We arrived in New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment, and red and green chiles.

Our destination was the Santa Fe National Forest just North of Pecos, New Mexico. There are quite a few campgrounds to pick from in the forest but I planned on Jack's Creek Campground because of the great reviews and beautiful pictures. I didn't know that I had inadvertently picked the furthest drive-in campground on the stretch. The road went from a curvy two lane to a narrow one lane that literally ended at Jack's Creek. 

At 9,000 feet elevation, the campground has outstanding views of the nearby Truchas and Pecos Baldy Peaks. And thank heavens for the weather here!

It was the perfect place to enjoy a bottle of Fabian's delicious Uruguayan wine! Thanks Fabian!

For our hike, we went on the recommendation of our camp host Eddie and traveled into the Pecos Wilderness. Since we were armed with only a Topographical Map, and the trails were only sparsely marked, we aren't sure exactly how far we went. We are guessing we hiked between nine and ten miles, about half of which was through a thunderstorm. 

The view from the top of this rocky scramble was breathtaking. 

We stopped for a rest at the top of Round Mountain.

Somewhere towards the end we lost our trail but after a bit of bushwhacking, a little luck, and Marc's exceptional navigational skills (thanks babe!), we were beyond happy to end up back at our campsite.

This was a very welcome treat after our hike. Thanks Liz!

The next day we made our way up Elk Mountain where we were happy to meet another Mark who worked for the Forest Service. He gave us some great suggestions for campgrounds in the California National Forests. It was a very nice chance meeting!

We were sad to leave our little home at Jack's Creek but excited to explore the city of Santa Fe and really get ourselves and our clothes clean for the first time since Houston. Woo-hoo!

A delicious and much needed lunch at The Burrito Company in downtown Santa Fe.

We fell in love with Santa Fe's historic atmosphere, beautiful architecture, great food, and most of all friendly people. It definitely makes my list of possible future homes.

It even has a perfect street name for us!

Our last stop was a small wine shop to sample some of New Mexico's local wines. We were surprised to learn that New Mexico is the oldest wine producing region in the country. Quite delicious!

Next stop Mesa Verde.