New Mexico, September 2009

[Roanoker]

Thanks, wondered if there was something I missed.  I have been in the Valles Caldera, which I think would be termed a supervolcano, and bathed in the fantstic Jemez Hot Springs on its flank.  I have been all over New Mexico, but never to Taos or the Capulin area.  I would like to do a road trip there sometime as the area interests me especially following the route of the old Santa Fe Trail.  It seems like driving from KC to Taos or even Raton in one day would be too much.  Are there any towns with lodging in northeast New Mexico?  Looks quite vacant between Liberal and Raton.

We drove from Kansas City and did not have any trouble finding places to stay, as I recall. I did refer to my Garmin. I will check with my son and post anything he would recommend. In the meantime, I will include here some of my notes from the trip. I hope I don't bore anyone.

My son had sent the following note a few days earlier as a malleable itinerary (Albuquerque and then Santa Fe turned out to be last):

[-------------
Here's a rough list. I haven't pinned down times yet, as it's hard to tell where we'll be day to day. Maybe we could do Albuquerque before we head back (just one option).

------

Possible places to visit; rough route goes in counter-clockwise circle in northern NM; (Towns are in para's)

- - -

(Boise City/Guymon OK, Liberal KS; places to stay first night)

Black Mesa area, Ok (drive-thru)

Capulin Volcano NM

(Taos)
Rio Grande Gorge

(Santa Fe)

(Los Alamos)
Bandelier NM
Valles Caldera

Chaco Canyon

Zuni-Banderas lava flow

(Albuquerque)
Petroglyphs
Sandia Peak
Turquois Trail

More as we find out about them along the way.
----------]

Here's what we really did:

Sat 9/19/09
Got up early in the morning, drove to Guymon, Oklahoma, and stayed at a Best Western.

Sun 9/20/09
Drove to New Mexico. Went to Capulin Volcano National Monument, walked up to and around the crater and then went down to the bottom, seeing bunches of lava boulders. Drove to Taos and stayed at Days Inn.

Mon 9/21/09
Spent some time in Taos. Drove on Highway 64 and saw a lot of nice things. First stop was at the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. Went on, through Bandelier National Monument. Drove to Los Alamos and found a place to stay mid-afternoon. (I think it was the Best Western Hilltop House Hotel, but possibly not. I remember giant windows in the dining room.) It turned very cold in the evening.

Tue 9/22/09
(The unexpected cold altered my son's plans for the day.) Breakfast was in a giant room on the third floor with windows all over. Sunlight flooded the room. There was all kinds of food. We left Los Alamos and drove to Bandalier Monument, Tsankawi section. We paid $12 and got the change in gold dollar coins. We spent most of the day there. (The pictures I have posted so far are up to this point.) Then we drove to the visitor center area, walked the loop and saw a bunch of cave dwellings. Later in the day, we drove toward Santa Fe, stopping at Cities of Gold hotel and casino. (For the hotel part, not the casino, although I'm sure it was fine.)

Wed 9/23/09
We left Cities of Gold and drove on Highway 4 most of the day, driving through the Jemez Mountains. Drove into the Valles Caldera and saw a soda dam. (I have no idea now what that means.) Drove to Albuquerque and visited the Petroglyph Monument. Stayed at Microtel. (Microtel is my favorite place to stay. It is always very nice and it is affordable.)

9/24/09
Went to El Malpais National Monument and walked on a few trails. Came back to the same Microtel and washed clothes, as they had a nice laundry room. Stayed there again.

Fri 9/25/09
Visited a friend who lives in Albuquerque. Stayed a third night at the Microtel.

Sat 9/26/09
Drove to Santa Fe. Interesting place. Saw lots of artwork. Very nice. Lots of fossils, gemstones, and rocks. Began long drive home. Stopped at a Microtel in Raton, NM.

Sun 9/27/09
Left Raton and drove home to Kansas City.

[Roanoker]

If you don't like cactus and asters, you might as well skip this post.






I was lucky to catch this one with a small beam of sunlight right on the flower.


A natural garden.








An aster-lined path, of all things.

[Highlander]

Thank you, mykem. My son, who is interested in earth science and has a degree in geology, plans most of our trips. The sights are frequently jaw-dropping. Incredible, stunning beauty can be found in many places.

This is a question I would need to ask my son, but he works nights, and I don't want to wake him. So I Googled active volcanoes in new mexico and learned from http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/faq/volcanoes/#are that "...there are currently no active volcanoes in New Mexico..." The page at http://www.nmnaturalhistory.org/sci_volcanoes.html claims that New Mexico is the Volcano State.

There are indeed no active volcanoes in New Mexico despite the fact there are several areas with relatively recent volcanic activity (NE New Mexico/Jemez Caldera/Taos Canyon/etc...).  The state is pretty much bifurcated by the failed Rio Grande Rift which runs N-S through the center of the state and forms a rift valley similar to the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa.  In the south, around Carrizozo and Socorro, there are lava flows within the rift valley (where the crust thins and magma is close to the surface) that are just a couple of thousand years old, still relatively unaltered by weathering. 

[Roanoker]

Thank you for your comments, Highlander.

Same day for these pictures. A sign refers to this area as Tsankawi Ruin.

