Mar 11, 20213 min read

YouTube Weekly VLOG | EP13 | Favorite Hikes of New Mexico

Updated: Oct 6, 2021

LOCATION

On contract in Fort Defiance Arizona (staying in Gallup, NM)

CAIRN TRAVELER VLOG

This stretch of time off work has been a busy but awesome adventure. I started the week by getting up early and heading to Red Rock Park to get more familiar with my drone and test some intelligent flight modes as well as my new Canon RF 50mm lens and the Peak Design Carbon Fiber Tripod. The lens has some focus wobble and is too close in for VLOG work but otherwise I was very happy with everything. I forgot to mention that on the way back I met another guy named Matt (doing a cross country road trip) and we ended up hiking together and had some great conversation.

Saturday came bright an early with a road trip out to the Santa Fe/Los Alamos area for some hiking with my friends Jen and Yvette at Bandalier National Monument. Our first trail was the moderate to strenuous 4.8 mile hike to the summit of Cerro Grande (at 10,207’ the highest point in Bandelier NM) on the Valles Caldera rim. It was a rough hike for the newbies but they did a great job and both hiked the highest they have ever hiked in elevation.

Next we drove the 30 minutes over to Bandelier and took the short stroll around the cliff dwellings. Jen’s knee was bothering her but Yvette and I made the rather vertical switchback climb out of the canyon and the hiked the Frey Trail across Burnt Mesa to the Tyuonyi Overlook - a beautiful afternoon hike and leisurely descent back to the visitors center. We stopped by Santa Fe for dinner and then headed home.

Sunday was a bit of a restful day though I did get in a C25K (Cough to 5K) training session. I also knocked out a few projects around the house - see the linked videos below on an LED lighting upgrade for the Airstream bathroom and a “How To” on getting rid of stains.

Monday I decided to make it out to Chaco Culture National Historic Park and toured around the plentiful pueblo ruins. An absolutely beautiful wide open natural area and I would have loved to spend more time there but I got there a little late in the day and the park closed at 5PM. It is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere though and 20 miles down an “unimproved road” (i.e. dirty road). Nonetheless it’s definitely worth the trip.

Tuesday was cloudy and windy with intermittent rain so I just relaxed, chilled, got some editing done, and got caught up on Instagram - some awesome pictures posted - check it out here . . .

https://www.instagram.com/cairntraveler/

I’m going into another 5 day stretch at work but next weekend I’m taking the Airstream up to Valley of the Gods in Utah to spend my 5 days off dry camping - SUPER excited and should prove to be an EPIC video in one of my all time favorite places.

Find your adventure this week!! ✌️😎