
In a few more blocks we were at the base of the Red River Ski Area. It is much more than just skiing. They have a bunch of summer activities as well. They offer scenic chair lift rides, mountain tubing, mountain top disc golf, the Pioneer Flyer, and Hidden Treasure Aerial Park, a cool obstacle course. Unfortunately, we were there between seasons. There were a few snow banks left but not enough to play in. I walked partly up a ski run to get a good view of town.
Finally, we walked two miles along the town’s Nature Trail, and back to the campground. The trail followed the south side of the Red River, occasionally climbing a bit. Most of the route was in the trees, but a few openings provided great views. We appreciated the informative signs, but many of them need repair. We knew we were in a good place at a good time to find morel mushrooms, so we kept our eyes glued to the ground, but struck out.
When we got home, Arleen checked a Colorado mycological web page. Someone reported that they had found morels at a similar elevation near Durango. What?!?! We quickly gathered our bags and knives and headed to a creek nearby.
After 20 minutes of poking around, we found our prize: a black morel. They are little works of art that blend perfectly with the ground cover. Arleen criss-crossed the small area several times. She looked at the ground at different angles, and each time she found a couple more. They are stealth little treasures! We rushed them home, sautéed ‘em up, and added them to a stir fry. Perfection!

Hike route into town and back on the Nature Trail / Taking a comfortable break

A fifty year old snow cat displayed at the base of the ski resort / Patchy snow lingers on the ski runs

There were informative signs along the Nature Trail, but most of them needed repairs. The rest of this sign said: “… The surrounding soil and rocks are volcanic ash and rock debris from the eruption that eroded from the crater walls and eventually filled the ancient crater lake.” / Most of the trail is in the woods, but a few openings provided nice views

We found some fresh morel mushrooms!

The Upper Valley, elevation around 9,000 feet, would be an incredible place to have a home

On 22 May we explored the northern part of the Enchanted Circle, hunted for morels, and had lunch with a high school friend…
The next morning we set out to meet my old high school friend, Kevin, in Angel Fire. On our way to the rendezvous spot, we would complete the Enchanted Circle drive.

The Enchanted Circle in northern New Mexico

Heading east from Red River, the road climbs immediately and switch-backs up to Bobcat Pass at 9,820 feet. Near the pass is a small wooded housing area, the Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Area, and a large snowmobile/ATV rental business. Then we began the decent into the wide open and very scenic Moreno Valley.
We were ahead of schedule so we took a left at Eagles Nest and descended into the Cimarron Valley. We chose to explore an ATV trail that was still gated for the season. It was a pleasant route along a small stream that looked promising for morels. Our quick morel treasure hunt paid off! We found five or six, but left them in the ground to be harvested after our big lunch in Angel Fire.
We had a very enjoyable lunch with Kevin. We told a few old stories, shared a few new ones, and laughed a bunch! I have a lot of respect for Kevin. We both enlisted in the military out of high school. He joined the Navy and I joined the Air Force. He did one tour and used the GI bill to earn a civil engineering degree. Now, there are major road projects throughout the southwest that he designed. He told us about a few with a proud twinkle in his eye. We even drove some of them! We parted with a promise to meet this fall. He admitted that he could use a few days of fishing and relaxation.
After lunch, we went back to collect the morels we had spotted earlier. We took our time and explored more thoroughly. It paid off…we found a few more! That night, they took our pizza to whole other level.

Eagle Nest Lake and the Sangre De Cristo Mountains

My good friend, Kevin, and I in Angel Fire NM

Tolby Creek in Cimarron Canyon State Park / We often find odd things while mushroom hunting. This is likely an elk skeleton.

We found a pound of fresh morels in Cimarron Canyon State Park and added them to our pizza…YUMMY!

On 23 May we hiked the Pioneer Trail…

The Pioneer Trail starts at the Red River Ski Area and climbs nearly 2,000 feet in 3.4 miles to 10,200 feet. The trail follows Pioneer Creek and is popular with mountain bikers and ATVs. Thankfully, a mile or two up the route, the trail splits. One branch continues for motorized vehicles and the other is for hikers. The route is an old road built by miners in the late 19th century. There are still remnants of some of the gold, silver, and copper mines that operated through the 1920s.

It was very pleasant during our hike. The road was a bit rocky, but the footing was easy. At times, we exited the trail and headed into the woods to search for morels. The terrain, vegetation, and conditions favored our tasty friends, but we didn’t find any. That’s alright. It was a beautiful day and we had a very pleasant foray.

Hike route along the Pioneer Trail

Cool mural at the base of the ski resort / The herd of deer bounded up the steep hill and disappeared in the woods

On 25 May Mallette Canyon and Sawmill Mountain Road…

We headed up Mallette Canyon and stopped in a couple of spots to hunt for morels. Just like along the Pioneer Trail, the terrain, vegetation, and conditions favored our tasty friends, but we didn’t find any. It was nice slowly walking through aspens and various pines. There was a lot of elk sign. Footprints, poop, and tree scrapes were everywhere!

There was plenty of time left in the day so we decided to explore Sawmill Mountain Road. The dirt road was in decent shape, but is one lane wide with an occasional pull-out. On-coming traffic makes me nervous on these routes, but thankfully, we had the road to ourselves!

Along the initial climb, there were some great views up the Red River Valley. The road wound its way around the backside of Sawmill Mountain and we lost view of the valley, but saw high mountains ahead. We crested at 10,300 feet. The lower Red River Valley, towards Questa, was over two thousand feet below us and the impressive Latir Peaks towered two thousand feet above us! Northern New Mexico has some spectacular scenery.

Drive route on Sawmill Mountain road

Views from the top of the Sawmill Mountain road, elevation 10,300 feet, of the Latir Peaks and lower Red River Valley towards Questa

View about half way up the Sawmill Mountain road

Next…
We spent a week near South Fork, CO and a week near Buena Vista, CO. We are currently near Westcliffe CO and will be here for a month. Then we will spend two weeks in Crested Butte CO, two weeks in Ouray CO, three weeks in Silverton CO, and five weeks near Pagosa Springs CO. It’s going to be a great summer!
Parting shots…
In addition to young leaves on Aspens, here are some spring flowers and vegetation we observed near morel patches at elevations ranging from 8,000 feet to 9,000 feet: