The Sixth Week - Day Thirty-Two: Santa Fe Nights + KOA Lulling = New Mexico Sleep
7/11/11:
After being ripped from the warm belly of my bed in the cruel predawn hours, I settled into my folks’ car for a six-hour drive to Santa Fe. This was to be my first foray into New Mexico, the dwelling place of my Grinnell roommate, Eleanor. We barreled forward across state lines as I lapsed in and out of waking, foggily admiring the beauty of the chameleon landscape as it changed before me.
We broke through into Santa Fe, greeted by the Sangre de Cristo mountain range and steadily rising temperatures. Skirting the city, we shot past to our campsite, Villanueva. The ambling drive to Villanueva was beautiful but took much longer than expected. We wound by fields, cattle and ranches, sliding to a stop at the campgrounds and taking in the nearby river. After momentary squabbling, the family voted to seek shelter elsewhere—which eventually concluded in my first ever stay at a Kampgrounds Of America (whooo KOA!).
Retracing our route back into Santa Fe, we met up with Eleanor at the Santa Fe Plaza before heading to her home for dinner. Santa Fe, with its prolific adobe-style buildings and impressive scenery, shook itself and showed off for us. Eleanor and her dog, Bonnie, took us on a walk down her neighborhood arroyo, one of the many dry riverbeds cutting across Santa Fe. The mountains in the background teased me, as did Eleanor’s stories of late afternoon hikes up them.
Our day ended at a KOA off the Old Santa Fe Highway. After the necessary flopping about, we all got comfortable and adjusted to each other’s bad breath in the snug confines of our tent. In the warm Santa Fe night, the soft sounds of the KOA lulled me into a gentle New Mexico kind of sleep.
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