Our initial desire is to check out the Mentmore climbing area near Gallup, New Mexico. We start out on Friday night, finding a pretty spot on the Continental Divide Trail to overnight. It begins to rain, then hail and snow. Reading the guidebook for entertainment, I notice a comment that the porous sandstone at Mentmore needs to dry out for a couple of days after getting wet.

Squalls are still blowing through on Saturday, so we hike a little in El Malpais lava flow, then decide to go to Enchanted Tower. It’s a long drive south to Pie Town, much of it on roads shared by the Continental Divide Trail, which we’ve hiked. Somehow it seems longer driving it.

The closer we get to Enchanted Tower, the snowier it gets. Finally we park in a full-blown blizzard. It makes for a cozy night in the camper if nothing else. Sunday is still cold and dreary, but good enough for a nice hike up a side canyon before we head home.