In the first few days in Angel Fire, New Mexico, we spent time driving the area with Denisa's Mother. Besides showing her some beautiful mountain scenery, we were also making lists of places that we wanted to return to for more active visits. One of those places was the Monte Verde Lake.
In the country club neighborhood south of Angel Fire, this is a public lake. It does cost to fish here, but anyone can bring a kayak and launch it onto this pretty little mountain lake.
We had really planned to hike today, but seeing that glassy lake reflecting the clouds overhead convinced us that it was time to kayak instead.
We paddled around the outside edges of the water, where it was easy to take wildlife pictures. Denisa liked this duck hen almost blending in with the grain of the log where she was sitting.
Her mate was keeping watch, and we saw him chase off another suitor who got too close.
There were plenty of handsome drakes, posing on photogenic lake wood and begging for Denisa to take more pictures.
Other family units have obviously been finalized, and we paddled around this mother and her eight ducklings.
The border between the two countries is closed this year, so these Canadian geese are spending their summer in the mountains of the United States. Even though we saw larger families, this couple was keeping a close eye on their single gosling.
We enjoyed a full lap around the lake before the clouds gathered. Two of the guys that work here drove up to the edge of the water to let us know that lightning was in the area, so we headed for the boat dock. We were lucky to get the kayak put away before the rain shower started. We waited out the little bit of rain and decided to take another lap around the lake--but on our bikes this time.
While paddling, we noticed several bikers making use of the trail that circled the lake. It looked like another great way to get some exercise without even moving the car.
Probably our most unusual water picture was actually taken from the bike ride. This muskrat came right to the water's edge to gather green stems, then held it in his mouth as he swam away.
We're really surprised to get the bikes off their rack on the car, as Denisa isn't a fan of riding up-hill. So finding a flat lake-side trail in the mountains was fun. But the real reason we came to Monte Verde today was to hike the Lady Slipper Trail.
We actually googled what a "lady slipper" was while we were on this hike. It's a wild orchid with two leaves and one bright pink bulbous bloom. We would insert the picture of the lady slipper we found on the hike--if only we had found one. So instead we'll add this odd wildflower with many leaves and many blooms that are just beginning to open.
We went from the lush grass near the water to the dry path down the avenue of big pines. This is a very diverse trail.
Denisa loves a loop trail, and this one is actually made of three intertwined loops. We made it to the highest elevation of the trail--and took this picture at the view point.
As we left the Lady Slipper Trail, we walked around the lake, back to the car where we started this morning. When we parked the car hours ago, we had no idea what our day would bring. We had a long, full day of kayaking, then biking, then hiking--without even moving the car!
We have had a great time with guests during our stay in the mountains of New Mexico. Now it is time for Connie and Steven to head home. But we're up early on their last morning so we can take one more ATV ride before they trailer it back to Oklahoma. Steven has done most of the ATV driving, but Denisa has to notice that Mark always seems to have a smile on his face when he is behind the wheel.
Denisa has reluctantly taken the wheel a time or two, and Mark had to snap a picture fast because she won't be there very long. With the red bandanna over her face, she feels a little like she's heading to a bank robbery or a round-up.
We headed up Forest Service Road #437 between Angel Fire and Taos for a morning drive. When we got to an area called "Garcia Park," we took a little hike down a trail.
We have come to love the combination of the ATV and hiking. The ATV does all the work to get us up high in elevation, so we can enjoy the high altitude solitude and views on foot.
We miss the smells and sounds that get drowned out with that powerful gas motor. On a hike we get the smell of the pine trees, the sound of the bird songs, and we can walk right into the middle of an aspen forest to take pictures of those beautiful tall white trunks.
All too soon, it was time for our friends to leave and go back to their real lives and job. We will miss them! We are half-way into our month-long stay in New Mexico, and we have had guests on all but two days. So now it's up to us to find our own fun. Will we be able to do it? Our first effort at finding fun on our own included a trip to Taos for their farmers' market.
New Mexico is still in the first phases of re-opening, and everyone is supposed to be wearing their masks in public places. Chalk arrows were drawn on the sidewalk, and shoppers were all supposed to be moving in the same direction and keeping their six-foot distance. We found the prices quite high here, but Denisa was excited to buy some of the spring peas that she loves!
