Another 400 mile drive brought us to New Mexico and the wonderful Kiva RV Park and Horse Motel where we stayed for two days and three nights. After setting up camp and settling the horses I drove 45 minutes into Albuquerque to pick up Matthew at the airport.
This park had the nicest staff and best accommodations of the whole trip, despite its location right next to a highway. We had full hookups for the trailers and used their laundry facilities to freshen our stock of clothes.
The horses thoroughly enjoyed their large pens with shelters as well. Unfortunately, the morning after our arrival Mow came up lame and ended up spending our whole New Mexico visit resting in his pen.
Fortunately, however, the owner of Kiva was incredibly generous and lent me one of her horses to ride during our stay. Here I am on Peanut, who was a great ride. Thank you Diane!
In addition to lending me a horse, Diane also took Mom and I riding on some nearby BLM land. Here we are in front of an interesting rock formation.
We also rode into an impressive box canyon - the photos just don't do it justice!
Mom and I took "between the ears" photos during most of our rides and Diane thought that we needed a "between the ears" photo with her mule, Pistolero. I think that it turned out perfectly!
Another view of the high desert.
While we were riding, Dad and Matthew were golfing nearby and after lunch we all headed out for a hike. The box canyon that we rode through wasn't far from a road so Mom and I took the guys there to explore. The photos don't really capture it, but you can see how vast the canyon is compared to our truck in this one.
First selfie of the trip with Matthew.
A full-body shot.
Table rock.
The canyon.
We were able to explore more of the canyon on foot than on horseback and ended up climbing up and out the other side.
There were a few tricky spots and we all practiced some rock climbing skills. I think Matthew is a natural!
But the view on top was worth it. Can you find Matthew in this photo? Hint: he's wearing his hat.
Eventually it started to get dark and we had to climb back down the way we came up.
We didn't see much in the way of flora and fauna here, but some of the cactus were blooming.
Relaxing at the trailers. We didn't spend much time hanging out at camp but Casper did get to be outside with us whenever we were there.
On the second day at Kiva the guys went golfing again and Mom and I rode with a group of Diane's friends. This time they took us to an old homestead in one of the canyons. I cannot imagine living here!
Another blooming cactus.
And a few more riding photos.
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