Our Summer Excursions III

Over our anniversary weekend we headed up to north-central New Mexico, and southern Colorado. We drove up through the beautiful red Jemez mountains and headed north following what we thought looked like a straighter route than the Interstates. Although these roads were numbered state highways both of them had significant portions which were unpaved. The scenery was beautiful, although there were storms all around and we were afraid we were in for some nasty weather on our first night.

We spent the night at El Vado Lake - a reservoir which was very low due to the extreme drought NM has been experiencing this year. (Most, if not all, of the lakes in land-locked NM are reservoirs.) Our anniversary dinner was canned dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) from Trader Joe's and Cheese Nips in the back of the SUV. But once again, the view was incredible. We spent some time enjoying the sound of lapping water and skipping stones - at least Keith's stones skipped, Sandra's just sank. We had some very interesting weather, too, as there would be alternating periods (10 - 30 minutes at a stretch) of tremendously gusty winds followed by dead calm. We had some thunder and rain, but the middle of the night was calm and the sky was crystal clear - chock full of stars and the swath of the Milky Way.... ("Indescribable, uncontainable, You placed the stars in the sky and You Know them by name. You are amazing God....")

The next day we drove to Chama, a small town near the Colorado border. There's an antique narrow guage steam locomotive which runs between Chama and Antonito, a town in Colorado. The train runs through a number of passes and along the edge of a gorge. We'd like to take the train in fall to see the colors of the changing leaves, but we thought we'd drive between the two towns first to get the lay of the land. (And driving is cheaper! :-]) We enjoyed the alpine views, and definitely decided that Antonito's only attraction is the train (and the fact that if you're on the train, it means you'll be leaving).

We continued northeast to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. This is the second massive area of sand set in a very incongruous place we've seen in a month. From a distance, the patterns in the dunes were beautiful - and changed in character as we got closer, due to shifting light and perspective. We didn't really enjoy walking/climbing them as much as we did White Sands, though, as the day was very windy and we were literally sand-blasted.

We headed back into New Mexico, towards Taos, intending to camp at the Rio Grande Gorge. We had been to the bridge spanning the gorge five years ago, but never had the opportunity to explore it any further. Once we got there, and realized how accessible it is from our home, we decided it's definitely a place we'll be back to hike and get to know better. We were blessed with another peaceful and clear night, and another spectacular view of the immense universe above us.

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Our Summer Excursions II

Our second adventure was to southeastern New Mexico, the first destination being the famous Carlsbad Caverns.

There is a whole lot of nothing between Albuquerque and Carlsbad. However, that ‘nothing’ is made up of incredibly varying land textures. We drove past dry rolling plains, red rugged mountains, and fields of black lava vividly accented with green vegetation. There were stretches which looked flat when viewed across the surface but were really filled with intricate series of gullies and ditches. And above it all was the extraordinarily huge sky – at times a totally endless expanse of azure, and at others a theater to watch distant thunder storms build, near and play out.

We stayed overnight at the edge of a large reservoir called Brantley Lake. It was a peaceful area where we wished we had the equipment to make our own coffee in the morning in order to sit and enjoy it longer. (The more we do this ‘camping’, the more ideas we get to make it even better!)

The Caverns were amazing! It’s almost unbelievable to realize what lay beneath the ground we just drove over. It was fascinating to see the diversity of formations made from dripping water, lime, gypsum and time. What an excellent example of God’s creation still in the process of being created! (Unfortunately, our trusty point-and-shoot digital camera was not up to the task of recording the underground wonder.)

From Carlsbad we headed over to see White Sands National Monument, and arrived by late afternoon. The ‘sand’ is made of gypsum (which is why it’s white) – but in a completely different form and environment from the underground gypsum we’d experienced that morning. And, despite the blazing heat of the sun, the sand isn’t hot! So we climbed and walked around barefoot.
The dunes stretch for miles, and it was very other-worldly landscape. The folks who live in Alamagordo (the city just north of White Sands) appear to thoroughly enjoy their enormous waterless beach. A lot of families and groups of friends congregated as the sun went down, setting up barbeque stations, and bringing equipment to slide down the sides of the dunes. As the sun set in the west, the full moon rose in the east and the atmosphere became quite tranquil. We relaxed and reflected once again on the amazing diversity and provision God supplies.

The next day we headed back home through an area of beautiful alpine mountains. It was kind of hard to believe we were in the middle of southern New Mexico! Unfortunately, it had been so dry that the national forest was completely closed – even to day use – for fear of fire. Since this region is a ski and recreation destination, this past winter and spring has been difficult for the towns here.

We would rather be able to share these adventures with you in person, but we appreciate your reading our little travelogue. Add a comment (below) and let us know what you think – or if we’ve managed to entice you to come visit!!!!