More asters and daisies.


My son walks along the flowery path.


Cactus and asters.


These stones experienced some sort of serious movement.


Now they are staring at us.


We spotted only a few asters that were pink. Notice the curly petals.






My son.


Here's my husband, watching me climb a ladder.


Son, shooting some petroglyphs.


I have no idea what this is.

[FangKC]

http://www.bustedtees.com/newmexico

[Roanoker]

We're still in the Bandelier area.

[Roanoker]

We visited a nice park, still in the Bandelier area.

People lived in these cliffs long ago.


Those asters sure get around. Just foreground material here. You're not supposed to look directly at them.


Now you can.


Evidence of habitation.


These caves look like faces.


Which way to go?






Rock ghouls.


Formidable path.




I didn't venture forth.

[Highlander]

Sounds like a great trip you took.  I am interested in hearing about the remainder of the itenerary.  Did you get to Santa Fe, Albuquerque or down south to White Sands Nat'l Monument?

[Roanoker]

Sounds like a great trip you took.

It was!

I am interested in hearing about the remainder of the itenerary.  Did you get to Santa Fe, Albuquerque or down south to White Sands Nat'l Monument?

Yes, yes, and no. I will eventually post pictures. Son says White Sands was too far south.

[Roanoker]

We are still strolling by the ruins.

I took this shot while climbing up the ruins "mountain."


You can see the ceilings of a few caves here where fires were burned long ago.


Cropped picture within a larger section of itself.




I guess I did go inside one of the caves.

[Roanoker]

Same day, same place.

Housing project.


Nice colors in this one.




How pretty.












Same stuff as above, but further away.






One more, for the season.


H A P P Y  V A L E N T I N E ' S  D A Y !

[KCKev]

I can feel the spiritual Love in your Photos!

Thanks for the Feel GOOD and happy Valentines Day to you Too.

[Roanoker]

Thank you, KCKev.

We're nearing the end of day on 9/22/09.








We were looking for a place to stay. This one was considerably over our budget, so we moved on.


It is the next day, 9/23/09, and we are making our way to Albuquerque, driving through the Jemez Mountains and into the Valles Caldera.


This is actually a portrait-oriented picture, cropped and pasted into a larger segment of itself.


Even a road can be pretty.


I don't remember what this weird thing was called.


Closer view.


Someone strung a bunch of red peppers together and created a ristra.


This is the Petroglyph National Monument. Petroglyphs can be seen all along the trail.

[teclis]

Great pictures!

[Highlander]

Thanks, wondered if there was something I missed.  I have been in the Valles Caldera, which I think would be termed a supervolcano, and bathed in the fantstic Jemez Hot Springs on its flank.  I have been all over New Mexico, but never to Taos or the Capulin area.  I would like to do a road trip there sometime as the area interests me especially following the route of the old Santa Fe Trail.  It seems like driving from KC to Taos or even Raton in one day would be too much.  Are there any towns with lodging in northeast New Mexico?  Looks quite vacant between Liberal and Raton.

Clayton is big enough to have a few hotels as is Dalhart in TX which is less attractive.  From Clayton to Raton is very scenic as you head over the NE New Mexico volcanic province but it's pretty lonely with no towns that amount to much.  North of Clayton and east of Raton is Johnson Mesa which is like visiting Conan Doyle's the Lost World.  Just an entirely different place and almost no outsiders ever go there (but I did several times when I lived in Amarillo). 

[loftguy]

Roanoker,  thanks for the share of your travels thru the high desert.  I've been on much of the path you've captured and wish I was in the middle of any of those panoramas at this moment.

KCKev mentioned the spiritual component. It's threaded through all experience in these parts. Don't you think?

[Roanoker]

Great pictures!

Thank you, Teclis.

Roanoker,  thanks for the share of your travels thru the high desert.

You are welcome!

I've been on much of the path you've captured and wish I was in the middle of any of those panoramas at this moment.

Me, too!

KCKev mentioned the spiritual component. It's threaded through all experience in these parts. Don't you think?

Yes. I understand that New Mexico has been nicknamed, "The Land of Enchantment." It truly is.

Incidentally, I said I didn't remember what that "weird thing" was in the last batch of pictures. My son told me it is the Soda Dam. You can read about it at http://abqstyle.com/2007/04/soda-dam-je ... exico.html.

[Roanoker]

It is still 9/23/09 and we are still at the Petroglyph National Monument.

I turned around and snapped this picture of some town from the Petroglyph trails.


This looks like a flower we used to see in Roanoke when we walked in the park. The "buds" would look like rolled-up parchment just before blooming. Actually, we didn't see many blooms in Roanoke. The "parchment rolls" seemed to keel over under their own weight and croak. The few we saw looked like this.


We saw many petroglyphs like this.


Husband is looking at petroglyphs on the trail.


I love grass and sun flares. Here are both.


Now for some fauna.


Interesting rock layer.


It is the next day (9/24/09), and we are at a visitor center either in or near Albuquerque.








Notice that we are now at El Malpais national Monument. I like this sign.

[Roanoker]

[Highlander]

Where were the latest installment of pictures taken?  Looks pretty remote.