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| Valley of the Fires Rec Area |
After a very long a treacherous drive down and out of the
mountains in Gila National Forest, I got a tip from my uncle about a park near Carrizozo,
New Mexico. As I got near to the Valley
of Fires Rec Area, I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing. It kind of looked like a road was all broken
up and had tons of cacti and other various plants growing in the rubble. After further investigation, the ruble was
actually hardened lava that flowed all over the area over a thousand years
ago! It was a most bizarre and beautiful
sight! I was also pleased to find out
that they encourage you to climb on the lava to your heart’s content! I enjoyed sitting on a section of lava and
watching the sun set over the lava and the mountains in the distance. It was quite peaceful until I realized I didn’t
bring a flashlight with me up on to the lava, and would now have to climb down
while trying to avoid all the cacti in the dark. I did pretty well! I only had a few spines on my shoe.
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Salinas Pueblo
Mission Ruins |
After camping in the shadow of a huge blob of lava, I headed
towards north. I stopped at the Salinas
Pueblo Mission Ruins. There were
several, amazingly intact structures.
They were from the period when the Indians and Spanish were interacting
in the 1600s. It was so strange and
powerful to see remains of bustling human interaction from so long ago in a
place has very little human activity today!
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| Petroglyphs |
I kept heading north and ended up in Albuquerque. I was lucky enough to have my own personal
tour guide (my uncle) from afar. He gave
me many tips on what to do, see, and even eat!
It was lovely having a guide! I
went to the Petroglyphs National Monument.
It was amazing how may petroglyphs I was able to see in such a small
space! After examining the various
designs on the rocks, I headed to Old Town.
The train station missed the town square by a bit, so the old downtown
in much like it was in the 1700s. It was
fun to soak up the historic, southwest feel of the area! Then, I ate a huge plate of this pork stew
situation at Sadie’s. It was totally
wonderful, except for the fact that the male waiter (who was probably several
years younger than me) kept calling me “sweetie” and told me I did a “great job”
eating. . .weird and not okay! After
stuffing myself, I took a ride on the Sandia Tramway. The tram goes from the north part of the city
all the way to the top of the mountains!
It was beautiful up in the mountains!
I really enjoyed hiking around and finding different spots to enjoy the view!
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| Church in Old Town |
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| View of the Sandia Tramway |
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