Mar 11-Apr 30 Gila Cliff, White Sands ,Guadalupe Mts, Carlsbad, Ft Davis, Rio Grande/Big Bend, Amistad, Alibates Flint, Lake Meredith, Washita, Chickasaw, Capulin, Ft Union, Pecos, Bandelier, Valles Caldera, Civil War Roundtable, Golf

FRIDAY March 11, 2016

WEATHER:  arrived at Tucson, the temp was 85

TRAVEL:  Davis-Monthan AFB

The flight from Milwaukee to Phoenix was full of people visiting spring training for the Brewers – part of them was a group of 4 guys from Burlington.  If I was a Little League guru – I think I would know them  . . .  I knew the face of one of them – don’t think they recognized me.

We landed 55 minutes early, couldn’t get to the gate for a ½ hour.  Flew to Tucson - I almost got on a plane and turned back – but that is another story.

Got a cab to Davis-Monthan and out to the trailer storage site.  My truck started immediately. – hooked up the trailer and drove to Agave Gulch FamCamp – 1^st come 1^st served.  I was lucky – I got the last available site.

Agave Gulch FamCamp is the best military camp I’ve stayed at – clean, great weather, up-to-date,  WIFI works most of the time.  Davis-Monthan is an outstanding base.  There was an Air Show going on this weekend – featuring the precision flying Air Force Thunderbirds.  It is my understanding that they alternate the air show date with the Navy’s Blue Angels.

SATURDAY March 12, 2016

WEATHER:  51 at 4:30 am; a sunny day with some wind - high of 70.

TRAVEL:  Davis-Monthan AFB

A laid  back day.  I changed out the tires on the trailer at a dealer just down the road – great service.  Late in the day decided that I will continue the trip – see what happens . . . . bought groceries, and prepared for the next 4 weeks verifying travel plans and updating the blog. 

Went to 5pm mass at Christ the King Catholic Community at the Davis-Monthan Deseert Dove Chapel.  Same choir as in December  . . .  . . . Easter is only two weeks away – hard to believe.

SUNDAY March 13, 2016

WEATHER:  43 at 5:30 am, clear and sunny

TRAVEL:  Davis-Monthan AFB

Updated travel plans and routes.  Same sir show today as yesterday except no Thunderbirds.

MONDAY March 14, 2016

Lordsburg rated a marker.  My guess of the
Sourthern Pacfic seems correct.

WEATHER:  51 at 5am; 68 clear blue sky with a wind from the north in Lordsburg, NM at 2pm – windy enough to rock the trailer

TRAVEL:  Davis-Monthan AFB , Tucson, AZ to Lordsburg, NM

Trailer & truck at Lordsburg, NM  KOA

Lordsburg KOA, Lordsburg NM – it’s the desert – EL 4,230 ft – town most likely exists because the Southern Pacific runs through here – nice KOA – close to I-10 but not a constant drone of traffic.  WIFI works.

TUESDAY March 15, 2016

WEATHER:  47 at 4:30 am clear sky, plenty of stars to the south, must have got up to the 60’s – pleasant still short sleeve weather with the sun – plenty of wind during the day on the flat - down to 38 as I traveled in the mountains

Lordsburg: Sunrise 0723; Sunset 1924; Moonrise 1137 waxing crescent 47% illumination, Moonset 0047

This mountain forest was
 stunning - even with the
narrow road - it was just
a wonderful drive.

This was just outside Silver City

TRAVEL:  Lordsburg, NM to Gila Cliff Dwellings NM. The drive is half the adventure.  It was an 80 mile drive.  From Lordsburg to Silver City the 40 mil is is mostly 65 mph the next 40 miles is a climb up and through the mountains on an almost two lane road with more than a few switchbacks – got to stay alert – still a beautiful drive.  From desert to forested mountains to high plains to high desert – valleys – canyons – mountains. Saw a small herd of about 9 mule deer near the road and a coyote . . .   Getting there is the adventure.

We’ve got to thank Aldo Leopold.- I read his “Sand County Almanac” as part of a graduate philosophy course - a conservation ethic – worth reading.  

