Sunset Walk Along the Rio Grande & a Hike in the High Desert

After almost a year in the area, I was excited to finally have a great opportunity to take a short evening walk along the Rio Grande earlier this week - so beautiful around sunset time!

Hiking and biking trails run along the river for miles through and around Albuquerque, and the river scenery with an abundant variety of trees and vegetation makes for a nice escape from the dry, desert landscape that otherwise pervades the area. And in November with all the leaves turning colors and starting to fall from the trees, the feeling of autumn is definitely in the air.

Apart from the peace, quiet and beauty of nature, it was nice to have this opportunity to ‘kill 3 birds with one stone’ - I was able to get myself a much needed escape in nature, get my dog Dakota some exercise, and take the kids - children of one of the community members here - for a walk, giving their mom a short little break to get some work done in town - all with one short excursion along the river!

It’s always a blessing to find opportunities to enjoy the beauty of nature, and I was also pleased with picture-perfect shot of the kids along the river I was able to snap, capturing the beauty and serenity of this moment in nature quite perfectly, I thought.

The eldest wasn’t happy that the walk was so short, and so I promised to take her on a proper hike in the mountains up by where we live the next day, as I was looking for opportunities to get back out into nature after 2 months of battling and recovering from illness that has kept me far less active than I could ever be in top health.

Both she and I, and especially Dakota, all appreciated a longer hike in the woods, and the high desert scenery was as gorgeous as ever - on this particular trail, a nice mix of cacti, rock, and forest, with a slightly more desert feel to this area than the trails a bit higher up the mountain towards our place.

I especially appreciated the beauty of the various cacti growing on top of massive rock formations, a somewhat uncommon but not altogether rare sight in the southwest.

Dakota was loving it, after being deprived of such outings for so long now, and so was I!

Everyone was having a blast, even the other dog we took with us, but after a relaxing picnic lunch it was time to turn around and head back home.

A great way to spend some time this Thanksgiving week, getting out into the backcountry and enjoying the beauty of nature… So much to be grateful for when one is surrounded by the natural beauty of the ‘Land of Enchantment’.