Hiking in the Guadalupe Mountains

We had wanted to hike to the top of Guadalupe Peak, the tallest mountain in Texas, but the weather wouldn't have been good. On our second morning in New Mexico, we drove back into west Texas to the nearby Guadalupe Mountains National Park. It was cold and windy on the ground, but on the peak, 40 mph winds brought the wind chill to 3F! Not good for climbing.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park 

Instead, we decided to take some hikes around the base of the mountain. We hiked the Smith Spring Trail, which took us a moderate rise for a few miles to a crystal clear waterfall.

me at the park 

We also hiked to Frijole Ranch, an old settlement built along one of the natural springs. Now it's a museum dedicated to the people who used to live out in the mountains. In the past, it was an important stagecoach stop on the way to California.

a volcano, I think

Though we didn't climb the mountain, I enjoyed the scenery! I love the wild desert landscapes of west Texas and New Mexico. Maybe it's because I live in Bangkok, and spend most of my time in the city or in forests and jungle landscapes.

El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak shrouded in cloud

The desert is just something that is so different from what I'm used to. I really love the American Southwest, and enjoy visiting this region of the country whenever I'm back home.

the mountains

We spent several hours hiking out at the park. It's a nice way to end the year. It had been a long time since we had taken a family vacation!

there was snow on the ground

This is the last post of the year! It's been a good one. Stay tuned next week for my annual Year-in-Review post! Here's to 2020! I hope it's a great year for everyone. Don't forget to explore!

a message left by earlier hikers

Family Road Trip

There are two places, it seems, where I end up at least once every year: Siem Reap, Cambodia and Carlsbad, New Mexico. Not that I'm complaining at all! In love both cities, though they couldn't be more different.

After Christmas, my parents, brother, and I took a road trip out west to spend a few days in and around Carlsbad. I was super excited! I think that Carlsbad Caverns is one of the coolest national parks in the US, and I love the desert landscapes out that way.

very cold out in the Chihuahuan Desert 

It was so cold! Fortunately, it's always a pleasant 56F inside the caverns, no matter the temperature outside. We got to the park early, and walked down through the cave's natural entrance. I had been a few times in past years (I even went caving with my buddy James a couple of years back), and my mom has been recently with her school on a field trip. My dad and brother hadn't been since my brother was a baby, though. It was their first time to walk down into the cave rather than take the elevator. My brother, of course, didn't remember the caves. It was an exciting experience for all of us.

at the mouth of the cafe 

What's so cool about walking down into the natural entrance is that you can see the changes from the cave's mouth, through the "twilight zone", and into the deep cave. The life that exists in the cave changes the deeper you get, and informative signs along the path teach visitors all about the cave's ecosystem.

Carlsbad Caverns

The limestone caverns were formed millions of years ago, when the ice caps were melted and the entire area used to be an ancient coral reef. In fact, lots of the formations in the cave are very clearly fossilized coral!

After visiting the cave and getting stamps in our national park passports, we had a picnic lunch in our car (it was way too cold and windy to enjoy sitting outside).

incredible natural features in the caverns 

Then, we stopped in at one of the most fun and tackiest souvenir shops just outside of White's City, near the national park.

I was excited to take my family to visit the Living Desert Zoo and Botanical Gardens, which I only discovered last year. It's a state park zoo dedicated to the ecology of the deserts of the American Southwest.

Living Desert Zoo 

It's also a botanical garden, and the landscapes are sculpted to reflect different ecosystems and biomes of the Chihuahuan Desert.

desertscapes 

But it was still freezing cold and super windy! As we walked through the park, the icy wind was really unpleasant! It was fun to visit, and fortunately many of the exhibits were indoors. Still, I was glad when we got to the succulent greenhouse, which contained cacti from all over the world. It was warm, humid, and reminded my of my home in Bangkok!

in the succulent greenhouse 

Happy Holidays

The past two months have been super busy with Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, finishing a semester of grad school, and spending time with my family. I wanted to take a little time off and put all of my holiday stuff into one big megapost! So here we are! Now that I'm back in Thailand, I'm taking some time to get caught up on my blog.

I arrived in Texas in mid-November, just in time to see the leaves changing color before winter.

