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We have seen this 'scene' many times this summer -- making a family portrait.
It is great to see so many people visiting the parks for the 100th Anniversary,
even if they can't manage to pull the car out of the middle of the road.
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There may be those out there that get the impression that our life on the road is charmed. And I’ll have to admit that we work hard to ensure that it mostly is. I mean, if you have complete control over where you are going, then a lot of unpleasant things can be avoided. But, not always…
This week on our way to Colorado, we had to come down from the cool mountains in New Mexico before we could climb back up again. We could have driven straight through and perhaps avoided some heat but there were a few things on our way that we thought would be worth seeing in the high desert. So we planned two stops that we knew would not be in our ideal temperature range with hopes that at least the nights would be cooler.
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View of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field from the top of Capulin Volcano
with haze and smoke in the air from fires in Arizona and southern New Mexico.
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Reluctantly
leaving Columbine Campground, we headed east to Red River and over the
mountain pass, descending slowly during the next two hours. We traveled past
Eagle Nest Lake and through Cimarron Canyon State Park, named for the beautiful canyon
stretching through most of it. This state park looked like it was definitely worth a visit. Another trip, another time... (How often do I say that?) It seems the more we travel, the more places
we add to our list of “must see.” The list grows even though we are continually checking places off that we have visited.
Mid-afternoon
we arrived at our destination, Capulin Volcano National Monument, about 30
miles east of Raton, NM. We stayed the
night at an RV park in the very, very small village of Capulin that most likely
would not exist if the volcano wasn’t just 3 miles to the north. Our plan was to do a little laundry, get some
sleep and visit the monument first thing the next morning before the day warmed
up too much.
The
RV park was nice but small and had almost no shade. However, we managed to get a
spot under one of the few trees in the park.
The tree was on the south side of our RV so it added some afternoon
shade that did help. There was
electricity so we could use the air-conditioner. We were happy about that although open
windows and the fan are our preference. But when it is in the 90s and the tiny box you
live in is heating up in the sun, a noisy air-conditioner can be tolerated.
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| View from Capulin Volcano looking west at the volcanic field. |
The
laundry was small with only one working dryer, making it a little more
challenging getting the clothes done.
The only store in town had very few groceries so no cream in my coffee
the next morning. But I had my choice of
several brands of beer and other hard liquor. (Hum, Bailey’s in my breakfast coffee?) I guess it is all a matter of priorities. We made it through the night and even opened
the windows after about 10 pm. Nights
tend to cool off nicely when there is practically no humidity.
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| Capulin Volcano is one of the few cinder cone volcanoes that is so rich in vegetation. |
Capulin
Volcano, unlike The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, is administered by
the National Park Service. By 8:15 the
next morning we were at the park headquarters talking with a ranger and
learning about the geology that formed this part of New Mexico. Capulin is a cinder cone volcano that was
formed about 60,000 years ago, which is very young for a volcano. Cinder cone
volcanoes typically have only one period of activity so Capulin is considered
to be extinct. Luckily its shape is very
well preserved because later lava flows did not come from the main cone but
from the cone’s base or boca (Spanish for mouth).
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| Looking from the rim into the volcano's crater |
After checking out some of the exhibits in the
visitor center, we drove the winding road up to the volcano crater. Our Maya
was still limping and was obviously in some pain, so she stayed in the car
while we walked around the top of the volcano and looked down into the
crater. One of the coolest things that
the ranger had told us was that there were hundreds of other volcanoes
surrounding Capulin. Volcanic flows,
rock, ash and debris are found in an 8,000 square-mile volcanic field
surrounding Capulin Volcano and this was apparent from our vantage point at the
top. The Raton-Clayton volcanic field,
as it is named, was active for about 9 million years.
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| Another hazy view from the top of the volcano |
We
were back at the campground by 10:30 and on the road by 11:00 to Alamosa, Colorado
and the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. We had visited this park briefly years ago
and had always wanted to return and spend more time. But as I mentioned earlier, our life was not
very charmed at this point. Maya was
hurting and I wanted to take her to a vet to see if maybe there was a thorn or
something embedded in her paw that we couldn’t feel. Also, it had become increasingly hazy over
the last couple of days. Smoke from
fires in Arizona and southern New Mexico were blowing towards the north making
the views and the air not at their best quality.
Plus, the temperatures were supposed to climb into the mid-90s over the
next few days. All of these things made
it unlikely that we would get to explore or hike in the Great Sand Dunes
very much.
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| Wildflower growing near the rim of Capulin Volcano |
Our
campground was dusty, with no shade and it was hot!
Our air-conditioner ran full-time just to keep the
RV in the 80s. But we did find a vet who saw
Maya. He gave her paw a good exam and
found no broken bones or thorns and declared (just as we thought) that it was probably bruised from the
rocky trails of the past few days. The
vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory to ease her pain and a bandage on the paw
with instructions to keep resting her.
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The Great Sand Dunes nestled against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
near Alamosa, Colorado. The upper atmosphere was less hazy
but it was still smoky in the lower atmosphere.
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We
took a driving tour of the Great Sand Dunes but it was smoky and the photo
opportunities were limited. We still had
some fun and learned a bit about why the sand dunes formed here. These dunes are North America’s tallest, with
Star Dune topping out at 755 feet (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little
less).
A
wild natural system of sand, water and wind plus the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
are needed to form these remarkable dunes.
Sand is created by streams eroding particles from the mountains. Freezing
and thawing shatters the rocks and the streams continue to tumble the
particles until sand is formed. The
complex wind patterns through the mountain passes push the sand against the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains and then seasonally powerful northeasterly winds
build the dunes to their great heights.
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Grassland, dunes and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The dunes may not look that tall but those are mountains behind them!
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Medano Creek, one of the seasonal creeks that helps form the sand dunes.
The creek was running during our visit and the mosquitoes were out in force!
But after last year in Michigan's upper peninsula, it seemed insignificant...
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While
we wanted to spend more time at the Great Sand Dunes, it just wasn’t in the
cards this trip. Maya was starting to
feel better, but she still needed some more days off from hiking and the weather
just wasn’t cooperating. So we left after two
days for the mountains near Wolf Creek pass.
At least we could be cool and out of the smoky haze while Maya recuperated.
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| Maya sports her new protective 'bootie' over her bandaged paw. |
David’s Stats:
Days
Hiked: none, Maya out of commission
Smoky
Days: 2 
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