A Balmy Day at Cerrillos Hills

Today we headed south on Highway 14 to the Cerrillos Hills State Park. Our humans had been here before, horseback riding with Broken Saddle, but this was the first trip for Roxie and me. We headed out after breakfast to beat the afternoon heat. I can't believe we are "beating the heat" in the middle of January, but Cerrillos, about 1,000 feet lower in elevation, is drier and warmer than Santa Fe.

The landscape and terrain at Cerrillos Hills consist of dry desert rolling hills with sagebrush, pinon and juniper trees, as well as lots of cacti. We each got a few thorns in our paws, as careful as we were, but overall, I really enjoyed the soft dirt path. In some areas the path was just smooth, soft sand --I would try to sprint through, it felt so good on my paws!

We completed a five-mile loop around the park and I was surprised how much climbing we did over the hills. The vistas at each hilltop were stunning and offered 360-degree views of the Cerrillos Valley, Galisteo Basin, Sandia mountains in the distance, as well as Ortiz, Jemez, and the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Plus, in the 50-60 degree weather with only a slight breeze, the day felt much more like a late spring day than the middle of winter. It was a beautiful day to be outside and fully enjoy the views!

The hills of Cerrillos are the ancient skeletons of volcanoes that formed in this area over 30 million years ago. The rocks of the hills illustrate the dark basalt from lava flows as well as the lighter orange-red hues from where the lava mixed with water. It is here that miners would covet the deposits of silver, lead, and iron that led to the mining boom millions of years later. 

Along the trail, we viewed multiple mine openings and learned more about the mining industry that boomed in this area in the later 1800s. Most of the mines were for manganese, lead, and Galena, which is a lead sulfite or a mixture of lead and silver. Many of the abandoned mines have been filled in with earth over the years, but a few were so deep that we could not see the bottom!

Another surprise to us on the trail was a natural spring! With how dry the environment and the hills are, we were super shocked when we rounded a canyon bend and found flowing water. The slight hint of sulfur hit our noses, and lo and behold, a natural spring was bubbling up in the canyon. We could just barely hear the water flowing and gurgling along. The spring was lined with red willows and cottonwood trees, and I'm sure is very lush in the summertime. What an oasis in the desert!

Towards the end of the hike, I begin to peter out. The heat of the day mixed with the dry dust of the trail tired me out and my humans carried me the last mile of the trail. Ok, maybe I'm a little too spoiled, but there's nothing like still enjoying the views, fresh air, and warm sunshine while being carried by my humans!

What a beautiful day for exploring!

-Rosie