Showing posts with label NM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NM. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
End of Day
I forgot to post this picture that X took as we drove back up the hill from our hike. Nice end to the day, huh?
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Niece Afternoon!
It was a niece afternoon! How nice!
First, the littlest one and I went to feed the ducks at the pond. Ruby K's was closed, so we couldn't get any stale bread to feed them. Darn! It was tons o' fun anyway!
In the late afternoon, the middle one and I went to Tsankawi, part of Bandelier National Monument. Most of Bandelier is closed because of the Las Conchas fire, but Tsankawi is open. I had never walked there. It is a nice interpreted trail up to a mesa-top un-excavated Ancestral Pueblo community. Really cool hike as you walk the paths that the ancestral puebloans walked.
Beautiful vistas!
What a beauty!
There are lots of petroglyphs there.
There were three ladders to go up and down.
The trail passed some cavetas that you could enter.
I love to touch the past and imagine the life that was lived hundreds of years ago.
First, the littlest one and I went to feed the ducks at the pond. Ruby K's was closed, so we couldn't get any stale bread to feed them. Darn! It was tons o' fun anyway!
In the late afternoon, the middle one and I went to Tsankawi, part of Bandelier National Monument. Most of Bandelier is closed because of the Las Conchas fire, but Tsankawi is open. I had never walked there. It is a nice interpreted trail up to a mesa-top un-excavated Ancestral Pueblo community. Really cool hike as you walk the paths that the ancestral puebloans walked.
Beautiful vistas!
What a beauty!
There are lots of petroglyphs there.
There were three ladders to go up and down.
The trail passed some cavetas that you could enter.
I love to touch the past and imagine the life that was lived hundreds of years ago.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Walking the Rim Trail
The Canyon Rim Trail is a fairly new trail in Los Alamos that loops around the "main" mesa (does it have a name?). It starts out across the street from the new Co-op store. You walk a paved path above DP Canyon, then you cross East Road near the fire station, and walk back along the other side of the mesa along the rim of Pueblo Canyon, behind the airport. The Pueblo Canyon side is especially pretty. The cliffs of North Mesa are gorgeous, and I was coveting some of the homes that sit on the edge.
Here is a nifty map I found of Los Alamos for your reference. Hover over the map, click, and it will give you a nice PDF.
It was a fairly cloudy day, and a nice breeze blew. It was perfect for a 4-mile walk. Come with me!
Not too many wildflowers this year! Waay too dry, I guess. But here's one.
I was surprised to see this fungus. No rain, no humidity, but it still managed to ...what? bloom? emerge? fungasize?
As I started along the Pueblo Canyon a helio was taking off to go fight the fire some more, and as I finished this section, he came back.
At least one helio crew came from the Grand Canyon.
I could see some smoke from a little spot fire.
The cliffs across the canyon are sooo pretty! Here are some pictures!
See the large adobe-style house? That is my home. In my dreams.
I took a panorama of North Mesa. I was standing on a cement jut-out like the one you see on the right. Nice vistas!
Some more pictures.
Growing behind the Co-op at the end of the trail, I enjoyed some California Poppies! A little piece of home!
Here is a nifty map I found of Los Alamos for your reference. Hover over the map, click, and it will give you a nice PDF.
It was a fairly cloudy day, and a nice breeze blew. It was perfect for a 4-mile walk. Come with me!
Not too many wildflowers this year! Waay too dry, I guess. But here's one.
I was surprised to see this fungus. No rain, no humidity, but it still managed to ...what? bloom? emerge? fungasize?
As I started along the Pueblo Canyon a helio was taking off to go fight the fire some more, and as I finished this section, he came back.
At least one helio crew came from the Grand Canyon.
I could see some smoke from a little spot fire.
The cliffs across the canyon are sooo pretty! Here are some pictures!
See the large adobe-style house? That is my home. In my dreams.
 |
| Want. |
I took a panorama of North Mesa. I was standing on a cement jut-out like the one you see on the right. Nice vistas!
Some more pictures.
 |
| The Potty Place. |
Growing behind the Co-op at the end of the trail, I enjoyed some California Poppies! A little piece of home!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Viewing Las Conchas
BobBIE and I drove up to the Jemez to see the burned areas of the still-burning Las Conchas wildfire.
It was super smokey. Here are some shots of the Valle Grande.
And a panorama of shots. As always, click for bigger version.
Here is the Las Conchas trailhead, near the area where the fire started. Sad.
The happy news is on the other side of the road, at the trailhead itself, the forest is still beautiful and pristine. Fishing and hiking next year for sure!
We drove into the Caldera to take a look from another viewpoint. It was so smokey, it was hard to see to the other side of the Valle. We met some new friends, though! Cuties!
It was super smokey. Here are some shots of the Valle Grande.
And a panorama of shots. As always, click for bigger version.
Here is the Las Conchas trailhead, near the area where the fire started. Sad.
We drove into the Caldera to take a look from another viewpoint. It was so smokey, it was hard to see to the other side of the Valle. We met some new friends, though! Cuties!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
ROAD TRIP! Epilogue
I did a JackClassic-like thing and kept track of the miles and the gasoline for the road trip. Here are the stats.