We also made a stop at the larger grocery store in this larger town. We love our little tourist town of Angel Fire, but it is nice to be in Taos to have the option to buy less expensive food where locals shop. Then we had a hike planned on our way home. We are on the Devisadero Peak Trail, right outside of Taos in the Kit Carson National Forest.
We started this trail at a lower elevation than we have become accustomed to--just 7,150 feet. The Taos Canyon area is desert-like, and we're walking beside lots of cholla cactus that are ready to pop into bloom. As we passed, Denisa commented that these buds would be beautiful flowers in a few more days.
Now that we don't have an ATV to take us up high on the trail, we're having to make the steep ascent the old-fashioned way--with our legs.
This is a loop trail, and we ended up going the direction that gave us the steepest ascent. The good news is that we got some good views up high quickly. While one side of the trail gave us the green views of the rolling mountains of the Kit Carson National Forest,
the other side looked down over the flat plains and the city of Taos.
We had to stop and catch our breath over and over. Sometimes you use the excuse of taking a picture just so you can breathe. This is an Apache Plume bush that was along the trail.
It's hard to see the blooms on the above picture, but the smoke-like appearance is a result of these crazy feathery blooms that cover the bush. With a google search, we found that this plant is actually in the rose family.
It was a 3-mile hike to get to the summit of Devisadera Peak, and we had to take the appropriate pictures to prove that we made it. Notice that rock "sofa" behind Mark. 
Just like usual, Denisa added another rock to the cairn at the peak. At 8,300 feet in elevation, at this peak we are actually lower than our campground in Angel Fire.
Then we sat down on that rock sofa in the shade for a well-deserved snack. We're not sure if that rock sofa was amazingly comfortable, or if we were just amazingly tired and ready to be off our feet for a while. It's hotter here in Taos, and this was a sunny hike. We're not used to this heat!
From our comfortable seat, we had a perfect view of a butterfly that was also relaxing on the rocks today.
It's a good mountain peak experience when you have a snack, a comfortable seat, and a butterfly show on the rock cairn for entertainment.
The good news about having a steep ascent, is we had a gentle downhill hike to complete our loop.
That gave us time to stop and enjoy the flowers like these purple beauties.
But the real fun for Denisa was taking pictures of the rich pink-colored cactus blooms.
Remember that cholla cactus we saw at the beginning of the hike that was almost in bloom? The sunshine in the three hours that it took us to hike to the top and back, was just the stimulus needed to bring that whole cactus into bloom. We have wandered into another of God's wonders! 
What a beautiful ending to our time on Devisadera Mountain and our hike in the desert! We will have to get into the practice of entertaining ourselves now, but the diversified hikes and trails in this area will help us with that.
When we started researching good ATV trips in the mountains of New Mexico, one destination kept coming up over and over. Some of the reviews were a little scary, but we decided that we had to at least see what the trail up to Goose Lake looked like. So we started up the narrow and steep 8-mile trail on a beautiful blue sky day.
We're with our good friends, Connie and Steven, who brought a Polaris RZR four-seater with them when they came to visit us. We've already spent a day getting used to this vehicle's ability to climb up and over rugged terrain. So we think we're ready for anything . . . maybe.
At the very beginning of the trail there is a choice--going over a narrow wooden bridge or through a creek.
We approached the bridge, but the lone fisherman yelled at us that we were supposed to go through the water. He added that all the others before us this morning had gone through the water, and "it's only two feet deep." So we backed up and headed through the water.
As we started crossing the creek, it came up to the tops of the tires . . . then into the floorboards . . . then into our seats! When we looked to the bridge, our friendly fisherman that gave advice was laughing and taking a video. What a jerk! Steven's good driving got us through it, and Denisa did not walk back to the bridge to throw the fisherman into the water like she wanted. We were all drenched to our waist! What a way to start the day!
We went two miles up the trail before we found a turn off in the trail to a wide flat spot. We all took off our shoes and socks to wring some of the creek water out of them. We stayed in the sun for a while to dry out our jeans. It's at this stop that Denisa proposed the idea of heading back down the mountain because this is one scary trail!
