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

Arroyo Hondo Open Space

Now that I am three years old (21 in dog years!), having lived in Santa Fe my whole life, finding new places to explore close by is always a challenge. We have our few favorite go-to hikes around town, but most new uncharted territories are at least a few hours drive. Lo and behold, we had completely missed out on the very near-by Arroyo Hondo open space until now!

After our human pawrents found out about this place, we didn't have very high expectations for the trails are located right off the interstate so close to town. We pictured short and flat walking trails, and a place for a quick afternoon sprint. How wrong we were! The Arroyo Hondo open space consists of 87 acres of land, over 8 miles of trails, and is only about 7 miles south of downtown Santa Fe. Since we live on the south end of town, we found ourselves at the parking lot in only 15 minutes. Since I hate the car, this is a huge win for me!

From the trailhead, there are many trails to choose from with great maps posted at each intersection. The trails are well-maintained and offer beautiful panoramic views of the Galisteo basin, Cerrillos hills, Ortiz Mountains, and Arroyo Hondo.

It was a beautiful blue-bird day with scattered clouds and a cool, brisk breeze. Little sis was a bit cold at the beginning of the hike, but we quickly warmed up as the trail rolls up and down the Arroyo Hondo hills. The trail definitely felt more like a hike in the mountains than we were expecting. What a great find and so close to home! This is a great place for afternoon hikes in the spring, winter, and fall, open from dawn to dusk.

I love finding new places to explore! There were so many new smells, my nose was in heaven covering all of the new ground --I even got a few cactus thorns in my nose! Nothing my pawrents can't fix. What a fun afternoon!

-Roxie

A Glorious Day from Chamisa to Saddleback Trail

On a warm, winter day, we headed up to Chamisa Trail near Hyde Park on the way to the Santa Fe ski basin. This is a nice, easy hike with a fair amount of elevation gain for a decent workout and views of the valley below. This is a beautiful hike in late spring when the wildflowers bloom and in the fall when the aspens turn gold. It's a perfect option if you only have a few hours to explore. The trail is a great escape from the city and you feel deep in the mountains in a matter of minutes.

I smell doggy pee!

From the trailhead, you have two options for the Chamisa trail. You can go right, which winds up the mountain ridge, beginning with a 700 ft elevation gain to get the blood pumping, and rolls along the ridge with views of the canyon below. The other option is to take the left trail which follows a dry river canyon below the ridge trail. The trail is fairly flat until right before the two trails intersect, the trail becomes quite steep to reach the meeting point. We usually take the right route up and enjoy hiking deeper in the woods to begin our trek. 

This trail is fairly shaded, so we ran into many snow patches, including some ice and slush! It was a warm 50 degree day, so I was thankful for the shade and snow. When it's cool out, I'm much better at hiking and completed the 6 mile trek by myself. And I wasn't the only one loving the snow! When Roxie would see patches of snow, she'd go nuts!

Time for a quick pose with my human!

We like to follow this hike up to Saddleback Trail which follows a mountain ridge and offers a great lookout point to view the Santa Fe valley. Another option, and great for summer hikes, is to follow the trail down to Tesuque creek, where the trail connects to the lower part of Winsor trail. Today we chose the Saddleback trail and enjoyed the beautiful vistas along this trail. 

Looking a little bald up there? Come on, New Mexico, we need more snow!

Hurry up, humans, we're almost to the lookout!

The Saddleback trail continues on and connects with the Juan Trail for a full looped hike, but we usually turn around at our favorite lookout spot for an out-and-back hike. The lookout offers beautiful views of the Santa Fe valley and marks the 3 miles point hiking up. 

Admiring the view!

When we returned to the Chamisa trail, we decided to take the right route down. It begins with a steep decline to the dry river valley below, and then the trail flattens out and slowly winds its way down the canyon. This is my favorite part of the hike, where you can relax and continue down to the trailhead. 

-Rosie