Gila Cliff Dwellings
Gila Wilderness

270 GILA CLIFF DWELLINGS National Monument

For thousands of years, groups of nomadic people used the caves of the Gila River as temporary shelter. In the late 1200's, people of the Mogollon Culture decided it would be a good place to call home. They built rooms, crafted pottery and raised children in the cliff dwellings for about twenty years. Then the Mogollon moved on, leaving the walls for us as a glimpse into the past.

Thank you Aldo 

After an 1878 prospecting trip, miner H.B. Ailman documented the cliff dwellings.  When archeologist Adolph Bandelier came here in 1884, the cliff dwelling had been looted by earlier visitors.  They took many artifacts and obliterated much of the archeological record.  In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the national monument ot prevent further damage and vandalism.

Early in his career, Aldo Leopold was assistant district forester for the Southwest national forests.  He persuaded his agency to establish the Gila Wilderness in 1924, the nation’s first wilderness are.  Now the Gila Wilderness protects the upper Gila River watershed – the longest undammed stretch of river in the lower 48.

Leopold’s vision helped inspire the 1964 Wilderness Act that now preserves the wildness of over 109 million acres of public federal lands.

There is a small Visitor Center with a museum displaying Mogollon artifacts from the Gila Cliff Dwellings and surrounding area.  There is also an exhibit on the Chiricahua Apache who consider the wilderness to be their homeland. A 15-minute video illustrates the Mongollan culture and the Cliff Dwellings.

Gila Cliff Dwellings Trail map 

Gila Cliff Dwellings from tail

These dwelling are significant because they were built by the Mongollon.
Probably influenced by the Pueblo and tribes to the north.  Tonto National Monument
is better and Mesa Verde may be the the King of cliff dwellings.

Cliff Dwellings Trail is a one-mile loop trail to and through the cliff dwellings climbs 180 feet above the canyon floor to an elevation close to 6000 feet. Views of the some of cliff dwellings are possible after a 1/4-mile hike in the canyon bottom. A piece of cake compared to the TImpanogos Cave Trail in Utah or the walks into the Kiluaea Caldera. 

This is the Middle Fork of the
Gila River ford.  Way over my ankles
and I didn't have water shoes.

Alternate crossings over the Middle Fork of the Gila River
did not look promising.  My legs are not that long.

Hot  Springs - There are several popular hot springs in the area. The closest wilderness hot spring, Lightfeather, is a 20-minute walk from the Gila Visitor Center.  But I couldn’t get there.  Of all the gear I carry in my pack – sandals/water-shoes need to be added for fording.  I eventually found the ford but it was knee deep in some places – I wasn’t going to walk barefoot across the rocks and I wasn’t going to give my boots a bath.  The movies with pictures of tough guys walking through streams in winter, is ‘nuts’.

The most popular hot spring is Jordan, a 6 or 8 mile hike from the Visitor Center, depending upon the trailhead used. Private hot springs are also located in the community of Gila Hotsprings, four miles from the Monument. You are urged to use caution if entering the hot springs because the Hot springs may contain an amoeba that may cause a form of meningitis that can be fatal. Don't get water up your nose or just stay away from the Hot Springs.  Nice.

The geology of Arizona and New Mexico is interesting.  A great palce for a geologist or rock hound.
Pictures do not do the country justice.

You’ve heard of Truth or Consequences, NM – well it’s about 50 miles east from here.

WEDNESDAY March 16 2016

WEATHER:  42 at 5:30, 48 in the trailer – clear sky;

LORDSBURG Sunrise 0722; EL PASO Sunset 1915; Moonrise 1324 waxing gibbous 59% illumination, Moonset 0233

TRAVEL:  Lordsburg NM to Fort Bliss RV Park, El Paso, TX to Chamizal National Monument to Fort Bliss to Fort Bliss RV Park.  Seems like the wind let up . . . . there is a breeze but not rocking the trailer.

Entrance Ft. Blss RV Park
Shopette & Subway
 right across the street

Ft. Bliss RV Park site

Fort Bliss RV Park -  a very nice park – not within the gated grounds of Fort Bliss – similar to Fort Stewart’s RV Park.  Concrete pads, large sites (compared to any KOA) a very nice, clean, relatively new bath & shower house, a large Family Room – the only source of WIFI.  A nice large laundry.  Express service station, mini-mart and Subway just across the street.  This could be the BEST Military RV Park if the Army invested in park-wide WIFI. Seems like less full time retirees here – more soldiers and families.