Total Miles: 2276.8
Total Gallons: 80.77
Total Cost of Gasoline: $264.84
Average Price of Gasoline: $3.27 / gallon
(High - $3.399 [Needles, CA]; Low - $2.879 [Pueblo of Sandia, NM])
Miles per Gallon: 28.43
Cost per Mile: 11.6¢
Add the gas/wear-n-tear with the couple nights at Motel 6 and cheap eats, and you got a much better deal than having your unmentionables scrutinized and your bathing suit areas being groped by the TSA!
I like Road Trips!
Total Miles: 2276.8
Total Gallons: 80.77
Total Cost of Gasoline: $264.84
Average Price of Gasoline: $3.27 / gallon
(High - $3.399 [Needles, CA]; Low - $2.879 [Pueblo of Sandia, NM])
Miles per Gallon: 28.43
Cost per Mile: 11.6¢
Add the gas/wear-n-tear with the couple nights at Motel 6 and cheap eats, and you got a much better deal than having your unmentionables scrutinized and your bathing suit areas being groped by the TSA!
I like Road Trips!
Friday, January 28, 2011
ROAD TRIP! Part 6
Part 6: Monday: Going Home.
The final installment. Scroll down for earlier posts.
We hit the road bright 'n' early Monday morning at 8:00! As we were driving past Bandelier on Highway 4, we noticed these gentlemen grazing. We stopped to say hello.
Right across the road--I just happened to look out the other window--these ladies were grazing. We got to see two species of cervidae without moving an inch!
We drove through the Jemez to enjoy the beautiful geology. We stopped and got out a couple times to root around for fossils. Kevin found some petrified sticks.
Gosh! Beautiful!
Kevin really wanted to explore some deposits of the Chinle formation, where he was sure he'd find an intact dinosaur skeleton. We turned off the road to the White Mesa Bike Trail. How beautiful were the hills! We stopped to poke around. I found an interesting rock right away. It didn't look like all the other rocks around. I decided it might be a dinosaur bone! I'll send it to school with Kevin to ask his professors. Emily found a piece of petrified wood. It was fun.
Though no-one spotted a millions-year-old femur sticking out, we enjoyed looking around. We hit the road again and stopped for lunch in Albuquerque.
After lunch, we stopped at Petroglyphs National Monument. Another National Park to add to my list! It was windy and cool, so we spent a little while and then hit the road again.
When we left Albuquerque, it was about 2pm! Six hours after we had left White Rock!
We were behind schedule, but I really, really wanted to make it to El Morro National Monument. I drove like a mad-woman toward the park as the sun sank lower in the sky. We finally arrived at 3:50pm. The sign read, "Trails close at 4pm." Aaaack!
We jogged into the Visitors' Center and were told that we were just in time to hit the trail along Inscription Rock, but too late for the Headland trail, but it was closed due to snow an ice anyway. We learned a little about the history of New Mexico while reading about the people who carved their names here!
We left just as the moon was rising.
It was 5:00 pm by the time we left, with about 425 miles to go before our destination: Needles, CA. We wanted to spend as little time and money as possible in Arizona. What else was there to do Monday night, anyway? We hit the road and never looked back.
The next day, it was time to go home. We made it in a few hours and I was sooooo tired by the end. Ready to be out. of. the. car.
It was a wonderful road trip, the whole way! W00t!
The final installment. Scroll down for earlier posts.
We hit the road bright 'n' early Monday morning at 8:00! As we were driving past Bandelier on Highway 4, we noticed these gentlemen grazing. We stopped to say hello.
 |
| Mule Deer bucks. Photo by Kevin |
 |
| Elk cows |
Gosh! Beautiful!
 |
| The resident bovines wondered who the visitors were. |
Though no-one spotted a millions-year-old femur sticking out, we enjoyed looking around. We hit the road again and stopped for lunch in Albuquerque.
After lunch, we stopped at Petroglyphs National Monument. Another National Park to add to my list! It was windy and cool, so we spent a little while and then hit the road again.
When we left Albuquerque, it was about 2pm! Six hours after we had left White Rock!
We were behind schedule, but I really, really wanted to make it to El Morro National Monument. I drove like a mad-woman toward the park as the sun sank lower in the sky. We finally arrived at 3:50pm. The sign read, "Trails close at 4pm." Aaaack!
We jogged into the Visitors' Center and were told that we were just in time to hit the trail along Inscription Rock, but too late for the Headland trail, but it was closed due to snow an ice anyway. We learned a little about the history of New Mexico while reading about the people who carved their names here!
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| The beautitful sandstone cliffs of El Morro |
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| Why they came: the water hole |
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| What a cute couple! |
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| Petroglyphs were among the inscriptions. |
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| We wondered how long it took Mr. Long to carve his signature so beautifully! |
It was 5:00 pm by the time we left, with about 425 miles to go before our destination: Needles, CA. We wanted to spend as little time and money as possible in Arizona. What else was there to do Monday night, anyway? We hit the road and never looked back.
The next day, it was time to go home. We made it in a few hours and I was sooooo tired by the end. Ready to be out. of. the. car.
It was a wonderful road trip, the whole way! W00t!
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