Greetings,

During the past few weeks we have played "tourist" with friends and explored some beautiful parts of our state. We headed northwest and explored  back roads in the Jemez Mountains Trail, we visited the Ponderosa Winery,  saw a number of creatures who call the forest and meadows their home,  and picnicked  in the shade of huge ponderosa pines. Next we went southeast  of Albuquerque to Fourth of July Canyon and the ruins of the Salinas Pueblo Missions in the Manzano Mountains. Another day we headed west towards Grants and explored El Malpais National Monument including the lava beds, the Sandstone Bluffs  and a natural stone arch.  Our final jaunt took us north to Ghost Ranch made famous by Georgia O'Keefe(did you know it is rated as one of the top ten dinosaur fossil beds in the world?). We  took an easy hike into Box Canyon, had a picnic and then drove to Echo Amphitheatre. A special thanks to our friend Dan Widener for acting as our "official photographer" and capturing great snapshots of our travels and around the Turtle.  

Throughout all of our trips, we were in awe of the changing and magnificent  landscapes!!  It was really fun to take these day trips - all within an easy drive from the Turtle. For more ideas about day trips, click on Chocolate Turtle Daytrips  

Happy exploring,

Nancy & Dallas