Got here early enough to start reading “The Civil War In Arizona: The Story of the

 California Volunteers, 1861-1865” written by Andrew E. Masich, published by University of Oklahoma Press.  A regiment of California infantry and cavalry started east to fight Texas rebels in Arizona and New Mexico – ending up fighting Apaches mostly. 

271 CHAMIZAL National Memorial, El Paso, TX

Chimazal National Memorial

Chamizal is an urban park whose grounds stand for peace.   The peaceful settlement of a 100-year border dispute between nations. Not one shot was fired; not one war was waged. The memorial celebrates the culture of the borderland that helped to peacefully navigate an international argument.

This is what it was all about
The Rio Grande channel changed
What was part of Mexico now was part of the US when the
River cut changed

In 1966, Congress established Chamizal National Memorial to commemorate the Chamizal Convention (treaty) of 1963. The Chamizal treaty finally ended a long-standing border dispute between the U.S. and Mexico. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo established the Rio Grande/Río Bravo as the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico. However, rivers naturally move over time. In this case, the river gradually, and at times abruptly, moved south, which left Mexico with less land than the 1848 treaty established. The land disputes that arose because of the river movement caused tension between the U.S. and Mexico for more than 100-years. Finally, in 1963 U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Mexican President Adolfo Lopez Mateos met to discuss the "Chamizal Issue" and through diplomatic negotiations, they solved the Chamizal Issue with the signing of the Chamizal Treaty.

A concrete river channel was built to define the border

The Mexican flag is flown at Chamizal National Memorial out of respect for the sentiments that made the Chamizal Convention of 1963 a reality. The United States flag will always be on the left as you face the Memorial. 

This is a nice Visitor Center and park literally on the border . . .  . the VC auditorium and surrounding park are used for cultural events throughout the year.

Fort Bliss is home to Air Defense Artillery.  The post has a Mall/PX/Commissary  complex - unique to any Army post I’ve been on.  A true Outdoor Mall with Buffalo Wild Wings, barber shop, Class Six (liquor store), Texas Roadhouse, Vitamin stores, an Irish Pub, opticians, a theatre complex, commissary, etc.  I’ll post a picture of this eventually – actually to large for one picture – but I think I found my Irish Bar for St. Patrick’s Day.  Getting on and off post can be challenging because it is in or on the edge of El Paso.  There are roads running under roads, which at first glance, make it all very confusing.

I passed the Underwood Golf Course Complex returning to the RV Park – it’s right across US 54 but it looks like I have to go past it going South  and make a U-turn in order to get to it. 

THURSDAY March 17 2016

WEATHER:  52 at 4:30 am clear – up to 78 sunny

EL PASO Sunrise 0713  Sunset 1916; Moonrise 1419 waxing gibbous 75% illumination, Moonset 0324

Shamrocks Pub - Ft. Bliss mall

TRAVEL:  Fort Bliss RV Park to White Sands National Monument – a 96 mile, 1hr 30 minute, drive with travel through a lot of the remote parts of Fort Bliss.  Holloman Air Force Base is just east of White Sands NM.  White Sands Missile Range borders the other side of White Sands NM.  Alamorgordo, NM  is 15 miles to the northeast along US 70

Ft. Bliss mall
this band turned out to play RAP

ST. PATRICK’S DAY – after the visit to White Sands I went to an Irish pub located on the mall of Ft. Bliss – just across from Buffalo Wild Wings – in the Freedom Crossing Mall at Fort Bliss - a lot going on and I had a green beer.

272 WHITE SANDS National Monument, Alamogordo, NM

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico.  Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dune-field. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dune-field, along with the plants and animals that live here.

The adobe Visitor Center and adjacent buildings were built in the years 1936-1938 by the Works Progress Administration.  There is an 18 minute film , small museum and bookstore at the VC.  A separate concessionaire runs a Gift Shop attached to the VC.  The big draw here is the rental of sleds – for sand sledding.   I would call them saucers – but there may be some sensitivity to that word because Roswell is not far away.

If you walk the trails this is a full day – get here early before it gets to hot.  Most of the people I saw here came for sand sledding.  A drive through is about an hour or so.

