It's fall, y'all!

It is officially fall here in New Mexico - my favorite time of year! As is tradition, we headed up to the Santa Fe Ski basin to admire the aspen trees in their full golden glory. The best trail for stunning views of the aspen groves in full color is the Aspen Vista trail. It's super busy this time of year, no surprise, so we headed up early on a cool, misty fall morning. Seeing the golden aspens framed by the mountain mist was sure a beautiful sight!

Roxie admiring the view.

At the beginning of the hike, we got caught in a bit of rain and brief hail, but my humans were prepared and packed my little pink jacket to keep me warm on the trail. As long as we kept trucking up the trail, I was warm enough to enjoy the beautiful scenery!

My human mama explained to me why the aspen leaves turn yellow in the fall. Aspen leaves are vibrant green in the summer because the leaves are dominated by chlorophyll. When the weather starts to cool, the leaves begin to become dormant for the upcoming winter, and the chlorophyll leaves the leaf, leaving behind carotenoids which cause the yellow, and sometimes orange, color. The carotenoids will color the leaf until it falls off for the winter, causing this beautiful display of yellow and orange during autumn.

 

 Some of the aspens were so golden they appeared to be made of light!

Roxie was having way too much fun running through the trees!

What a wonderful, misty autumn morning in the mountains! I sure love fall!

-Rosie

So many waterfalls!

Today we headed out to the Rio en Medio trail in Tesuque. Talk about lush! The trail followed a mountain creek with thick green thickets of willow, birch, and maple providing shade for our outing. We got an early morning start, so the hike was cool and moist - my favorite hiking weather! The trail follows the narrow valley of a mountain canyon and continues all the way up to the Winsor Trail in the Santa Fe Ski basin.

Little Rosie was loving the fresh, mountain stream water!

The first waterfall we came across was the Little Chasm Falls, presenting around a 25-foot drop - that's a big waterfall by New Mexico standards. Our first view of the waterfall was from above. We could barely see the waterfall through the trees and with canyon walls blocking our view, but the roar of the waterfall was an absolute give away! We decided to continue hiking up the trail before getting our paws wet to see this waterfall up close. Besides, isn't it better to save the best for last? Arfie, Arfie!

Can you spot my human? He's taking a peak at the waterfall through the trees. 

We continued up a steep rock face and followed the trail for a few more miles, admiring the many waterfalls along the way. The waterfalls came in all different shapes and sizes, with each creating its own roar and music through the canyon. The mountain flora gradually changed to introduce more ponderosa pine and large oak trees as we climbed through the canyon.  

Little Rosie was not a fan of the loud waterfalls - she kept crawling into our human mama's lap!

I, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the water!

This was one of my favorite waterfalls on this trip, flowing for 30 feet along this large rock face. The soft, musical sound of this waterfall was tranquil and peaceful. What a wonderful place! 

We climbed up one last ascent for a view looking toward Chupadero, before heading back down. We stopped for a wee rest - mostly for little sis to rest her little legs at the top and admired the beautiful scenery and gorgeous day for our adventure.

 Then, the most glorious thing happened! I got a whiff of one of my favorite smells: skunk! Ooooh, the perfume in the air was wonderful!

Even lil sis was loving the skunk perfume - just look at her face! Complete bliss.

We headed back down the slot canyon, admiring the tall aspen trees towering beside the granite rock face of the canyon. The trail down was a bit challenging for little Rosie to climb over the rocks, but she traveled on like a champ. 

Saving best for last, we crossed through the canyon chasm to see the first waterfall up close. We had to walk through the creek, over and under rocks and tree logs, but the wet paws and scrambling was totally worth the view of the waterfall from below. Our human mama had to carry lil sis through the creek - she's a bit afraid of the water. You should have seen her air-paddling through with wide eyes as mama carried her across the creek! She's a trooper!

But then we made it! Isn't it beautiful! 

This is my kind of adventure! Woof, woof!

-Roxie

Gorgeous Day up to Tesuque Peak

Today, we all headed up to Tesuque Peak! Since this is a relatively easy to moderate hike, climbing less than 2,000 feet stretching over 12 miles round trip, my human pawrents packed my carrier and brought me along! There is nothing like being in the fresh, mountain air and enjoying the beautiful scenery for a weekend outing with my pack. 

The beginning of the hike began at the Aspen Vista Picnic Ground, and I must tell you, it is aptly named! The aspen groves at the beginning of the hike were stunning - I've never seen such a thick aspen forest before. We'll have to come back next month when the aspens peak in their bright golden color. A few aspens were turning gold, but most were still their vibrant and sharp green. My little snort nose loved their scent as we climbed up the trail. 

For the first part of the hike, we fell across a number of small, mountain streams carving their way down the mountain valley. Of course, we had to refresh at every stream and scout for little fishies! 

As we began to climb higher up the trail, again, the mountain flora began to change to higher alpine, introducing the ponderosa pine as the aspen grove thinned away. Here, we began to see beautiful vistas of Santa Fe and Tesuque. My human pawrents picked me up to show me the views - I'm too short to see over the rocks and scrubs. The views were magnificent! 

Big sis blending in with the landscape. She's such a lioness! 

My human pawrents were shocked that I made it this far by myself! Here's my scowl in response. Hrumph!

But then it was time to be carried... I have to admit, I love my little carrier! It's comfy, and I can see the trail and explore without wearing myself out too much. Plus, there's a wee hole for my tail! Just bliss! I may have snorted a bit in happiness. 

After a few more miles, while my human pawrents carried me, we made it to our destination with a panoramic view of the Santa Fe and Tesuque valleys. The sky was clear with just a few puffy clouds, and we could see for miles and miles down across the land. We explored a bit along the top, before finding a nice spot for a picnic lunch. 

 

Here we decided to stop for a little picnic. My human mama gave me a little snack while we rested before the descent back down to the trailhead. But going down is the easy part for me! I didn't have to be carried once!

Roxie began leading the way back down.

Squirrel! Do you see the wee squirrel? 

Going back down gives you a great appreciation for the beauty of the mountains here in Northern New Mexico. Again, you witness the change in the mountain flora from high alpine ponderosa pines to thick aspen groves, and in between the trees, you catch glimpses of gorgeous vistas of the mountain valley. Can I say every hike is my new favorite hike?

-Rosie