From our Mazatlán stay, we headed to the United States by heading over the mountains and back over the Espinazo del Diablo (the Devil’s Backbone) of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains including the stunning Puente Baluarte (see our road trip to Mazatlán post for more)!

We stayed a few days in Chihuahua, Mexico and enjoyed touring Palacio de Gobierno including the gorgeous courtyard filled with statues and murals. Nearby, the Plaza del Ángel has beautiful bronze art. We also found… a mural of a Chihuahua dog in Chihuahua, Mexico. I love it so much! We savored our last night in Mexico with tacos and felt accomplished to order in Spanish (and understand it!) with the kindest waitress.

From there, we headed back into the USA after confusingly stumbling on the right line for us to get our Temporary Vehicle Importation Permit (TVIP) refund of $400! We almost missed it as it was just a small window kiosk in the rightmost lane, but a huge thanks to a white truck ahead of us that guided us there. We stopped for the evening in Las Cruces, NM where we enjoyed spring in the desert (blooms!) at the Tortugas Mountain Trail System.

Our next adventure was cat sitting for the first time! In Truth or Consequences, NM, we watched over a group of cats (a clowder) at a farm for a weekend. They stayed in the solarium, and the farm was delightful! I also enjoyed the random fact that a name for cats in German is literally a room tiger, Stubentiger (and the title of this post…). We were gifted fresh eggs as part of cat/house sitting and enjoyed cooking them for our dinners and made a delicious omelette. We also happened to be there on Fiesta weekend so we enjoyed breakfast in town and watching the Truth or Consequences Fiesta parade!

We found a rock in the desert on a hike that looked like an alien and the view and drive at the Elephant Butte Dam was amazing! We then began our travels to Colorado to visit family. We went through Albuquerque and enjoyed the Angel Peak Badlands Overlook where we stopped to stretch our legs. We stopped in Silverton, CO for dinner and had delicious pizza and beer at the Golden Block Brewery.

It was a great trip from Mexico through New Mexico. Thanks for joining us! And for making it this far… here’s a cool video of driving across the Puente Baluarte from Mazatlán to Durango, Mexico. Enjoy!