Picking up the crew

We just happened to be driving by the airport and found these hitch hikers looking for a ride

Visiting Grants

We took a trip into Grants New Mexico and participated in their Chili Festival and to tour the Uranium Mine Museum. At the museum we learned that Grants used to be a primary source of the US carrot crop before they discovered uranium and mined that. For me, wanting to see all the capitals of everything, I was happy to learn that Grants is the Uranium Capitol of the World.

Outside the city hall, we saw a wall that was made from lava rock. At the Chili Festival, I ate some of the Indian fry bread. It was a lot like elephant ears but not as sweet. The beans and meat were not spicy at all. The chili that Kenny got was a lot like small meatballs with hot sauce. It was different than what we are familiar with.

Zuni Canyon

Rattlesnakes and washboard gravel roads may stand as deterents for many to travel the Zuni Canyon road, but those who are put off by the dangers of the travel will miss out on some incredibly gorgeous vistas. We travelled through about 4 pm and the sun was shining brilliantly on the canyon walls. Pictures just don't do this justice. There was a rattler in the road; when we backed up to take a picture, he took off for the grassy area. I don't think I have ever seen a rattle snake that close.

The washboarding on the gravel road made travel rough and the truck bounced a good bit. I was a little nervous that we would bounce off the pavement, but Kenny was able to keep the truck in control.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/eihd/zuni.htm

Fire and Ice

While touring about the El Malpais, Kenny and I decided to visit the Ice Caves and Volcano. The hike up the side of the volcano was quite a little stretch. The trail was a bed of volcanic rock and cinders that felt like walking in sand. After a steep walk up the side of the mountain we got to look into the mouth of one of the most recent volcanos in the continental United States.

After we viewed the volcano we walked into a lava tube/cave that remains freezing all year round and has an ice bed over 12 ft thick at its bottom. Locals had used tunnels like that one for refrigeration prior to having electricity.

The site has been owned by the same family for over 100 years and has served as a trading post and then as a tourist attraction. The volcano is over 7800 ft high and sits virtually directly on the continental divide.

Lava Tubes and Caves

El Malpais is loaded with a group of volcanos that create cinder cones and really cool caves that are created when lava tubes (sometimes up to 17 miles long) collapse. Lava tubes are created when flows of lava cool on the outside and lava continues on in the interior. It leaves a hollow tube with walls several feet thick. Over time the walls collapse and leave an access point for all kinds of wildlife and vegetation to make their home. Kenny's dad decided to traverse through some of these caves. The lava is very sharp and the footing is difficult; I don't know that I would have tried it.

El Malpais National Monument

Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities - his eternal power - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..."

El Malpais is Spanish for "the badlands". To me it is evidence of God's sovreignty in nature. The beautiful sandstone cliffs and mountain sides combined with volcanic lava tubes and miles and miles of lava beds demonstrate both the harshness and the beauty of this land. The lava as it cools forms caves where the lava tubes have collapsed. Some of the caves actually have ice in them year round even though the outdoor temperatures get quite warm.

Indians inhabited this land before the Spanish settlers, then came the Anglo settlers from the westward expansion. The indians still predominately own this land (apart from the National Park). It is amazing to read of the stories of these hearty people who have learned to live in such dry and barren lands.

Much of this park straddles the Continental Divide. We hiked a couple of trails that took us back and forth across the divide. While this area is truly desert, it is also high in elevation (between 7000 and 9000 ft). It provides for comfortable days even when it is warm in the valleys.

http://www.nps.gov/elma/

Welcome to New Mexico

Finally, we reach our destination... New Mexico. We just couldn't stop looking side to side as we traveled west to Grant's New Mexico. The vistas of layered rock and mountains in the distance were beautiful. This is certainly the land of Enchantment.

In Grants there are lava beds where there was a volcanic eruption several thousand years ago, I will share more on that later.

The temperatures are wonderful. In the 80's during the day and very cool at night (in the 30's) great sleeping weather. It is dry and many of the dirt roads in the area are not passable if it should rain. It isn't a problem though since they don't receive a lot of rain.