New Mexico with Julie - A Hike at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National MOonument

New Mexico has  a lot of relatively small, scenic/historic national monuments. One of them, near Albuquerque, is the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. This is in a volcanic area that has been visited by people for at least 4000 years. It is the historic lands of the Cochiti people who still perform religious ceremonies there. It is a day use area with short trails, although some are very steep.

Julie and I got to to the monument mid afternoon and rushed to begin hiking. We hike separately so I don't slow her down and I can stop and take pictures without feeling guilty. I was blown away by the "tents" - cones of volcanic material that has weathered into the cones. My favorite part of the hike was going through a slot canyon. But I didn't get all the way to the mesa before I had to turn around. I definitely plan to go back and enjoy more of this monument.

I took many pictures of these cactus. I love all the colors they have

Some of the tents - which are shaped like teepees and range from shorter than people to huge room sized rocks

A little "tent village"

Another dramatic view of the tents

Just glorious

Getting closer

Still  out in the open

But soon the trail entered a slot canyon

There were places I could look out at nearby formations

The formations looked like they had been poured as semi solids and then hardened before they could flatten out

My camera could see slight color variations in the rock

Light painting

One of the very tight spots

The light was already going as I hiked deeper into the canyon

The late sun added its own colors

I'll be visiting friends in the Houston area when this blog publishes. I had a lovely birding outing while in Corpus Christi as well as a a few good visits with friends in addition to staying with one of my best friends.