The dunes, brilliant and white, are ever-changing.  They grow, crest, then slump, but always advance.  Nothing else like this in the world.  Easier to walk on than the Sleeping  Bear Dunes NP in Michigan.  The sand here is white, cool and clean.  Most brown seashore sand is made of seashells and fish poop.

Sand Sledding - on a saucer
It's spirng break and there were
literally hundreds of people
sledding - close to the roads
Some of the dunes are higher
this this

GEOLOGY

White Sands map

The gypsum that forms the white sand was deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea covering this are 250 million years ago [the Permian Period of the Paleozoic Era (Age of Fishes)].  Eventually turned into stone the gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome some 70 million years ago [the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era (Age of Reptiles)] when the Rocky Mountains formed.  Ten million years ago [the Miocene Epoch, Tertiary Period, Cenozoic Era (Age of Mammals)] the center of the dome started to collapse creating the Tularosa Basin.  The remaining sides of the original dome form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that now ring the Tularosa Basin.

The Dunes Drive leads from the Visitor Center eight miles into the heart of the dunes. There are five marked trails.  I walked three; the short Dune Life Nature and Playa Trails were closed for restoration.

Playa Trail Length: 330 yards (300 m) round-trip Average Completion Time: 20 minutes Difficulty: Easy.       Dune Life Nature Trail Length: One mile (1.6 km) loop Average Completion Time: 1 hour Difficulty: Moderate

I walk trails . . . . . other than it is the only way to ‘see’ the land, a park brochure quoted Albert Einstein as saying “ the only way to gain knowledge is through experience.”  I get it.

The sand is very fine - soft

Backcountry Trail map

Backcountry Camping Loop Trail – 2 miles round trip – this hike took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete.  Admittedly, I took a wrong turn and explored a little more than just the trail.  This trail covers a loop to wilderness campsites that backpackers use.  A hike through the heart of the dunes.  Difficulty: Moderate.

Backcountry Loop
Trail

I 'm not fond of
baseball caps but
 wearing one instead
of my bush hat
 was a good ideal

Alkali Flat Trail – a 5 mile hike that took 2 ½ hours to complete.  A challenge because of its length and going up and down dunes.  This is a true wilderness walk – I came across a young couple who started just 10 minutes before me but decided to turn around after a little more than two miles.  The first mile is tough, due to some steep climbs.  The halfway mark is the Alkali Flats where the trail skirts the edge of the final remnant of Lake Otero, once a 1,600 square mile lake.  I didn’t see any water.

There is a CAUTION not to hike this trail between after 10 am – 5 pm , May through August.    I went through 2 ½ bottles of water.  Glad I wore a baseball cap, I did get a mild sunburn – sides of the neck where I missed putting on sunscreen.   This trail ranks at the top - along with  the Kaluapapa NM Trail in Molokai, the Cave Trail at Timpanogos NM, the Golden Canyon/Gower Gulch Trail in Death Valley NP and the Mauna Ula Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes NP.

Alkali Flat Trail
Mile Marker 2
San Adreas Mountains
& Alkali Flat

Alkali Flt Trail

Alkali Flat Trail
Mile MArker 1

Alkali Flat Trail - where the Alkali Flat starts to form the dunes  Mile Marker 2

Alkali Flat Trail - a crescent shaped dune - in the "heart of the dunefield"
San Adreas Mountains in the background - not quite to Alkali Flats

Interdune Boardwalk Length: 650 yards  A short, easy walk up and back of 15 minutes.  Not much going on here.

FRIDAY March 18 2016

WEATHER:  57 at 5:30 am clear.

EL PASO Sunrise 0712; Sunset 1917; Moonrise 1515 waxing gibbous 83% illumination, Moonset 0410

TRAVEL:  Fort Bliss Underwood Golf Course

Another year and a prayer

Fort Bliss Underwood
Golf Complex Clubhouse

Underwood Golf  Complex
Sunset Course

Underwood Golf Complex has two 18 hole golf courses.  The Sunset Course was built in 1953 – a standard Army golf course. – fairly flat – narrow – tree lined.  The Sunrise Course is more of a lynx style – water hazards – more spread out.  Twilight rates take effect at noon – probably because of the heat – I started walking the Alkali Flat Trail at White Sands National Monument yesterday around noon – for $20 I’ll start after noon.

