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Valley of Fires and the Salinas Pueblo MissionsValley of Fires and the Salinas Pueblo Missions

Valley of Fires and the Salinas Pueblo Missions

Lost in the Land of Enchantment | Friday – Saturday, November 15-16, 2024

After leaving the Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site, we made a quick stop at Pistachioland for Diane and then headed over to Carrizozo to visit the family of one of her friends who live there. When we were packing for this trip we decided to bring along a tent that we had not used for a while and accidentally forgot to bring the stakes for it. While this wasn’t a problem when we were camped at Gleatherland in Texas because it was a very calm evening, it had been very windy all day while we were searching for petroglyphs at Three Rivers and it was supposed to stay pretty windy all night, so we were a bit concerned. Thankfully, we were able to borrow some tent stakes from Diane’s friends while we were visiting which would help us out quite a bit. After our visit we ate dinner in town and then drove just a few miles northeast to the Valley of Fires Recreation Area where I had reserved a campsite next to the lava flow for the night. We got our tent set up shortly before sunset and then read for a while before going to bed early.

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Carlsbad Caverns National Park and the GuadalupesCarlsbad Caverns National Park and the Guadalupes

Carlsbad Caverns National Park and the Guadalupes

Lost in the Land of Enchantment | Monday – Wednesday, November 11-13, 2024

After spending a cold and snowy weekend at Bandelier National Monument and elsewhere around the Pajarito Plateau we headed further south into New Mexico until we reached Carlsbad, which is located in the Permian Basin just east of the Guadalupe Mountains. It was quite a bit warmer here which was a pleasant change from the previous couple of days further north. After checking in to our hotel we still had plenty of daylight left, so we drove over to Carlsbad Caverns National Park so we could start getting acquainted with the park and maybe even find a place to catch the sunset. This turned out to be an excellent idea because as we entered the park we noticed a sign that said there was a Bat Flight program this evening at the Bat Flight Amphitheater. According to the park’s website the Bat Flight Program only takes places from Memorial Day weekend through October, so I didn’t think we would be able to go to one on this trip, but since it was still happening we were excited to check it out!

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White Rock Canyon of the Rio Grande & Pecos NHPWhite Rock Canyon of the Rio Grande

White Rock Canyon of the Rio Grande & Pecos NHP

Lost in the Land of Enchantment | Sunday & Monday, November 10-11, 2024

After spending most of the weekend hiking around a snow-covered Bandelier National Monument, we left Tsankawi late on Sunday morning and headed over to White Rock Canyon so we could spend the rest of the day exploring the Red Dot Trail along the Rio Grande. Although I knew there were some petroglyphs in this area, I didn’t know where they were and how many we would be able to find, but we were pleasantly surprised to find quite a few along the way which kept us busy until shortly before sunset. Afterwards, we drove up to Los Alamos and had a nice dinner at the Pajarito Brewpub & Grill. Then on Monday morning we returned to Overlook Park in White Rock at sunrise and hiked a short way down the Blue Dot Trail before we left the Pajarito Plateau and started heading further south into New Mexico where we hoped it would be a bit warmer for the rest of the week. Here are a few photos from our time in White Rock Canyon.

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Halls Wagon Road to Halls Crossing, More or Less…Halls Wagon Road to Halls Crossing: More or Less...

Halls Wagon Road to Halls Crossing, More or Less…

Friday – Sunday, November 1-3, 2024

I started this weekend trip off with two main goals in mind as I headed west into Utah on Friday. The first one was to drive The V Road in the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument before it’s closed to motorized vehicles in December, and the second one was to finally take a ride on the Charles Hall Ferry across Lake Powell while it’s open and there is still enough water for it to be in operation. Although these two goals might seem like they can’t possibly be connected in any way, there is a historic route which was known as the Halls Wagon Road, Hall Road or Halls Trail, that went from Escalante to Halls Crossing and does kind of tie these two areas together. So even though I never followed any part of the actual Halls Wagon Road on this particular trip, I did roughly parallel the route on modern day roads the entire way. Plus, I have already hiked a couple sections of the historic route including Silver Falls Creek, Muley Twist Canyon and Halls Creek, and I hope to do more sections in the future. I had all of this information on my mind as I left from work on Friday and made my way over to the Escalante River Country near Harris Wash.

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Rock Art of the San Rafael Swell XIXRock Art of the San Rafael Swell XIX

Rock Art of the San Rafael Swell XIX

Sauntering Through The Swell | Friday – Sunday, October 25-27, 2024

This weekend I took it pretty easy and headed out into the San Rafael Swell so I could search for some new rock art and revisit some sites that I hadn’t been back to in over a decade! I was hoping that my friend Jared would be able to join me on this trip, but unfortunately he was unable to make it this time, so I was on my own. For the most part I found everything I was looking for and the weather and temperature was very nice out, although it was quite a bit more humid than I would have liked, so I ended up having a very nice time camping, hiking and Jeeping around the Swell this weekend. These are some photos of what I saw.

CONTINUE READINGRock Art of the San Rafael Swell XIX
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