Bright and early Tuesday morning we headed for Las Vegas on the KLRs and took SR 65 north to Montezuma passing the New World College that looked like a castle sitting high on a mountain. We followed Gallinas River up the canyon (most roads in this area lead up into dead end canyons making it difficult to find a good loop route.) SR 65 was paved some 20 miles as it passed through the small community of Gallinas which is nothing more than a group of adobe homes and singlewides clustered between the road and river.

We followed SR 65 to fork at El Porvenir State Park entrance. Forest Road 261 led us into the small park and secluded campground more suited for hikers. We wouldn’t advise bringing an RV or trailer in here as the road was very narrow. Also be warned that the locals tend to hog the road - keep alert and stay to the right.

We backtracked to SR 65 and FR 263 (one map showed FR 251) west and continued deeper into the canyon. The road turned to gravel and then turned back to paved as we entered Santa Fe National Forest This road continues along Gallinas Creek, past Evergreen Valley Ranch, and dead ends at Tilted Rock Picnic Area at an elevation of about 8500 feet. SR 263/251 was unique in that the Canyon narrows and then opens up again as you near the end.

We backtracked to A16A a gravel road which took us on a very scenic climb to Johnson Mesa on FR 291 at 9700 feet. Please note that the USGS map we were using did not show this road. This road continued for another ½ mile and then came to a dead end. We then backtracked on FR 291 to A16A and took a right on A16A to Mineral Hill where we caught the paved road SR 283 back to Las Vegas. This was a very scenic route but did not pose any riding challenges. Overall a good way to start out our trip.

In the afternoon we took I 25 south and exited on SR 63 (part of the original Route 66) which follows the Pecos River up into the canyon. We passed thru the small town of Pecos which wasn’t more than a few businesses and homes. Continuing on SR 63 we found scenic views along the river and noted many properties blatantly marked “NO TRESPASSING” including the river itself in places. Further into the canyon the road began to climb and narrow. At Tererro we took a right and continued to climb to Cowles passing many camping areas on the river. After Cowles we followed a steep climb through a number of switchbacks and arrived at Jacks Creek Camping area. This is one of the prettiest mountain camping areas we have seen in our travels with views of the Santa Fe Mountains amid ash trees and their beautiful white bark. This was another dead end canyon route which ends at the Pecos Wilderness Area.

We made our way back into Las Vegas to pick up a few groceries. In the grocery parking lot we found Raymond the professional “chile roaster” busy at his profession. Nancy introduced herself and with a little flirting managed to snag a whole bag of fresh roasted chiles. We enjoyed these on just about everything we ate for the next few days.