I played the Sunrise Course, a “desert links” course – fairly straight the rough is rock/desert.  I shot a 49 on the front nine and a 45 on the back nine – with 3 balls in the sand traps and 1 lost water ball – on the 18^th hole.  I may straighten my drive out yet – hope to by April.

SATURDAY March 19 2016

A Birthday and St. Joseph’s Day

WEATHER:  43 at 5:30 am – I left around 7:40 am – it was cool and the forecast called for winds around 30-40 mph and gusts of 60 in the mountains – the stormy winds never materialzed . EL PASO Sunrise 0710  Sunset 1917; Moonrise 1610 90.2% illumination, Moonset 0453

TRAVEL:  Fort Bliss RV Park to Guadalupe Mountains NP to Carlsbad Caverns NP, back to Guadalupe and return to Fort Bliss.  Most of the route was 75 mph.  After 2 hours , I reached the mountains – they were in the clouds so it was foggy and cold.  It was 27 degrees and very foggy at the Guadalupe Mountains Pine Springs Trailhead.

Still there were a lot of people ready to hike . . .  too cold and there was nothing to see.  I had alternatives.  Another 45 minutes on the road brought me to Carlsbad Caverns NP – the cave has a year round temperature of 57 degrees..   

It was foggy I found the sign
but missed the Visitor Center

Guadalupe VC
the foot bridge leading here
was coverd in salt today
It was 27 degrees and foggy

273 GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS National Park, Salt Flat, TX

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is the world's premier example of a fossil reef from the Permian Era.  The park is known for its extensive hiking and backpacking opportunities in one of the nation's most pristine wilderness areas.  

Guadalupe Trails Map

A hiker's paradise – not much else to do at Guadalupe Mountians NP.  There are more

Guadalupe NP Trail Descriptions

than 80 miles of trails that meander through woodland canyons and lush riparian springs, or zigzag up steep switchbacks directly into the park's rugged wilderness.  I had planned to walk 2 or 3 trails  . . .  because of the weather, I decided against hiking and went on to Carlsbad Caverns NP.

The Visitor Center was sparse – no bookstore to speak of – good exhibits on the geology - the two younger rangers seemed more interested in talking to each other than talking to people.

Guadalupe Trailheads

Devil's Hall Trail - the Devil's Hall Trail departs from the Pine Springs Trailhead and is 3.8 miles round-trip. After the first mile the trail enters a rocky wash which leads hikers to an impressive natural rock staircase leading to a "hallway" formed by steep canyon walls.

Smith Spring Loop - the Smith Spring Trail is 2.3 miles (round-trip) and departs from the Frijole Ranch Trailhead. Watch the landscape change from desert scrub to riparian vegetation in this loop. 

McKittrick Canyon Nature Trail a 1 mile loop of the 7.4 mile one-way McKittrick Canyon Trail that leads to McKittrick Campground.

274 CARLSBAD CAVERNS National Park, Carlsbad, NM

The Visitor Center is located about 9 miles off US Highway  62/180, approximately 45 miles northeast of Guadalupe Mountains NP Pine Spring Visitor Center.

The bookstore was in transition – i.e. there was none while a new vendor contract was being negotiated with Western National.  There is a large tourist trinket store and restaurant in the VC but not a “bookstore.”

I bought a small pamphlet book entitled “Jim White’s Own Story: The Discovery and History of Carlsbad Caverns.”  James Larkin White was a cowboy who explored and worked in the cave.  The short pamphlet book was published in 1931 and written by Frank Ernest Nicholson.  Jim White was uneducated but served as explorer, guano foreman, guide, park ranger and custodian.  He loved the cave.  A preface to the pamphlet written by Bob Hoff, Park Historian, in 1998 says it “contains elements of fact and fiction . . .  Some parts of the book were sensationalized to capture a wider reading public.”   Indeed, you can find the sensational – or exaggeration in some of the short stories – but there is no doubt that Jim White’s efforts led to the creation of Carlsbad Cavern National Park in 1929, 37 years after he had “discovered” the cave.  

The book has a map of the cave with numbered stops that appear to match what you find in the cave.  There was no printed guide available to identify the numbered stops in the cave.

