Southwest Mountain Adventure
Dec 2023 - Apr 2025
This journey began shortly before Christmas 2023, when I accepted a seasonal position north of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It was my first winter in the Rocky Mountains, my first time snowmobiling, and the period when I began posting maps to social media, mostly focusing on defining the ranges of the Rocky Mountains. The posts took off more than I expected, drawing both positive and negative reactions. I quickly learned that mountain studies were not as clear-cut as they appeared.
As the season wound down, I wanted to continue exploring how mountains are defined. I decided to travel to Santa Fe, often considered the southern terminus of the Rockies. I departed Clark, Colorado in late March, taking the Bustang to Denver to stay with a friend and plan my trip to New Mexico. I chose to stop for a few days in Raton, New Mexico—mainly to break up the trip and transfer to the Amtrak line. Although I had never heard of Raton before, the stop turned out to be valuable. It provided unexpected lessons in geology and history that would become important for my ongoing study.
After a few days in Raton, I decided to stop at each Amtrak station along the Southwest Chief route. The next stop was Las Vegas, New Mexico. I spent most of my time there resting after a long season in Colorado and the early stages of travel in New Mexico. I mainly remember the amusement of seeing travelers mistakenly thinking they had arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada.
From there, I continued to the Lamy Station, which serves Santa Fe. The train was late, and the shuttle into Santa Fe had already left, but I was quickly offered a ride by a local. I had visited Santa Fe before on a road trip and was familiar enough with the area. Santa Fe remains one of my favorite cities, with its Spanish architecture, food, and geographic setting. I stayed about two weeks, spending the first few days walking, eating, and gathering information.
During my stay, there was a solar eclipse, and I met a number of travelers headed from the West Coast to Texas to see it. I did a lot of local day hikes, including my favorite nearby hike, Sun Mountain. I had planned to rent a car and explore the Sangre de Cristo Mountains more extensively, but grey weather and the nature of my research pulled me toward Albuquerque. I frequently took the Rail Runner Express between the two cities.
Meanwhile, Santa Fe became more social, with visits to museums and galleries, including the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, which would later become important. Albuquerque, often maligned, interested me, particularly its mountains and the Rio Grande area.
I decided to keep moving west. My next stop was Gallup, New Mexico. Located near several major Native American reservations and pueblos, Gallup hosts the annual Inter-Tribal Ceremonial. Before arriving, people had strong opinions about the town—either highly positive or extremely negative. I stayed neutral and ended up enjoying my time there. I stayed in a motel along old Route 66 and walked daily to the coffee shop and library. While I was advised to be cautious in certain areas, my overall experience was calm and welcoming.
Finding trails was more challenging in Gallup, but there are good viewpoints within the city. I also made a day trip to hike near Church Rock, which turned out to be a highlight.
After Gallup, I continued to Flagstaff, Arizona. I was familiar with Flagstaff from my time living in Scottsdale, but I had never visited the Grand Canyon until this trip. I also saw a side of Flagstaff I hadn’t experienced before—a walkable city with a strong trail network and good regional transportation.
After a week of hiking and visiting the Grand Canyon, I had to decide whether to return east or seek another seasonal job. I wanted to spend the summer in New Mexico if possible. A job posting at Ghost Ranch caught my eye, partly due to the Georgia O’Keeffe connection, and I soon found myself returning to Albuquerque and Santa Fe before heading to Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu.
After resting a few days in Albuquerque and revisiting Santa Fe to retake hikes and update my material, the weather had improved and the landscape was much more vibrant. In early May 2024, I headed to Ghost Ranch.
I left in mid-September 2024 and returned to Santa Fe for a week. This time I rented a car and visited Jemez Springs, Valles Caldera, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, including Taos, Red River, Eagle Nest, and Angel Fire, among others.
