Our hiking friends helped us snag a volunteer position with Coronado National Forest. We work three days a week in full uniform in exchange for this camp spot next to our friends.Warning – you might get tired of the sunsets!!!Or sunsets with moon rises…The full moon over Blackett’s Ridge was beckoning us to come for a closer look.So we headed out the next afternoon for our own sunset/moon rise hike up the ridge. J & J are staying in Catalina so they could partake in this adventure.Enjoying the views of Tucson in the warm afternoon light. We really enjoyed all the city lights sparkling on our way down.We made it to the top of the ridge in time to enjoy a bit of dinner with the view.The most gorgeous sunset ever!!!!! It can’t even be captured in a panorama but we had a 360 view – wow! It was so worth it in spite of the challenge of hiking down in the moon shadows.The next day we took off to hike Seven Falls while the water levels were lower for the seven creek crossing.Sunrise as we reported for our second day of work – we need to be there at 7:00 AM so we bought an alarm clock! Are we still retired?Rain brings its own beauty (picture taken from the Travato)– we got a reprieve from a day of work due to too much rain. Our duties are to keep the public areas tidy, clean, and safe to enhance the visitor experience.
Pecos National Monument added to our knowledge of ancient cultures – especially with their fabulous pottery display.A gorgeous day to experience the plateau and structures.So many layers of historyFacsinating kivas. We also toured the civil war site as part of the monument and noted how the scenery was not exactly the same as today with all the farms having cleared the land.We appreciated the re-purposing of the existing building.A close up photo of the original building.El Morro means the headland and this is the landmark travelers aimed towards in their desert crossings.It became a place to leave your mark – to tell part of your story.Most were very anxious to reach this water supply – we enjoyed the reflection and serenity.Settlers, conquistadors, friars – so many passed this way and had remarkable stories to tell.We thought this looked like a bottle of wine!We walked to the top of the rock – this overlooks a box canyon with amazing goelogy.It was windy but we appreciated the sculpting effects like this amazing character pine.Contemplating all that have enjoyed this scene.CCC workers carved these stairs into the rock. We thought we had been transported to Greek Isles.Ruins on the top that have been stabilized and preserved.Near by El Malpais we found this great BLM campground which we stayed for a few nights.The lava flows are what makes it the badlands!Imagine walking over miles of this uneven surface.We took the Rims Narrow Trail to the arch overlook – gorgeous vistas for the entire walk.We are thinking bear print – we saw several of these but no bear. Lots of animal tracks.On the south side of the park are these unmarked ruins.We camped at Apache Creek, Gila National Forest – we had this entire campground to ourselves. In the morning we saw 4 javalinas walking up the hill.We stopped at Catwalk for this hike into the canyon. It was originally water lines to a mine. The CCC turned that into a walkway and it has been maintained ever since. Part up the canyon is still closed due to a fire/flash flood.What better spot to have lunch? Gila Wilderness.Thank you Aldo Leopold for loving this area so much, that you spent your life working to preserve areas as wilderness for all those that came after you. We really appreciate it and have so enjoyed this opportunity to explore so many wilderness areas as well as other public lands.
On the road again in the flat lands!Peace Chief Black Kettle survived Sand Creek Massacre but did not survive this massacre. We spent the night nearby in the Black Kettle Grasslands.Imagine those that escaped by hiding in these grasses. We enjoyed seeing it at sunset.Lake Meredith National Recreation Area in Texas was our next stop – we spent our first night here as it was quite windy.This bull snake was enjoying some sunshine. We had not seen them flatten their heads like this.At the Alibates Flint Quarry National Monument, we took a guided hike up to see these ancient quarries of the beautiful stones.At the visitor center, we watched Ed Dey, flint knapper, shape one of these stones into a small masterpiece. He also regaled us with some stories.This was the beautiful arrowhead he created that we were given as a souvenir. Nice! We really appreciated it.Our second night we spent higher on the bluffs – as you can see there was no wind!And enjoyed this gorgeous sunset – they are all nice but we like the lake view as well.Heading into New Mexico with a bit more wind at our back.A night at Ute Lake State Park in New Mexico as we head towards Santa Fe for the weekend.
A great month at the Residence Inn Marriott in Grand Junction. Leaving our new friends, spoiled with all the comforts of good breakfasts, social hours, pool/hot tub and convenient location.Thank you to Dean Moore’s crew and the crew at Transwest for getting our van in tip top shape. And thank to Marriott for the Plum Creek Palisade wine to celebrate!Enjoying the sunset at Rabbitt Valley after a long day of getting the Travato reloaded and ready for the road.We were able to do some hikes right from the camp site so had two great no drive days.This was the view we enjoyed from the camp site.This herd of pronghorns were shy of us but not the ATVers.Both hikes took us to the Colorado River to enjoy this type of view.It is a rough life to hang out here!
On the trail again – it was 48 degrees when we started and 64 when we finished. Perfect!Is that the trail down there? We were not expecting all the elevation gain – we ascended and descended three mesas – both ways!We are over half way to the arches – it is 7-miles in and 7-miles out! Most of this trail is in the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness section of McInnis Canyon.There are 7 arches – a very high concentration for one hike. They were breathtaking and not just because we had hiked 7-miles!Very fun to appreciate on such a gorgeous day.This got our vote as the most beautiful arch we have seen. Sorry Utah…We took too many photos but this upward looking panorama seems to capture the awe of being there.Walking past it gave a different viewpoint that was also interesting.This is the last arch we hiked to – there might have been one more but we stopped here to eat and enjoy before heading back.Fun to climb up for a closer view. Really amazing what nature can do, given enough time.
McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area for another day of hiking – Rabbit’s Ear Mesa Trail to overlook Colorado River, close to the Utah border (Exit 2 on I-70).It took an hour to hike to this spot, 700-feet elevation gain, but worth every step for the view!Clever stone arm chairs were created in this perfect overlook for us to appreciate.Looking towards Utah with the La Sal mountains on the horizon.Another day we headed to Devil’s Canyon trail under dark skies.The lighting was very interesting with the sun shining on the Book Cliffs across the valley.We got caught in the rain but it made all the rocks shine – even though it also made the trail a bit slick and muddy.
A perfect fall day for a drive up the Mesa!The amount of aspen around Powderhorn Ski area was breathtaking.Quaking aspen in a light breeze, shimmery golden in the sun – actually quite a bit of orange on the leaves as well which was a bit unusual.This is real – just an amazing blue sky!A hike up Crag Crest to enjoy the view with our picnic lunch -notice a bit of snow on the trail….winter is coming.Amazing views were worth the three miles or so to the summit.Clouds were forming only over the peaks but added some interest to our views.It was great to hike amongst the colors, the views and the sunshine. A great day!
This area is where the wild mustangs range so we decided to spend some time looking for them.These were the only horses we saw but we did see piles of wild stallion dung marking their territory and hoof prints coming down to the creek.It was a beautiful hike even without the wild mustangs! We met up with friends from Denver in Palisades for lunch – and a bit more wine tasting!Bookcliffs winery had a vineyard tour before the WineFest in Palisades.We had the opportunity to compare and taste the different grapes – Tempranillo, Merlot, Sryah, Cab Sav! We learned the first day of frost is usually mid November and last is mid April so a long growing season – perfect for all the produce grown here.Then we went on the Palisade Rim hike above the vineyards looking across the Grand Valley.An interesting canyon behind the rim, away from the noise of the highway and railroad.And petroglyphs of elks!