Carlsbad Cavern Natural Entrance

The elevators are out-of-service and there is a 1.25 miles each way on a steeply descending trail through the natural entrance.  The tours affected are King's Palace, Left Hand Tunnel and the Lower Cave tour. The park will continue to offer a limited number of these tours but can only schedule them one or two months in advance.  Only one was scheduled on Saturday and it was full.

The black shapes are bats
   Photo taken when I was entering the cave
There were no bats to be seen on the way out 

Carlsbad A good map of the
 Four American Deserts

The evening bat flight of Carlsbad Cavern is a natural phenomenon.  The ”bat cave” is still full of bat “guano” that was mined for fertilizer until 1957.  The bat cave is not visited by people – it is ¾ mile long, 90-200 wide and approximately the same height.  There is a definite odor.  An amphitheater built by the CCC is in front of the entrance, where people can watch the mass-exodus of Mexican free-tail bats for a night of feasting on insects.  There were some bats present when I visited – most of the bats winter in Mexico.  If you want to see bats come May – October.

Carlsbad - a good map of the National Park Sites in the Southwest
This is where I'm going to spend the next four months 

Carlsbad - The Permian Sea covered much of the land
There is much moreof a geology story to tell than time allows

Carlsbad Cavern Map  - above and below ground

Carlsbad Cavern
Looking up at the
 Natural Entrance

Carlsbad Natural Entrance Trail
formation called the Whale Mouth

Different park literature has different lengths for the trails (this is not unusual for the NPS).  With no elevator, the Natural Entrance Trail is 1.25 mile trail down and up.  A ranger said the steepest grade was 20% but could not give me an average grade for the 800 ft descent/ascent.  It is about the same as the Timpanogos Cave Trail.  The Natural Entrance Trail took me 45 minutes to walk up – and even in the 56 degree 90% humidity, I worked up a sweat. 

Carlsbad Underground Gift Shop & Lunch Room

The round trip route is steeply graded up or down for 2-1/2 miles (4 km). No reservations are necessary for the Natural Entrance Trail route.  Only one guided cave tour was offered at 1:30 pm and it was full. 

Carlsbad Caverns is enormous.  The largest rooms of any cave I’ve been in – also the largest formations.

Rest rooms and a cafeteria are located near the junction of the Natural Entrance Trail and the Big Room Trail. 

Big Room Trail Map

The Big Room Trail is named for the largest single cave chamber in North America, covering an area equal to 6.3 football fields. This is an easy 1.25 mile loop paved trail, with just a couple of areas that are moderately steep. The trail leads you through a myriad of awe inspiring, yet delicate cave formations and ends near the elevators, cafeteria, and rest rooms.

Big Room Trail

Big Room Trail
Stalagmite

Big Room Trail
Draperies

Big Room Trail - Bottomless Pit - not really bottomless

Carlsbad - Imagine you are on a non-coral reef
looking out at the bottom of a Permian Sea

Carlsbad Cavern
Amphiteater at the Natural
Entrance - Built by the CCC
also the adobe buildings above
built by the CCC

After coming out of the cave I took a one mile  paved nature trail around  the VC.  I didn’t see anything marked but a nice walk

Driving out of the park I came across the 9.5 mile gravel Walnut Canyon Scenic Drive.  There was no brochure in the box – also typical of National Parks – but I donated a dollar with the smallest denominations of coins I had.  There is a Rattlesnake Canyon Trail along the route but without a map – like some of the Chiricahua Mountain Trails – I did not venture in – also the name was not inviting

Carlsbad - Walnut Canyon Desert Drive

Carlsbad - Walnut Canyon Desert Drive - Rattlesnake Canyon Overlook'
I could have been walking a trial down there

Guadalupe Mountains NP
McKittrick Canyon

Guadalupe Mountains NP
McKittrick Canyon Trailhead

273 GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS National Park, Salt Flat, TX

Coming out of Carlsbad I had to go through Guadalupe Mountains.  I stopped at the McKittrick Canyon trailhead – it does look like one of the least traveled trails – an easy walk.  There was a VC/Contact Station here but it was not manned. 

I also stopped again at the main VC again.  It was clear and in the low 50’s.  I checked with a ranger who identified his two favorite trails as the ones I had decided to walk.  Maybe Monday and hopefully – less people..