With that portion completed, I boarded Amtrak back to Denver, stopping in Trinidad, Colorado, for a few days. Like Raton, Trinidad proved to be a quiet but significant destination with important scenery, geology, and history. I spent time walking around town, hiking, and photographing distant Sangre peaks.
In the Front Range I spent three months in Westminster, spending most days exploring Boulder, Golden, and the Front Range foothills. Discovering how extensive the Bustang bus system was became a key realization—it allowed regular travel into the mountains.
One of the trips was taking the bus to Frisco and then transferring to Leadville, where I stayed three days. Surrounded by the highest peaks of the Rockies, Leadville is important for anyone studying or enjoying the mountains. I liked nearly everywhere I visited, but Leadville became a new favorite.
I returned to Westminster but ended the year by going back to Leadville in late December 2024, staying through January 2025.
Leadville’s start wasn’t smooth. Bringing my bicycle on the Bustang worked until the Frisco transfer, where the driver wouldn’t allow it on the bus to Leadville. I had to lock it at the station and board without it. Still, I arrived in good spirits. On New Year's Day, I went for a long walk on the Mineral Belt Trail and up toward Mosquito Pass. Along the way, I met a dogsledder, and by the next day, I was filming their sled runs with my drone—resulting in my first dog mushing videos.
The next step was getting back to Frisco, retrieving my now rustier bike, and heading to Grand Junction. After a few days of rest and casual biking, I rented a car for an intense week-long loop through Moab, Monument Valley, Shiprock, Durango, Pagosa Springs, Three Forks, Alamosa, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Grand Mesa, and back to Grand Junction.
After another quick visit to Leadville and Denver, I continued west by train to Green River, Utah. Green River, though small, was a good base for simple days walking along the river and working remotely. The only major outing was flying my drone at the local state park.
Next was Provo, Utah. Despite being much larger, it offered the same quiet day-to-day routine. I visited Utah Lake State Park and Great Salt Lake State Park, taking advantage of Utah’s winter drone-flying permissions in state parks.
As winter ended, I wanted to move south quickly to Sand Hollow State Park near St. George, Utah. I had only passed through St. George once at night before this trip, and didn’t realize how large it was. The climate there shifted me firmly out of winter. I spent the days hiking around Snow Canyon, Sand Hollow, and biking through Zion.
After a few days in St. George, I spent time with a friend in Las Vegas. Since they lived on the quiet west side of the city, it was mostly quiet days and hiking rather than traditional Vegas activities.
I then made a larger jump by bus to Tucson, Arizona, and then on to El Paso by Amtrak. Tucson only allowed for a couple days, but I did visit Saguaro National Park.
Arriving in El Paso during a major windstorm, I had to stay indoors for two days. When the weather cleared, I crossed into Ciudad Juárez for the first time. Despite warnings from locals, my visit was quiet and uneventful.
On a clear day, I hiked Mundy's Gap in Franklin Mountains State Park, which gave views of both sides of El Paso. I enjoyed the desert environment up close and decided to extend my stay. I explored McKelligon Canyon, spent time working in central El Paso, and made several more trips into Juárez. I briefly considered venturing further into Chihuahua and Copper Canyon but ultimately accepted an invitation to visit my brother in Los Angeles.
From El Paso, I took a 16-hour train ride to Union Station in LA. Staying in the Westlake neighborhood gave good access to Griffith Park, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the San Gabriels. Other outings included hiking from Santa Monica Pier toward Will Rogers State Beach, visiting Long Beach and San Pedro’s Sunken City, and attending a Dodgers game.
After a few weeks, I continued by train to San Diego, staying in Ocean Beach. It was an ideal base: easy access to the beach, public transportation, and a walkable neighborhood. I hiked Cowles Mountain, visited many different parts of the city by trolley, and made a quick excursion into Tijuana, though this visit was less enjoyable than past ones in Mexico.
After about two weeks in San Diego, I decided it was time to close this chapter—16 months of continuous travel, seasonal work, and remote projects. I booked a flight from San Diego back to Connecticut.
