Traveling Huntleys

Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.

Road Trip

Santa Fe, Albuquerque & Elephant Butte, New Mexico During COVID

by

Last Updated: July 12, 2026

Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico and one of the most extraordinary cities in America — the oldest state capital in the country, founded by Spanish colonists in 1610, sitting at 7,199 feet in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It has been an art hub for over a century; Georgia O’Keeffe, Willa Cather, and D.H. Lawrence all found their way here, and today Santa Fe’s art market is the second largest in the United States after New York City. The adobe architecture, the canyon light, the galleries along Canyon Road — we wanted to experience all of it. COVID-19 had other plans. Nearly everything was closed, and we moved through the city mostly from a distance, filing it away for a proper return visit. From Eagle Nest, it was a two-and-a-half hour drive through the mountains and then south along the Rio Grande.

Sandy Huntley and Jake the dog standing on a rocky overlook high above the Rio Grande River in northern New Mexico
[Read more…] about Santa Fe, Albuquerque & Elephant Butte, New Mexico During COVID

Eagle Nest, Taos & Red River, New Mexico: Wildlife on the Enchanted Circle

by

Last Updated: July 12, 2026

From Amarillo, Texas, we headed west and then north into the mountains of northern New Mexico — a five-hour drive that climbed steadily from the flat Texas Panhandle to the high alpine country around Eagle Nest at 8,300 feet. The drive itself provided an early complication: somewhere along the route, either diesel fuel contamination with water or the rapid change in altitude was causing the engine to run rough under load. Purging the fuel filter helped, but a visit to the Freightliner dealer in Albuquerque was clearly going to be necessary. We filed it away and pressed on. What was waiting at the end of the drive was worth every mile of it.

A young bighorn sheep ram perched confidently on a rocky cliff face near Questa, New Mexico along the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway
[Read more…] about Eagle Nest, Taos & Red River, New Mexico: Wildlife on the Enchanted Circle

Amarillo, Texas: Cadillac Ranch and Palo Duro Canyon During COVID

by

Last Updated: July 12, 2026

After a week of repairs at Newmar’s service center in Nappanee, Indiana, we pointed the motorhome west toward Amarillo, Texas — a roughly 1,200-mile drive across the heartland of the country. We were chasing better weather and trying to stay ahead of the active spring storm system moving through the plains. The driving days were long, but the goal was clear: get to drier, calmer air in the Texas Panhandle. We had family in Amarillo we had hoped to visit, but the worsening COVID-19 situation made that impossible. With anywhere from 20 to 80 percent of those infected showing no symptoms or only mild ones, we had no way of knowing whether we carried the virus, and we were not willing to take the risk. We will try again on a future pass through.

Dramatic red and orange mesa formations rising from the canyon floor under a vivid blue sky at Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo, Texas
[Read more…] about Amarillo, Texas: Cadillac Ranch and Palo Duro Canyon During COVID

Newmar RV Service in Nappanee, Indiana: Maintenance During COVID

by

Last Updated: July 12, 2026

Northern Indiana is the RV capital of the world. Elkhart County alone produces the majority of motorhomes, travel trailers, and fifth wheels sold in the United States, and many of them are built in whole or in part by Amish craftsmen — a workforce renowned for the quality and care of their woodworking. Newmar Corporation is headquartered in Nappanee, Indiana, and after several years on the road in our Dutch Star, it was time for annual maintenance and a list of repairs that had accumulated on the last leg of the trip. We made the four-and-a-half hour drive north from Shepherdsville, Kentucky, arriving in early April 2020 — right in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. The service center stayed open as an essential business, but Nappanee itself was largely shut down.

Our Newmar Dutch Star motorhome parked outside the Newmar Service Center in Nappanee, Indiana
[Read more…] about Newmar RV Service in Nappanee, Indiana: Maintenance During COVID

Shepherdsville, Kentucky: Bernheim Forest and the Bourbon Trail During COVID

by

Last Updated: July 12, 2026

Shepherdsville, Kentucky sits just south of Louisville and serves as an ideal base for exploring two of the state’s great attractions: the lush, sprawling Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest and the legendary Kentucky Bourbon Trail. We arrived in late March 2020 from Cave City, eager to explore both — and found the same story we had been hearing across the country. COVID-19 restrictions were in full effect. Distillery tasting rooms, restaurants, and all social gatherings were closed as the country braced for what was coming. Bernheim Forest, however, was still open, and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful places we visited on the entire journey. The early spring blooms were extraordinary.

Cherry tree in full bloom with clouds of white blossoms in early spring at Bernheim Forest, Clermont, Kentucky
[Read more…] about Shepherdsville, Kentucky: Bernheim Forest and the Bourbon Trail During COVID

Cave City, Kentucky: Mammoth Cave National Park During COVID

by

Last Updated: July 12, 2026

Cave City, Kentucky sits about an hour and a half north of Nashville, Tennessee, and we had been looking forward to this stop for months. Mammoth Cave National Park is home to the longest known cave system in the world — more than 400 miles of mapped passages — and we had reserved a guided cave tour well in advance. The day before we arrived, the National Park Service cancelled it. COVID-19 shutdowns were sweeping the country in March 2020, and Mammoth Cave’s underground tours were among the first to go. Disappointing as it was, we made the most of our time exploring the park’s roads, trails, and the beautiful landscape above ground. Mammoth Cave remains very much on our list, and we will be back.

Apple tree blossoms in the foreground with an old cemetery and historic church in the background at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
[Read more…] about Cave City, Kentucky: Mammoth Cave National Park During COVID