My parents and I discovered the very best Christmas beer ever! It's called Angry Santa, and it's produced by Fort Worth local brewery, Rahr & Sons.

Dad and I spent an evening in downtown Fort Worth, and saw the lights at Sundance Square.

We had tickets to Miss Saigon at Bass Hall, which was already decorated for Christmas.

I think Santa was breaking into Worthington Bank!

Of course we spent a weekend in Clifton to visit the world-famous Norwegian Country Christmas Festival!

The most exciting part of the festival is the Cookie Stroll at First UMC! You are given a box to fill up with as many cookies as you like, and purchase it by weight. You have to get there fast, though! It seems like everyone in Clifton wants to get their hands on some delicious homemade cookies!

It's hard to stop yourself from buying more and more!

One day, my brother and I were in Dallas so that I could apply for a new visa to Thailand at the consulate. Afterwards, we decided to stop in at the Galleria. It was very cool to see the big tree (I had never been there before), but the traffic was a nightmare! We had some Thai food at the food court, looked at the tree, listened to some carolers, and promptly left! 

Christmas morning started with a delicious breakfast! I guess I have really missed cooking. This year, I insisted on planning big menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years. Generally, we followed the recipes and menu suggestions from the 2019 Southern Living Christmas Cookbook, which I rate 5 stars! Every recipe was great!

On Christmas afternoon, we made a big bowl of my grandma's Christmas punch. I wasn't allowed to have any when I was a kid!

And on New Year's Day, I made up a batch of my special mulled wine recipe! It's a tradition from Bangkok, and now I make it every year. It just makes it feel like Christmas!

Homemade Mulled Wine

Every year, just a few days before Christmas, I attend the Carol Service at Christ Church. Bangkok's Anglican church holds a special service every year in which the Christmas story is told entirely through songs and carols. At the end of the hour, the congregation lights candles and goes outside to sing Silent Night by candlelight to the hot and humid city. After that, everyone heads into the church hall for a very British celebration of Christmas cookies, mince pies, and mulled wine. It's become one of my favorite Bangkok traditions, and the way I like to kick off the holiday season each year.

When I'm in the US for Christmas, I kind of miss this tradition! This year, I made my own mulled wine to share with my family.

Mulled wine, spiced wine, Glühwein... it's all the same thing! Most recipes are really similar. I improvised a bit and came up with this recipe, and I have to say, I did a great job! Mulled wine is excellent around Christmastime. It's good on a cold winter day, and it's spiced enough to put you into the Christmas spirit! Sometimes it's sweetened more with a few cups of apple cider, and it can be fortified with brandy as well, if you want something a little stronger. For me though, I think that the basic recipe is just fine!

Ingredients

750 ml bottle of a dry red wine such as Merlot or Zinfandel ($10-ish; no need for expensive wine)
1 whole large orange sliced into rings
6 whole cloves
4 whole cinnamon sticks
5 star anise
1/4 C. brown sugar
a few peppercorns

Directions

It's super simple. Simmer all ingredients in a pot on low. Make sure that it doesn't boil! Simmer for 30 minutes, strain, and garnish with sliced orange and cinnamon stick. Cheers!

mulled wine!

Riordan Mansion

On the last day of our visit to Flagstaff, we had several hours before our midday flight. Wanting to make the most of our time, my mom and I decided to visit the Riordan Mansion State Historical Park located just across the street from the NAU campus.

Riordan Mansion

We were in luck! Since it was mid-morning on a weekday, we were the only visitors, and got a private tour of the historic mansion. Riordan Mansion was the home to the Riordan family, entrepreneurial settlers who were responsible for establishing Flagstaff and for helping Arizona gain its statehood. The mansion itself is a fascinating piece of history dating back to the turn of the century, and is one of the best examples of the American Arts and Crafts Movement in Southwestern architecture.

inside the mansion

The mansion was super cool, especially if you are interested in architecture. The designer of the house studied under the same school of architecture as Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Riordans added lots of their own elements to the design as well.

photographs printed directly on the glass window panes

The result is a beautiful, fascinating, and one-of-a-kind mansion which was very much ahead of its time with electricity and central heating in the early 20th century.

the Riordan family shrine

The mansion is large and elegant, but not overly ostentatious. It's a beautiful home, but mostly unique due to its historical and architectural elements. It would be a very comfortable and cozy place to live.

