This Is What I Call Camping!

Well, as you can see, we're not really camping. This morning, Mom and Dad checked the weather in Zuni and saw that it was going to be 25 degrees tonight. Not wanting to spend the night shivering in our tent, we decided instead to stay at the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup.

This morning was mainly sleeping for me. I slept on the trip from our casita to Zuni, and then while Mom and Dad bought jewelry, and then on the trip to Gallup, and then when they shopped again. I woke up for lunch in a really nice little Gallup park with actual grass.

Then things got adventurous. We decided to go for a hike in Red Rocks State Park, just east of Gallup. We went up the Church Rock trail (shown). Then we lost the trail (I believe that makes us 0 for 2), then found it again. It involved climbing up steps cut into a cliff over a big deep canyon. I was fine with that -- the steps were spaced about right for a long miniature dachshund -- but Mom and Dad were not feeling too good about trying to get back down the steps again, and so decided to keep going forward, hoping to find a safer way down.

This took us over miles of sketchy trails along the edges of larger, deeper canyons. Then the trail started going UP again. Just when Mom and Dad were ready to give up (not sure what that would have meant at that point), the trail started going DOWN, and from then on it was soft dirt trails and a gentle trip down to the parking lot.

We did about 6 miles and were very dusty and thirsty. Now we're just stiff and probably going to sleep soon, missing probably the only opportunity this trip to watch TV.