Day 4 Enchanted Circle Loop - Questa, NM to Red River

Day 4 of the Enchanted Circle cycling trip was surprisingly perfect. We left town early because we anticipated an exceptionally difficult climb to Red River and although the climb is quite impressive the amazing views, wildlife and beautiful stream we followed all morning made the trip very enjoyable. We began by stopping right outside town at Eagle Lake that is one more thing that proves that Questa is a town that is worth your time. Once again they have done a beautiful job designing and maintaining this beautiful area that was well worth our time. If you have 30 minutes to an hour of time I would recommend spending some time here. We even saw some early morning fishers at this small but lovely lake.

About this time we also came up a sign warning us that there are often Big horn sheep on the road for the next 8 miles. I LOVE BIGHORN SHEEP!!! So I was slightly excited about the possibilities.
As we traveled up the mountain the cliffs were spectacular and the forest provided us with many shaded areas. It was shocking the difference between being in the shade of the trees and being in the sun this morning. Often I found myself cold in the shade despite being very warm on the road in the sun.

As we approached about mile 5 I had begun to dismiss the idea of seeing a sheep when I was looking up into one of the mining fields and saw a movement. We quickly stopped and sure enough it was a female Big Horned Sheep. She stayed on top of the ridge several minutes but then I believe it may have been a bleating male over the ridge called her back and she quickly disappeared. She was far up, but I was pleased I had seen my sheep. As we mounted our bikes to start again we heard a horn around the corner and sure enough there was another…right by the road!! David decided to go past her and videoed her but as he passed I realized there we two more coming a crossed. When they had passed I joined David and we soon realized there were a continuous line of them coming across the road. We guesstimate there were about 20 that crossed while we stood there. It was awesome.

We travelled further up the road and enjoyed the scenery including some amazing small falls in the river, a tree that had been cut down by a beaver and a historical marker explaining the mining history of the area. We then made the observation that the road had been a wonderfully gentle incline so far…oops…rookie mistake as we had not been on our bikes long before the climb became considerably more challenging. Luckily that only lasted for about four more miles.

We made it to town and our first stop were the ski slopes were we had taken our children to their first skiing adventure in Red River. It was awesome to relive some of the memories and to send pictures home to the kids. Then my wonderful hubby took me to a cute the coffee shop to get a vanilla latte.

We spent some time shopping the local shops and quickly fell in love with Red River. It is such a clean, relaxed family oriented town. They have an adventure park, summer tubing, lifts running and zip line for the kids. We went to lots of shops that include trinket shops, art work, and winer tasting shops. We also went to an outdoor museum and a little red school house. There are go karts, jeep rides, ATV vehicles to rent, rafting trips and lots of hiking opportunities. We could definitely spend another day here.

Lunch was at a Willy’s a cute little BBQ joint with an amazing staff. It was really yummy! We are staying at the Caribel where tenants can fish in a private lake.
We finished our day with a pizza from Anchovies which was excellent, watched the kids at our resort catch fish and a walk down the trail by the river.

It was a perfect day!

Tomorrow, our last day, once again provides us with a challenge. Quite possibly our hardest one yet. It appears to be a greater climb than our second day, but will end with a breath taking decent back into Eagle Nest. I find myself once again nervous, but excited to finish this challenge!!