On May 27, 2012, I booked a 6 hour Jeep tour with New Mexico Jeep Tours for myself and two of my best, oldest friends who had come to visit me from South Carolina. I wanted to give them a real sense of the land and history on their first full day in the state. Plus all three of us love Jeeps!! So what could be more fun than to combine tours and Jeeps??!!! As it turns out, it was one of the highlights of their trip!
We drove from my apartment about 26 miles north toward Santa Fe and pulled off at a travel center for the pre-arranged meeting with Roch Hart, the owner and our tour guide. Since we were meeting him there, I had packed a lunch for us, as well as snacks, sun screen, etc. In fact it was a running joke during the tour that I was so prepared with everything needed - and I wasn't even a girl scout! :) We discovered immediately that Roch had a wonderful sense of humor and so embarked on an amazing tour filled with wonder and laughter. The first thing we saw once we headed into the 20,000 acre private ranch was a wild mare and her newborn foal. There weren't any other horses around - indicating that the foal was really newborn as wild horses often separate from the herd to give birth.
During the tour we also saw several different small herds of wild horses. I was very pleased to hear Roch talk about respectfully keeping a distance, not spooking them, and being careful with their management. As we turned down the rutted, bumpy, winding trail - we also noted a cow skull on the ground - which he assured us was not placed their intentionally, but was the remnant of an actual cow that was most likely killed by a mountain lion. We cheerfully decided that the skull should have a name as it seemed to be greeting us for the tour - and came up with "Skinny Bob". Skinny Bob also became a running joke during the day. (And let me tell you, he really gets around! Because we will swear that we saw Skinny Bob in Old Town and also in Santa Fe!)
The six hour tour passed very quickly! The day turned out to be sunny and warm - although we did battle a bit of a wind at times. We got to see ancient petroglyphs, learn about the history of the land, saw pottery remnants from the original dwellers (Pueblo Indians); metal remnants from wagon trail travelers; amazing natural stones; flowering choya cactus, evening primrose, Indian rice grass (which we learned has protein in the seeds); and just marveled at the views.
We had a good time looking for unique, colorful jasper and other rocks. Roch stopped in a sheltered area around lunch for what Angela decided was the "best dining experience in Albuquerque"! An outdoor picnic with gorgeous scenery, great company, and much laughing. And then we visited the abandoned mining town of Havens - stopping so Roch could take a picture of us standing near the concert hall.
And of course, we had a fun (but safe) Jeep ride down the steep bank of an arroyo, through the winding, sometimes narrow rocky bed, and then back up the steep side again! What fun! Gotta love Jeeps!! Seriously, this is was a fantastic tour! He has shorter ones, but I don't recommend them - you just need at least 6 hours to really immerse in the land, feel the peace and absorb the history and culture. This will truly be a day we'll remember for a very long time! Thank you, Roch and New Mexico Jeep Tours for an incredible day!
We drove from my apartment about 26 miles north toward Santa Fe and pulled off at a travel center for the pre-arranged meeting with Roch Hart, the owner and our tour guide. Since we were meeting him there, I had packed a lunch for us, as well as snacks, sun screen, etc. In fact it was a running joke during the tour that I was so prepared with everything needed - and I wasn't even a girl scout! :) We discovered immediately that Roch had a wonderful sense of humor and so embarked on an amazing tour filled with wonder and laughter. The first thing we saw once we headed into the 20,000 acre private ranch was a wild mare and her newborn foal. There weren't any other horses around - indicating that the foal was really newborn as wild horses often separate from the herd to give birth.
During the tour we also saw several different small herds of wild horses. I was very pleased to hear Roch talk about respectfully keeping a distance, not spooking them, and being careful with their management. As we turned down the rutted, bumpy, winding trail - we also noted a cow skull on the ground - which he assured us was not placed their intentionally, but was the remnant of an actual cow that was most likely killed by a mountain lion. We cheerfully decided that the skull should have a name as it seemed to be greeting us for the tour - and came up with "Skinny Bob". Skinny Bob also became a running joke during the day. (And let me tell you, he really gets around! Because we will swear that we saw Skinny Bob in Old Town and also in Santa Fe!)
The six hour tour passed very quickly! The day turned out to be sunny and warm - although we did battle a bit of a wind at times. We got to see ancient petroglyphs, learn about the history of the land, saw pottery remnants from the original dwellers (Pueblo Indians); metal remnants from wagon trail travelers; amazing natural stones; flowering choya cactus, evening primrose, Indian rice grass (which we learned has protein in the seeds); and just marveled at the views.
