Go back home? Or continue?

Man o man....what a convoluted situation we are all in. All this concern about the virus is making life a bit more challenging. We're in New Mexico wondering if we want to continue our trip through the summer or back home and hunker down until there's some relief.

I went to the grocery store the other day in a town of 30,000 people and the shelves that held water, TP, paper towels and pasta(?) completely empty. Do folks think that there will never be TP made again? And don't they have water in their homes? Crazy business.

The other day, we hiked about 2 miles out and back to see the inside of one of the largest volcanos n Northern New Mexico, Bandera Crater.

Our hike-out-and back to the edge of the volcano

We stayed near the yellow at the top. All the rest are the lava flows from this volcano.

Bandera Crater is the largest volcanic cinder cone in the region. It erupted around 10,000 years ago. There were two stages of the eruption: first the cinder cone developed, then a massive lava flow broke out this side. The molten lava reached temperatures above 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bandera's lava flow is nearly 23 miles long. At the end of the eruption, the lava suddenly fell back down the main vent making the bottom of the cone deeper than the outside lava flow. This crater is nearly 1200 feet wide at the top and roughly 750 deep.

The elevation at the look out point is 8122. The elevation at the rim is 8372. Over time, erosion and gravity take their toll on the crater and it is slowly filling up as cinders and rocks fall down into it. This makes for a very fragile environment.

Over time, erosion and gravity take their toll on the crater and it is slowly filling up as cinders and rocks fall down into it. This makes for a very fragile environment.

Katie LOVES hiking...."Come on...are you coming?"

After much discussion, and watching the news, we're going to keep going and just be careful. Most of the next week will be either overnight-only stays or someplace where we won't have to mingle with anyone. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, things will take a turn for the better and we'll be okay with this plan. In the meantime, we wash our hands constantly, put sanitizer on them, and keep away from most gatherings.

Unfortunately, our trip includes New Orleans, Carlsbad Caverns, Washington D.C., Atlanta (to visit our son), etc. So, we're not sure what will even be open.

Keep safe.

Steve/Kim/Katie