We debated going out of the country for a trip but with the world in chaos we decided to stay in the US. Last time we visited Northern New Mexico the girls were young so we headed back to see some old favorites and hopefully find some new favorites.
We flew into Denver and first stop was Browns Canyon NM in SE Colorado. We struggled a little bit finding the place since there were no signs until you were in the park.The views made up for the lack of signsWe hiked on the Turret TrailCastors and Whytes, together again for another adventureWe all agreed this is a must return area. The camp ground on the Arkansas River was one of the nicest we have seen and we have seen a lot of them. Apparently early spring is the time to go, the place was empty. I would love to have this rock work in our backyard.Last time we visited this was a National Monument, it was designated a National Park & Preserve in 2004. These are the tallest dunes in North America at 755 feet.You can camp in the dunes as long as you have a permit and set up your tent where it cannot be seen from the road. Apparently the stars gazing is legendary and I put this on the list for a return trip. The area is designated a dark sky park.The dunes contain over 5 billion cubic meters of sand making this the largest sandbox in North America.You can rent boards or bring your own to slide down the dunes, it is a tough hike back to the top. Sorry, there are no chair lifts.
Places like Zapata Falls are why I like road trips. We saw the sign and decided to stop, I am very glad we did.This started out as simple hike on a gravel trail. As we got closer to the falls, the trail became solid ice and very slick. I am glad we had our hiking polesIce was still on the falls but you could see and hear the water running underneathSan Luiz dry bed, camping area here was also niceThis would be a great dining table, all steelEd and I were birded out but Leann and Anita saw a Cinnamon Teal.Thank you internet for the Cinnamon Teal pictureOf course it snowed on us.After 2 nights in Colorado we crossed into New MexicoThese 21,586 acres were designated a national monument in 2015.As we started the hike my “friends and wife” were razzing me about what a boring hike it was. They changed their minds when we got to the canyon.This hike had two firsts for us: it is the only hike and National Monument where you park in a rest stopRift Valley trail outside of Taos, I did not notice the bulett holes when I took the pictureLeann heard something scurrying in the brush and was trying to find it, no luck on this onePueblo people lived here from 1150 to 1550, their main diet was corn and deer. They abandoned the area round 1550 and moved to pueblos by the Rio Grande due to a drought. Population estimates vary but most agree that there were 25-50 inhabitants. History does repeat, people in the area are currently talking about the current drought. This small area could not support 50 people. There are now approximately 40,000,000 people relying on the Colorado River for water, what could go wrong?The pueblo people lived in natural caves that they expandedThe CastorsHow do you tell the difference between Ponderosa and Jeffries Pine? Take a whiff, Ponderosa smells like butterscotch or vanilla. Another way to ID Ponderosa Pines, you will see little Joe or Hoss milling around. Dating myself, our family watched Bonanza every Sunday night. Hoss and the little people was a classic.
We decided to hike the South Mountain Trail, it was easy at the beginning…..Apparently it only snows on the trail.This might be the bluest sky I have ever seen.Yes, this is the trail and we had to work our way around many downed trees.What is worse than downed trees? Post holing! That is when you are walking along the top of the snow and you suddenly sink in to your knee. You leave a post hole.We did the loop trailLunch, we like to eat!Sandstone bluffs, we did not plan on stopping here but what the heck. It was awesome.Another unplanned stop: La Ventana ArchA natural arch and bridge are similar looking features. An arch is formed by wind, a bridge is formed by water. Imagine the time involved for wind to carve this arch.We thought this would be a really cool hike, NOT! Hiking on razor sharp lava gets old very quickly.You do not want to trip and fall on this stuffCool sign and refugeThere is a pack of Mexican grey wolves in the mountains.The first structures were built by the Spanish between 1627 and 1632. The structures were abandoned due to a severe drought (again?), famine, and disease. Settlers arrived in the early 1800’s and continued constructionWe visited here when the girls were young. During our first visit the wind was howling so we did not stay long,. The wind brought dropped temperatures and snow. The Whytes are famous for ending droughts wherever they go.We did a hike up and around the rim of the crater.The populating of the America’s is fascinating to me, the time of the first inhabitants keeps getting older and older. We are all immigrants.Our last stop before heading to the airport and our afternoon flight back to reality.I did not get a picture or a video of one of the funniest things the Whytes have seen on vacation but this is a good reminder. There was a group of mule deer bedded down under trees to the right of the road. The deer burst from their slumber, some crossed the road in front of us and some sprinted up the right side of the road. We wondered what spooked them when we saw a turkey giving chase to the group that was sprinting up the right side of the road. That turkey was an Olympic sprinter and was trying to chase down the deer. Not sure why the deer were afraid of it but they were not sticking around. We were all laughing so hard nobody got a picture or a video. Too bad it would have gone viral. That turkey is probably still running but why didn’t it fly?So sleepyLeann trying to ID one more bird before we leave for the airport.
