The environment here is like nowhere else I’ve been. Albuquerque is very flat – you can see for miles – and then surrounded by great mountains and plateaus. Furthermore, much of the countryside is sandy and dusty with rugged little plants and not much else. Flying in the other day it looked very alien.
On a recommendation from a friend, yesterday we took a day trip to a local attraction called Tent Rocks national monument.
That’s the view from the car park. As you can see the day was beautiful (albeit very hot). To best see the attraction visitors need to walk a few miles, so we put on the sunblock and started the hike.
That sign is at the very start, but we never saw any snakes! The trail starts easily, winding through the desert trees giving distant views of the cone-shaped rocks, which are apparently the eroded remains of mountains formed from deposited volcanic ash.
After about a mile the path splits and the strenuous 1.5 mile hike that eventually leads to the top of the peak begins. Of course we took it.
The hike starts by heading through a valley eroded between adjacent peaks. The views were spectacular! The tree Florence is taking a photo of above was very popular with everyone on the hike since the roots provided a real photo op. Compare:
I look like a giant compared to Florence! It must be the hat…
As the path wound on it started to gradually climb and get narrower:
Until eventually it just led up the side of the mountain. This was the ‘steep 600 foot ascent’ the signs had mentioned! I’ll be honest: it was an extremely exhausting climb for this old man with his bad knee, and even the sprightly SFL showed signs of exertion. But the views from the top were spectacular!
(yes, my finger is in that shot!)
Smiles aside, the path to the peak was one way, and since we were both hot, tired and exhausted the thought of going back again was not thrilling. But we soldiered on, and the walk back was not as bad as it could have been.
I’m writing this entry the following morning. We walked in the hot sun for about 4 hours yesterday, including the steep climb, and I’m lying on a couch, still tired (SFL is fine!) Thankfully though we avoided sunburn entirely 🙂
I wish I’d seen a roadrunner though 🙂