On the morning of February 11, 2023, Judy and I checked out of our motel in Mountainair and after breakfast we drove north on Highway 55 towards the eastern foothills of the Manzano Mountains. When we reached the small town of Manzano we paused so I could photograph this picturesque 194-year-old little church.
Next we took the dirt road out of Manzano that wound its way up through the foothills winding up at the summit of 9375-foot Capilla Peak. We could see the peak in the distance and knew this road must be passable due to the microwave towers and antenna farm evident at the top. In fact there was a set of tire tracks in the snow made by someone ahead of us.
As we covered several miles the snow deepened to as much as six inches in places. We found this beautiful stream where we turned the engine off and listened to the gurgling sound amidst all the silence that surrounded us.
Tracks in the snow? Just deer or a wolf following a deer or?
We decided the drive to the top of the mountain would take too long since our plan was to overnight in Clovis. Once we reached a campground area where there was room to turn around, we headed back to Manzano and took the back roads to Encino where we got back on Highway 60 East.
Approaching Melrose a westbound headlight was visible, so we pulled over for this short intermodal.
An eastbound appeared over the horizon so we waited for it to also pass before heading on to Clovis.
After a good dinner at “The Rails” restaurant next to the Southern Transcon, we turned in for the night.