In that first two miles we had already passed by two wooden crosses. We had read that vehicles can slip off the side of these narrow paths and then it is straight down a steep ravine.
In that first two miles we had met our first vehicle going the opposite direction. There is barely room for one ATV, so meeting a full-size vehicle is tricky. We had to back down that narrow winding road until we got to a spot wide enough for two to pass. Scary!
And in the first two miles we had experienced downed trees in the middle of the narrow road.
But our travel companions are brave souls, and we continued up that narrow trail through the woods. Did we mention there was a second wooden cross at the bottom of another ravine?
We're taking this trip in the middle of the week, because we have heard how busy it is on the weekend. After meeting a couple vehicles that were coming down, we can't imagine how tough the trip would be if you met a dozen or more!
We learned from our 40-mile-ATV-day to wear face coverings to keep from breathing so much dust. Here is the backseat crew modeling their fashionable (but effective) face masks.
Here was our view from the back seat, as Steven did all the driving up this crazy road.
We started this trail at an elevation of 8,714 feet, and we're driving up to 11,668 feet. That means that even in the middle of summer we found snow along our path.
After eight miles and over an hour, we made it to our destination of the day--Goose Lake!
But of course, we couldn't help but notice that mountain-top background, and a trail that zig-zags to the top of the peak that looks down on Goose Lake.
Our friends were smart enough to be content with those views around the lake. But the Engelmans love a good view from the summit. So we started up that steep trail that would take us up to 12,265 feet. In the bottom right hand corner, you can see Denisa gasping for breath in this thin air.
We made it through the snow . . .
and finally over the crest! We exchanged picture-taking duties with another couple that was attempting a selfie when we came over the lip of the summit.
From this peak we could see a whole new set of mountains around us . . .
including the ski runs cut into the mountainside of the Taos Ski Resort.
By walking across the mountain-top plateau, we could see mountain peaks in another direction! Because the ATV did most the work of getting us to this mountain-top, we were rested enough to really enjoy these views.
From our mountain-top, we took panorama pictures that included Goose Lake far below on the left, Mark standing on the peak in the middle, and Taos ski mountains on the right. What beautiful views!
We have been blessed to wander up to another of God's wonders, and this will surely be another highlight of our summer! Thanks to Connie and Steven for providing the transportation to bring us here!
While we are in awe of the big mountains around us, we are also amazed at the tiny wonders that bloom here at high elevations.
We could have stayed up here for hours, but it was time to make our way down that steep slope of rolling rocks back to the lake. There's one more view with a very tiny Denisa standing in the upper left-hand corner of the picture below.
From there we could zoom in for a picture of Goose Lake, and the parking lot above it where the ATV is parked.
We can even zoom in that parking lot to find Connie and Steven down there waiting for us.
Likewise, they took a picture of us--those two tiny dots at the top of the big rock wall behind Goose Lake.
We had missed the beginning of the trail on the way up, and ended up sloshing through the marshy ground close to the lake. But we found the real trail on the way back down off the mountain. The sign says that we have come down one mile off of Gold Hill, and we could walk seven miles to get back to Red River City.
We're glad we have our little four-seater ATV to take us back down instead of hiking that seven miles. We were amazed to see that a full-size Tahoe made it up that narrow road today. We were sure glad that we didn't have to meet him on the trail!
After enjoying our picnic lunch, it was time for our more relaxed drive down the mountain. It was late enough in the day that we didn't meet anyone coming up the trail towards us. We must have been driving faster than some others, as we did catch up with this guy going down.
There were still trees over the narrow trail, but we knew we could get around all the obstacles on the way down.
When we got back to the very beginning of our trail, you can be assured that we used the wooden bridge instead of driving through the water. The fisherman giving advice this morning was gone, so Denisa couldn't make good on her promise to throw him into the water.
We were dirty and dusty, but we finished our day with a little tour of the tiny town of Red River. Many of the restaurants are closed in the middle of the afternoon, but we finally got a table outside and a meal at the Red River Brewing Company. We had to check out the old ski lift seats hanging from the porch at the brewery.
What a great adventure and a mountain-top experience we had today at Goose Lake! We can tell that this is going to be a highlight of our summer. We have wandered another of God's wonders with some wonderful friends!
