New Mexico Travels with Julie - Carlsbad Caverns

October 31, 2019

Both Julie and I really wanted to visit Carlsbad Caverns. This was my third or fourth time but Julie's first. We decided to hike in through the natural entrance and explore the big room. As usual we ended up hiking alone and then meeting back up afterwards.

Julie was really looking to this visit

We started through the natural entrance which has a whole seating area in front of it for the evening bat fly-out.  Bats had migrated to Mexico before we arrived

At the start of the hike down into the cave

This was taken in the last bit of natural light before going down too deep to see outside light

Many of the more specular formations were lit 

Awesome

Nature can get a lot done in 4-6 million years

Massive structures with delicate stalactites

So many kinds of structures

WOW

Pillars

The interaction of water and minerals over millions of years  is totally amazing

I was a wonderful afternoon. Now we only have another one hundred fifteen caves to go to see all the underground of Carlsbad Caverns.

We left just before closing time and made the  long drive to our campsite at Monahan Sandhills State Park, where we set up in the dark and ate a late supper. The following morning, we had to pack Julie to fly home, before taking a quick look at the park. Soon we were back in the car for another long trip to San Antonio, followed by a few more hours of driving to Garner State Park to meet my daughter. It was again dark by the time I found my daughter's campsite.

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you Opt Outside. I'd love to hear about your outings with you and your friends. Use the comments to tell me, or give me a link to your blog.

In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

New Mexico Travels with Julie - Sunset Hike at White Sands National Monument

October 30, 2019


Julie and I barely made it to White Sands National Monument in time to see it.  But we WERE in time to drive the auto tour, then join a ranger-led sunset hike.  It was interesting to learn that the sand is made of gypsum - some 275 square miles of it. But otherwise, it seems to support about the same kinds and quantities of life as does sand made of quartz.

The sand undulates in dunes

And often has beautiful wind patterns etched into the sand

It is much easier to walk on a boardwalk than the sand itself

I couldn't figure what it was that allowed plants to grow or prevent them from doing the same - I think it is the interaction of plants, sand and wind. The wind may scour the flat places while depositing more sand where plants have managed to get a start

The sands are always moving and the plants have various strategies to keep themselves from getting buried. This plant keeps growing taller rapidly

Another landscape

A little color in the magic hour

Wind carvings

A rare long view

Some places are have many fewer plants than others - this is a yucca

Beginning of the sunset hike

It seems the plants themselves make little duns as they capture more and more sand

Julie on hike as the sky promised a great sunset

The golden hour

Sunset glow

The sun and clouds did produce a lovely sunset

The patterns formed by footprints reminded me of the petroglyphs we had seen that morning 

Julie enjoying the last of the sunset

New Mexico Travels with Julie - A Quick Visit to Petroglyph National Monument

October 30, 2019

Julie and I did a quick stop at Petroglyph National Monument to check out the Visitor Center and do a little hiking.

This monument is co-managed by the National Park Service and the city of Albuquerque. I was surprised to find that it consists of areas within the city limits of the city. And the petroglyphs, which are  made by chipping off the outer layer of rock, were made by both Pueblo people and early Spanish settlers.

The rocks on which we found petroglyphs were on medium to large boulders that seemed to be a pile of rubble.  They are made of eroded volcanic rocks.

View in area of the park

Rock at the beginning of the Mesa Point Trail

The trail wound through this huge pile of rocks

Some petroglyphs were less distinct than others

View from top of "rubble" pile holding Petroglyphs that's my blue Toyota Rav4 

The Petroglyphs were on many of the rocks along Mesa Point Trail

These petroglyphs were made by early Spanish settlers 

Some very clear pictures of animals and humans

More cryptic symbols

Parts of Albuquerque were very near so this does not have the same feel as most national monuments

We were soon on our way again, in an attempt to get to visit White Sands National Monument before dark.

I've enjoyed two weeks of visiting friends across Texas. I've scheduled my cateract surgery and am planning another trip with a friend before starting a house/dog sitting job for a friend.

Hiking the Main Loop Trail in Bandelier National Monument

October 29, 2019

I spent a night at Bandelier National Monument before picking up Julie and then we spent two more nights there while exploring between there and Albuquerque. We finally got around to visiting the Visitor Center and taking a short hike after breaking camp.

Our camp at Bandelier National Monument

I kept my cooler cold by taking out the gel packs and laying them on the car every night to freeze- Julie thought she needed to keep her creamer cold - it froze solid. 

Bandelier had about seventy miles of trails but we only hiked a bit more than a mile. But it was a mile through a pueblo and where we could occasionally take wooden ladders up to get inside a living quarter and also get stunning views.  So it took a while. even though it was a very easy trail.

This is a place I'd like to see more of

One of almost constant spectacular views

This shows most of the beginning and last part of the trail which came back behind the trees 

The hike begins just behind the Visitor Center and soon passes the pueblo structures,  kiva and center area

The first part of the trail at the pueblo rooms

This portion is accessible

But soon we were hiking up along a bluff

Julie at the first place we could climb up to check out the living quarters

A couple came along and took my picture - the wife got brave enough to try it herself but the husband didn't - I took the overview picture from here

Can you find the easy trail?

This was definitely a strolling trail....

....With highly rewarding views

The golden cottonwoods mark the creek that supplied water for the pueblo - The three figures are staff taking the Frey trail that climbs out of the canyon to the camping area

Another room carved into the bluff

Even the colors served to give me joy

The rugged terrain contrasted with the easy trail

More living quarters

I think there were rooms that have fallen down - these are post holes for supports. 

View from the other side of the loop - across the creek

The last view I took, just before the end of the hike 

On a personal note, I've been having fun, fun, fun with my Houston friends.  I couldn't find time or energy to sit down and write a blog, and now I'm MANY blogs behind. I was so excited to get to try to paddle yesterday with several friends. They brought tow ropes in case I couldn't make it but I did and survived with almost no pain. I also threw a supper party, went to a Canoe Club meeting with a group supper before, and watched another friend compete in a Barn Hunt, where dogs find rats in hidden tubes along hay bale trails.

Now I'm turning my thoughts to getting cataract surgery and planning a birding/photography tour with a friend.