Fourth of July Canyon

Below I have posted a few photos from a fun weekend hike with fellow travelers to Fourth of July Canyon.  One can easily decipher the the correlation between the name and the canyon by the vibrant foliage colors-much like the colors of the fireworks during the Fourth of July (only it was the 10th of October!) The canyon is located in the Manzano Mountains located in the Cibola Forest.

Which way?! 

Lovely

On the summit!

Beautiful colors!

Vicki, Donna and I 

From hot sands to cold caves...

The next morning, I drove to Alomogordo to a part of Tulorosa Basin: White Sands National Monument.   Covering 250 sq feet you can imagine all you can see for miles is beautiful white sand (gypsum crystals).  The dunes remain untouched with perfect lines.  The yucca plants lay in sharp contrast to the white sand.  

Blue sky and white sand!

Yucca plant

Me at White Sands

Ski hill? 

A trip to White Sands would not be complete without sand sledding....A sharp contrast to sand boarding in South America but still fun!

Sand sledding!

After a wonderful day at White Sands, with temperatures in the high 90's, I drove 4 more hours to Carlsbad in the Chihuahuan Desert and Guadalupe Mountains.  Upon entering the caves, I was a little nervous.  With a fear of bats and the occasional fear of small, enclosed spaces I wasn't sure how this trip to the cave would pan out.  Who would've guessed the hidden treasures that lay beneath the cacti, thorny bushes and trees.  As I walked into the cave entrance the air became cool and damp.  I felt water dripping on my head and could see it trickling down through the cracks in the cave.  Carlsbad Cavern was a reef 250 million years ago, then as the water evaporated the reef was buried under salt (and gypsum).  It is speculated that a few million years later, erosion caused the reef to uncover.  Rainwater, slightly acidic from the air and soil seeped into the cracks in the reef and dissolved into the limestone.  This created the chambers of the cave.  The karst formations in the cave were incredible. The cave was elegantly decorated with stalactites and stalagmites (seen below).

Hot springs

 Last weekend I took a couple of days off of work and went on an adventure.  An adventure through San Antonio hot springs, through white sands and through cold caves.  Talk about diverse landscapes! This was my first experience in a hot spring, and I might add it was one of the most relaxing experiences of my life! Many friendly people, a cold beer and a nice guy that made everyone in the hot spring a cup of espresso. I spent two days here and camped atop a beautiful cliff overlooking the spring.

San Antonio hot springs

Thankful for this man for sharing espresso

Beautiful hot springs!

The hike to the springs

Camping atop the cliffs seen in previous photos!

Create A Story...The Petroglyphs

A few weeks ago, I ventured out into the Rinconada Canyon Trail to Petroglyph National Monument.  The geology was interesting; volcanic remnants from thousands of year ago.  The basalt from these volcanic eruptions provided the basis for the petroglyphs.  It has been estimated, according to the National Park Service that 90% of the petroglyphs were made by the ancestors of todays Pueblo Indians from 1300 A.D. to late 1680's.

As I was hiking around, I overheard a park ranger talking to a group of school kids on a field trip.  It was interesting to hear young kids ideas about what desert life is.  The ranger asked the group if anyone could tell him what makes a desert a desert.  After numerous attempts at answering the question with everything from ' the sand' to 'walking in the sand' the ranger redirected the question and asked about rainfall.  When asked how much rain the desert gets per year one child answered '3 centimeters' another said '30 feet.' While the answer is between these two responses, the ranger said due to the drought the rainfall has only been about a third of what it typically is this time of the year.

Balloon Fiesta!

Dawn Patrol show early morning

My friend Jess and I






The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta started out as only 13 balloons in 1972 and has grown to become the largest in the world.  This year, I was lucky enough to attend...560 balloons went up in the air during the events mass ascension at 7 a.m.  Don't get me wrong, it did take a little effort to attend the event.  I awoke at 4:00 a.m. to make it in time for the 6:30 a.m dawn patrol show (lighting of the balloons) due to the anticipated crowds.  Happy I did, indeed as it was the most spectacular and surreal event I have ever attended.  The feeling of being amidst 560 balloons inflating and departing with the warmth of the fire from the torches warming the chilly desert air was truly unforgettable.  

Mass Ascension

Soaring over the Sandias

Old Town Albuquerque

I took a stroll around Old Town Albuquerque.  Old Town Albuquerque is filled with Pueblo-Spanish style architecture including the San Felipe De Neri church which is the oldest building (1793) in the city.  Many of the early settlers homes and government offices have been converted into restaurants, shops and art galleries.  There are some amazing pottery shops and the turqoise jewelry is beautiful!

San Felipe Church

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Adobe style architecture

I went on a short hike in the Sandia Foothills the other night and was amazed at the wildlife that came out at night! I was hiking to watch the sunset and numerous animals jumped into my path (this was a little frightening!).  A mule deer and rabbit were amongst my hiking buddies haha.

Sandia Foothills

Rabbit

Mule deer

Sunset from foothills

Love desert sunsets!