Las Cruces to T or C to ABQ

There was not a whole lot going on in Las Cruces, but we did manage to find a nice hike.

We loved the landscape

Let's go cats!

Lovely.

We made it to a waterfall

Petefish

Senior photos- HA! 

This used to be a private family home

It was around this point in the hike that Jackson wandered off the trail to explore and try to to find a rattlesnake. Ok, he was not hunting for a snake, but it felt that way. Then, while wandering around causing me to panic, he twisted his ankle. It was a gnarly twist and he was limping all the way back to the car.

The best kind of hike

From there we headed for Hatch, New Mexico. It is well known for its green chiles. We went to its famous local restaurant, Sparky's.

Live music!

AGH! SO SPICY! 

A green chile burger, their corn salsa soup (so good, so spicy),
queso and BBQ.
RANDOM. DELICIOUS.

From there we headed to Truth or Consequences ("T or C" as the locals call it) to spend an hour soaking in the hot springs. Riverbend Hot Springs had private geothermal mineral pools that you could rent for an hour. Clothing was optional. I kept my suit on. Jackson did NOT! The attendant told him the mineral water would fix his bum ankle. (Spoiler: it did not. The soak was still lovely.)

Petefish
Note: I have a suit on. Jackson does NOT.

He's adorable

We finished our soak and headed up to Albuquerque. It was a pretty boring drive, but we made it to town just as the sun went down. We drove across town from our hotel so that we could have my favorite smoothie place, Tropical Smoothie, for dinner. I was so excited that they had a location in the city! We finally got to get out of the car (!!!!) and got to our hotel for the next few nights. It was the only Hyatt stay of our road trip so it felt especially fancy! ;) 

That ankle! AGH!!!