Day Ten: Our Drive to Galisteo, New Mexico

We had a very leisure morning with the girls sleeping in (Anna Cate slept till 10:30 hence why she has the nickname, Sleeping Beauty in our The Crew tab on the blog), Will working and me blogging (as you know from the end of the last post) and cleaning up the inside of the RV before we took off again. Will always empties the tanks before he showers and as he was unhooking our water hose from the city hookup a piece broke off and water was going everywhere. And I mean everywhere! I was walking back from the bathhouse and I see him give Betsie and I a thumbs up. I said to Betsie, I think that was a sarcastic “thumbs up”. As we got closer, seeing Will soaking wet and our new “waterfront” campsite, I knew I was correct. Before we knew it we had three KOA campsite employees over to fix the problem. It didn’t take long, but for Will who was down to the minute with his morning schedule for work, it certainly threw him for a loop!

Before all this had happened we asked for a late check out knowing we didn’t want to be rushed and we were so thankful we did! By 12:05 pm we were on the way out to Roswell.

Ever since Eli heard we were going to New Mexico, he wanted to stop in Roswell. If you are like me, and have no idea why, it is because the town is known to be the alleged site of the 1947 UFO crash. There is an International UFO Museum and Research Center we decided to visit as this time would also double as another good opportunity for Will to hold some office hours. The kids and I walked up to the main entrance all masked and ready to find the only part of the museum open was the gift shop. We still went in, but first we had to have our temperature taken. This has been the only place on our journey this has occurred, as the town of Roswell is still in Phase One. After we left the gift shop, we walked to see if anything else within the block was open and nothing was. Back to the RV we went and we started our three hour drive to Galisteo.

We use two apps when driving, RV Life and Waze. RV Life is RV friendly and will keep you from getting in predicaments which would be hard in a motorhome (for example going under a bridge with too low of clearance). We use Waze at the same time because it usually takes you a faster route. Then we compare the two. We find RV Life likes to take you on a scenic route, which is great, we are all for scenic; however, sometimes you simply want the most direct way. Yesterday was that day. The difference between the two apps was 45 minutes! If Waze was not taking us on interstates we would have followed RV Life the whole way. The entire route was one straight, relatively flat drive.

Before meeting our VRBO host at the house, we had to stop at the Santa Fe airport to pick up our rental car. I felt like I was in the islands as this airport was so small. Betsie came with me this time to get the car and we were talking with Eric at Hertz about how small the airport was. He said, “its funny when people come up to me and ask where baggage claim is and I point right behind them.” Betsie and I started laughing. Look at this picture of the baggage claim area!

The drive from the airport to our VRBO was about 20 minutes and beautiful. We drove down this two lane road which lead you to amazing views hill after hill and turn after turn. Fourteen miles later we arrived! Our host, Marcella, met us as it was completed gated all the way around making you feel like you were in a little compound. The house is gorgeous and exactly what we were envisioning for a Santa Fe style home!

Galisteo, is a picturesque village a short drive (20 miles) South of Santa Fe. It was founded around the time of Santa Fe in the early 1600’s, it has been the home to Tano Indians, Spanish colonizers. Today, the Galisteo Basin is a preserve of high desert land and one of the best known archaeological sites in the United States. Our house we are staying in, dates back to the 1880’s as the Donaciano Angel Chavez House and has long been a classic example of the New Mexican Territorial Style, noted for its patterned brick topped parapets (a low protective wall along the edge of a roof) and classic window, door mouldings and trim. The current owners bought the house in 2013 after it had been on the market for six years and did an extensive renovation. They certainly restored this gem! And the weather is gorgeous. We went from 100 degree weather to 82! In the evenings it dips into the 50’s.

To say there is room for all of us to spread out is an understatement! Even Pawley loves running around the fenced in backyard getting his sillies out. Upon arrival, we walked the house to see where everyone would be sleeping, started two loads of laundry as there are two washers and dryers and heated up the grill. I know you can probably guess, what I am going to say since I mentioned the word dinner and you are correct. I prepped as much as I could while we were driving. Before we knew it we were enjoying my birthday dinner take two. It was exactly the type of evening I was picturing. We celebrated with chicken and leftover salmon tacos with grilled peppers and onions, our leftover Trader Joe’s side and chips and salsa from a local market. Our host had left us some goodies to get started. For dessert we had the Key Lime Pie Eli made with coconut cool whip. If you haven’t tried this yet, run to your local grocery store’s frozen food section and grab yourself a few tubs!!! One night on the RV I cut up apples, strawberries and grapes and threw them in a bowl. And then I folded in the coconut cool whip, maybe less than half the tub and it was the most refreshing side! So good! (Every time I hear the term “folded in” I think of Moira and David on Schitt’s Creek making Mac-n-Cheese! Any other Schitt’s Creek lovers out there!?!?)

We were all tucked in bed by 10:30 pm to get a goodnight’s sleep before a day of exploring the area. I don’t think my head hit the pillow for two minutes and I was out like a light!