Exploring the Lava Flows of El Malpais

For our human's birthday, we celebrated his 29th by exploring the lava flows and sandstone bluffs of El Malpais National Conservation Area. It was a beautiful spring day with crystal blue skies, a slight breeze, and warm sunshine. We were the only ones on the trail and enjoyed the peace and quiet along with stunning views as we explored the rim of the canyon overlooking the lava flows.

Rosie was a fearless and bold explorer on the trail. Our humans had to hold her back overlooking the cliffsides –she's too brave for her own good!

El Malpais is Spanish for "the badlands." El Malpais is famous for the volcanic geology and unique habitat it preserves. Pygmy pine trees grow straight out of the vast basalt flows from the Grants Lava Flow. For centuries, people have lived in and around the lava valley, including the Puebloan peoples of Acoma, Laguna, Zuni, and the Ramah Navajo. Today you can still witness trail cairns, petroglyphs, and other historic fragments that tell the story of the landscape's past and culture.

It was a warm spring day, so our humans made sure we drank lots of water on the trail. Lil sis took many breaks in the cool shade and was carried for a bit by our humans as the day warmed. She's a trooper!

I think she loved being carried!

The sharp contrast between the dark basalt lava flows and the light sandstone bluffs created beautiful vistas everywhere you look. We followed the rim trail for roughly 5 miles before our first view of the La Ventana Natural Arch, one of New Mexico's largest natural arches. The arch spans a 200-foot cliff, and the missing rock that formed the arch is over 60 million years old.

 

Our first view of the La Ventana Natural Arch.

How was the arch formed? The formation is mostly due to the large fluctuations of temperature between the high plains desert's warm days and cold nights. The sandstone expands in the heat of the day and cracks apart from the still cool rock hidden behind. The rock at the base and in the center was under the greatest stress and fell first. The load from the overlying rock and the ensuing cracking apart lessened upwards. Over time this created an arc that climbed as more rock failed and collapsed. Geology is incredible!

Valley view looking towards Grants.

Here we enjoyed our picnic lunch admiring the view of the arch and valley below. 

What a wonderful birthday weekend for our human dad! I love celebrating and exploring with my pack!

-Roxie

The Ruins of Pecos National Historic Park

Today we headed up to the Pecos National Historic Park nestled in the midst of piñon, juniper, and ponderosa pine woodlands in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains not too far from Santa Fe. The park preserves historic sites and ruins from the pueblo people and tells the story of the unique geographic and cultural assets of the Pecos valley.

View of Glorieta Mesa

We toured the ancestral sites of the park on a self-guided walking trail, and boy, did we pick the perfect day! The sky was bright blue with scattered clouds and a slight breeze. It was a beautiful spring day in Northern New Mexico and we are loving the warming weather.

The mission church remains.

It was a bit of an adventure exploring the park for accompanying us were our grandpawrents and their two dogs! Our pawrents were having too much fun trying to wrangle four dogs through the park, but we managed just fine and tried to behave our best.

Little Ruby leading the way. 

We were doing well until we heard a chipmunk chirping in the corner of the mission church remains. Roxie just about lost her head, but when our pawrents explored the source of the noise, they found it was just a speaker! Whoops! Roxie was even a bit embarrassed.

From the park's walking trail, we could see panoramic views of the Glorieta mesa and pass, the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and the Pecos river valley in the distance. It was stunning!

We also witnessed just the beginning of spring blooms. The cacti were beginning to bud for their spectacular summer bloom around the solstice.

Overall, we had a great time exploring new grounds and learning more about New Mexico's past. We passed by a number of great kivas along the trail, and along with the guided tour map, it was easy to envision what life may have been like hundreds of years ago. The fertile valley provided the pueblo people with the means necessary for survival and also led to the unique cultural relationship between the people and the land.

What a great weekend outing!

-Rosie