All in all, it was a great way to spend a day before flying out of Arizona and heading back home to Texas!

a swing by the fire

Learn more about the mansion here:

https://azstateparks.com/riordan-mansion/

the mansion's guardian

Black Sands: The Lava Fields at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

As evening approached, we drove past Sedona and through the Coconino National Forest, where the foliage was already turning to a spectrum of red and gold that would have envied any New England postcard.

the visitor center at Sunset Crater Volcano

As the sun sunk low in the clear Arizona sky, we arrived at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, an ancient volcano and sprawling lava field.

the volcano itself

Sunset Crater is a part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field, a range of volcanoes that are still considered active. Sunset Crater itself, however, has been certified to be extinct. Its last eruption was around 1000 years ago, although the results of the violent eruption are still clearly visible in the nearby lava field.

a dead tree in the lava field

Even today, very few plants can grow in the black volcanic soil, and many of the trees that are strong enough to survive are twisted and gnarled. The ground is cracked and broken from the ancient eruption, and the lava field is covered in jagged pieces of volcanic rock. It's a surreal landscape.

the hike took us through the lava field

Much of the lava field is closed to visitors in order to preserve its unique and delicate natural features. However, there is a 1-mile loop through the Bonito Lava Flow which can take you past some amazing and otherworldly landscapes.

the volcano in the distance

The trail isn't exactly smooth! Though it's just one mile, it's steep in parts, and very uneven, as the path takes you over boulders and weird lava flows.

the trail grew steep at certain points

The volcano is inert, but there was a big scare back in 2015. Since Sunset Crater is so close to Flagstaff, it needs to be monitored carefully. A couple of years ago, weather satellites picked up smoke coming from the mountain. Before declaring a big evacuation of the town, it was discovered that the smoke was just from a small forest fire near the volcano.

there were many fallen trees - each one twisted and gnarled

If the San Francisco Volcanoes erupt again, they could cause a big problem for norther Arizona. The blast zone would cover a large part of the region. In fact, after visiting the park, I became more aware of how many places in and around Flagstaff have black volcanic soil, which just goes to show how widespread the previous eruptions had been.

exploring the lava field

Sunset Crater Volcano became a national monument in 1930 in order to protect it from a movie studio which wanted to detonate the volcano for a special effect. It was given national monument status by President Hoover due to its unique scientific and natural features. It's also just beautiful, albeit in a weird and alien sort of way.

a crack in the earth formed by the violent eruption

As we left the national monument, a rainbow cut across the sky. It was a cool, dry day, but the sun must have refracted off water vapor or ice in the atmosphere. It was our last full day in Flagstaff, and by the time we left the national monument, we were exhausted. We had had an amazing time visiting so many national parks and monuments over the past few days.

a rainbow appeared overhead just before sunset

The People of the Verde Valley: Three Pueblo Sites of the Sinagua People

When my mother and I were traveling in and around Flagstaff, Arizona, we spend a full day exploring some of the lesser-known monuments outside of the Grand Canyon. We spent a full day visiting a trio of National Monuments dedicated to preserving a series of ancient pueblo sites built by the Sinagua People over 1000 years ago.

Montezuma's Castle National Monument

The Aztecs never made their way as far north as Arizona, but when archaeologists and explorers stumbled across an ancient pueblo site in the early 19th century, they didn't know any better. Montezuma's Castle has absolutely nothing to do with Montezuma or the Aztecs, but it is one of the United States' best-preserved ancient sites.

Today, Montezuma's Castle is protected as a National Monument.

artifacts on display at the visitor's center museum

The "Castle" is really a spectacularly-preserved cliff-side pueblo dwelling. It is located around 90 feet up on a sheer cliff face, and is made up of around 60 rooms. Since the 1950s, the dwelling has been protected by the National Park Service, and is off limits to visitors. The park continues to maintain the structure in order to preserve it in its current state.

