The Final Push: Sky Islands and Red Chiles
Crossing the Border
The “spooky” BLM land of the previous night transformed in the morning light, revealing a stunning valley floor ringed by Arizona’s sky island mountain ranges. We hit the road early, crossing into New Mexico and making a mandatory pilgrimage to Hatch. We fueled up for the drive with world-famous green chile burritos and red tamales at a local mom-and-pop spot, B&E Burritos.
The Home Stretch
After a grocery haul in Albuquerque to restock our depleted pantry, we faced a final decision: one last night at a remote hot spring in the northern mountains, or the final push home. Though the springs were tempting, the allure of our own woodstove and the cat in Crestone won out. We traded the cold van night for the homeward trek, stopping one last time in Española for pork adovada and carne guisada burritos.
Back in the San Luis Valley
As dusk fell, we crossed into the San Luis Valley. The final leg of the journey flew by, and before we knew it, we were pulling into our driveway. It has been an incredible, sprawling journey, but we have a few things to get done before out February ski trip with Josh and Monika, and it feels right to be back in the comforts of home to close out this first chapter of our year off.
