Taking The Scenic Route – The Enchanted Circle, NM
I must say we’ve had some darn good travel mojo these past few months. We’ve hit the jackpot on both weather and camping, staying south of the big chill up north while somehow managing to stay just one step ahead of fires and heat down south.
Earlier this week it happened again. Just as we were wrapping up our stay in Orilla Verde BLM dark smoke blew across the skies. The clouds had travelled over 350 miles from the horrific fire burning in Arizona and were blanketing middle NM. Our town of just a week ago, Albuquerque, had been smothered in ash and Taos was under a diffuse haze.
Time to thank the travel mojo gods and move on. So with our thoughts for the poor folks in Arizona, we took the message to heart and headed off NE to a spot that had been recommended to us by Terry and Candace over at RVing Full-Time and the lovely Travels with Mr.Nimble.
Enter The Enchanted Circle. Now, the marketing genius who came up with this name has my full devotion. The route gives an air of allure, interest and mystery even before your tires hit the ground. The whole circle is an 85-mile scenic drive that starts in Taos and wraps around the highest point in New Mexico, the 13,161 foot Mt.Wheeler hitting multiple cute, scenic mountain towns along the way. We’d heard it was possibly beast do-able and decided to take the plunge and drive the RV giving us time to stop, camp and frolic on the other side.
So far the Angels are singing. Not only did the drive get us out of the ash-cloud, but we’ve banked a gorgeous lakeside RV site by Eagle Nest with a 360-degree view of the alpine hills and only a few other RVs in sight. The cats have been lounging in the grass and Polly has discovered prairie dogs, creating a whole new phase of frenzied doggie-excitement in her critter-obsessed pooch brain. To top off the scene, travel mojo magic has driven us here just in time for a fabulous treat, the week-end Blues Festival at Red River. Groovy!
We’ll be hanging out here for as long as the RV fairies keep us, exploring the trails, hitting the nearby towns, frolicking in the lake and rocking to some music.
We’ve already had a couple of fabulous hikes, some stunning sunsets and…this being New Mexico…a few good gusts of wind just to remind us where we are.
Until next time Mr. Mojo….
We haven’t driven the Enchanted Circle yet but I’ve read a lot about it. Looks like a gorgeous place.
I’m having a hard time picturing exactly where you are. Are you anywhere near Coyote Creek State Park? I remember a big lake, but don’t recall the name. My memory fails me sometimes, but it seemed like it was a shallow lake. Any time we’ve were ever up in that area, we had great weather. Enjoy!!
We’re right next to Angel Fire (there’s a lake there called Eagle Nest). It’s
man-made lake (dammed), but a wonderful spot!
Nina
Hi!
Last summer, on our way south from Alaska, we encountered a massive fire in southern British Columbia. Visability was down to 1/4mile in some spots. The smoke gods are smileing on you two tonight!!
We’ve certainly got the smoke-gods on our side. I can’t believe
how close we’ve come to a few of these, and yet just
managed to get away. Hope our luck keeps up!
Nina
Hey guys sounds wonderful..i think we took part of this as a car only trip eons ago…i remember thinking that some of the towns reminded me of small alpine ski villages….
I have to ask how were the mountain grades for driving…
Jil, You’re absolutely right…most of the towns here are little ski-villages.
Very cute and a definite alpine feel to them.
The grades on the Enchanted Circle are definitely a little steeper
than what we’ve encountered so far in NM. We’re totally
comfortable driving the circle, but it might be a little too
narrow for some.
Nina
Thanks for the mention ….. Mom loves Angle Fire, NM and spends summers there in her RV. NM really does have some wonderful RVing spots. The smoke here in AZ had us detour our planned weekend in Tucson’s Catalina SP to Karchner Caverns instead. Closer to home for us, but at least no smoke to deal with. Temp was pushing mid-90’s daytime, but 70’s in the evenings. I’ll bet Eagle Lake is at least 20 degree cooler day & night, correct ?
Glad you are enjoying your summer. Enchanted Circle is on our bucket list so send more pics !
We’ve LOVING it here (well, apart from the New Mexico winds…haha).
It’s very nice at the moment…we’re hitting about 75 degrees daytime to
45 nighttime. Just our kind of weather.
Thanks so much for the tip to come out here.
Nina
Yay, Enchanted Circle! I’m goin’ there!
I have completed the enchanted circle and it is appropriately named. Loved Red River -so quaint with deer walking through front yards! Beautiful.
So glad you enjoyed it as much as we did! We spent almost 3 weeks on the circle and had a blast!
Nina