Montezuma's Castle

A model at the park displays what the dwelling looks like beneath the face of the cliff. It was once a thriving and vibrant community, but was mysteriously abandoned around 800 years ago.

a model of what the pueblo site looks like beneath the surface of the cliff

The national monument is situated on a beautiful piece of land south of Flagstaff. The people who once lived there had access to fresh water, food, and plenty of trees. Nobody knows why they abandoned the site. Maybe there were threats from neighboring communities. Maybe there was a drought or another ecological problem.

beautiful scenery at the national monument

Whatever the reason, they left behind numerous artifacts and this beautiful and fascinating historical treasure which is now preserved as Montezuma's Castle National Monument.

Montezuma's Well National Monument

Montezuma's Well National Monument was just ten minutes away by car. The Well, like the Castle, was not built by the Aztecs. In fact, I guess it's fair to say that Montezuma's Well was built by a fluke of geography!

Montezuma's Well

An ancient sinkhole, which formed thousands of years ago, provided shelter to the local Sinagua who built their pueblos as cliff dwellings in the walls of the cliff surrounding the sinkhole. The water in the sinkhole itself is poisonous (with high levels of CO2 and arsenic) and no fish live in it, but was useful for irrigation. A nearby freshwater stream provided plenty of safe water to drink.

the pueblos are built around an ancient sinkhole

Unfortunately, before it was managed by the National Park Service, the area surrounding Montezuma's Well wasn't always properly looked after. A piece of graffiti from 1818 shows that lack of respect for historical landmarks isn't a new phenomenon. This painted inadvertent for a Phoenix photo studio is now over 200 years old, and is still clearly visible.

early 19th century graffiti

The local area surrounding Montezuma's Well is beautiful as well. The sprawling Verde Valley offers views for miles in all directions. It must have been a very safe and well-secluded place to live, and the people who made their homes there could remain more or less hidden while still being able to spot danger from far off.

the area surrounding the well

A few crumbling ruins of other pueblo sites can still be identified surrounding Montezuma's Well, although like the castle, it was abandoned nearly 800 years ago.

remains of other pueblos near the well

Down below, near the fresh water river, stands a massive sycamore tree. Nobody's sure quite how old it is, although it's believed to be the biggest sycamore in Arizona, and possibly the biggest in North America! This doesn't have anything to do with the Sinagua or Montezuma's Well, but it's an interesting fact!

Arizona's largest sycamore tree

Tuzigoot National Monument

After lunch we continued on to Tuzigoot National Monument, about another hour away south of Sedona.

purple cacti at Tuzigoot

Tuzigoot may the most impressive pre-Columbian site in the United States. This ancient city was once made up of over 100 houses, though like the previous two sites, it has been abandoned for nearly a millennium.

desert scenery near the national monument

When we visited the National Monument, we began by exploring a little museum at the visitor's center. The museum held a wonderful collection of artifacts, all dating back at least a thousand years. To me, the most impressive items weren't the arrowheads or pottery shards, but the little wooden horses made up of bundled sticks. I guess the desert is so dry that these 4000 year-old figures never fell apart.

artifacts from Tuzigoot on display at the visitor's center

Tuzigoot isn't the real name of the site. In fact, nobody knows what the ancient city was really called. During the archaeological expedition, a local Native American worker suggested the Apache name "Tuzigoot", which means "Crooked Water". The site became a national monument in 1939, and is considered to be one of the best-preserved ancient historical sites in the country.

Tuzigoot - an ancient city in northern Arizona

The most amazing part of Tuzigoot is how well-hidden it is as a ruin. Unlike many other ancient pueblo sites, it was never plundered by treasure hunters or unscrupulous archaeologists during the 19th century. The ruins are almost invisible from far away, and so the site is a rich source of ancient artifacts which tell us a lot about the Sinagua People who used to live there.

the city was made up of over 100 individual homes

Like the other sites, it was mysteriously abandoned 1000 years ago.

nobody knows why Tuzigoot was abandoned nearly a thousand years ago

We spent some time hiking amongst the ruins of the ancient city.

In a place like this, you can't help but wonder what life must have been like for the ancient people who once inhabited these pueblos.

exploring the ancient city

I love history, and places like Tuzigoot, Ayutthaya, or Angkor Wat are endlessly fascinating to me. I love being able to walk around and touch real pieces of history.

Tuzigoot National Monument outside of Flagstaff and Sedona

Somehow, being able to explore an ancient ruin site just makes it all seem more real. It just helps to feel a bit more connected to the ancient people who lived on our planet so long ago.