Blessed Sacrament Church
El Paso, Texas

SUNDAY March 20, 2016

WEATHER:  43 at 5:30 am, high in low 70’s, clear & sunny

EL PASO Sunrise 0709  Sunset 1918; Moonrise 1715 95.3% illumination, Moonset 0531

TRAVEL:  Fort Bliss/El Paso area

PALM SUNDAY – I went to 9:30 am Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church – a drive of about 3 miles. No surprise – a mostly Hispanic community.

I forgot to mention that Ft. Bliss is also home to the 1^st Armored Division and the Army’s Sergeants Major Academy.

Started reading “Trinity: The History of An Atomic Bomb National Historic Landmark” by Jim Eckles who worked as a public relations officer for White Sands Missile Range.  An easy to read history using many primary sources.    The NPS does not own Trinity, the Army does. 

MONDAY March 21, 2016

WEATHER:  clear 45 at 5:30 am; 60 at Guadalupe with a steady wind, wore a long sleeved t shirt until 1130      EL PASO Sunrise 0708  Sunset 1919; Moonrise 1759 Moonset 0609

TRAVEL:  Fort Bliss RV Park to Guadalupe Mountains NP to Fort Bliss RV Park

Guadalupe - alot of trails start at Pine Springs
The Devil's Hall Trail is 4.2 miles with 800 ft in elevation

273 GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS National Park, Salt Flat, TX

Devil's Hall Trail - the Devil's Hall Trail departs from the Pine Springs Trailhead and is 4.2 miles round-trip. After the first mile the trail enters a rocky wash which leads hikers to an impressive natural rock staircase leading to a "hallway" formed by steep canyon walls.  I got to the staircase but did not walk up it – hope I didn’t miss too much.  The walk up the wash was exciting enough.  The trail took me 2 hrs and 40 minutes to walk including a short sandwich break – only got off the trail coming back once – found my way back.

Devil's Hall Trail
The beginning easy to
follow

Devil's Hall Trail
The staircase at the the end

Devil's Hall Trail
in the wash
where is the trail now?

Devil's Hall Trail
at the end staircase -  it was 1110
time to remove the long sleeve t shirt

Devil's Hall Trail - the staircase at the end another view

Guadalupe
Butterfleld
Adobe ruins

Guadalupe
Butterfield
Ruins

BUTTERFIELD OVERLAND MAIL – PINERY STATION

On September 28, 1858, the Guadalupe Mountains saw the arrival of the first Westbound stage of the Butterfield Overland Mail at Pinery Station in Guadalupe Pass.  For 11 months the Butterfield Overland Mail passed through the Guadalupe Mountains on its 2,800 mile bi-weekly route from St. Louis to San Francisco.  It was a long, exhausting journey with all too infrequent stops.

The Pinery Station, named for nearby forest of pine, maintained a change of horse and provided meals of venison pie and baked beans to stage drivers and weary travelers. Nearby Pine Springs supplied water for horse, drivers and thirsty travelers. In August 1859, Pinery was shut down as the Butterfield adopted a new southerly route that had more water and was better protected against Indian attacks.

There is a short trail at the site.

Guadalupe - Frijole Ranch
the spring is jsut ot hte right out of the
picture it flows cosntant 6 gpm
I filled up two water bottles at a water
foudntain - the water was cool and delicious

FRIJOLE RANCH

There are six springs with a three mile radius – water was a natural magnet for early settlers.  The Rader Brothers built the first substantial house at the springs in 1876.  They operated a small cattle ranch but never filed a deed on the land, they moved on.

In 1906 John Thomas Smith filed on the Frijole site calling it Spring Hill Ranch.  Smith had moved from Wisconsin to Texas.  The Smiths raised ten children during their 36 year stay at the ranch.

The Highway 62/180 alignment was established in the late 1920’s and paved in the 1930’s. As people moved through, the Smiths took in travelers who came to hunt. In 1942, John Smith sold the Frijole Ranch to J.C. Hunter who had purchased much land in the area for a commercial ranching operation.

After the Smith’s moved out, the Frijole house served as home for Noel Kincaid, Hunter’s ranch foreman.  In 1945 J.C. Hunter’s son inherited the ranch.  He sold the 72,000 acre property to the National Park Service in 1966.  The Kincaid’s lived in the house until 1971 when their lease expired. 

Guadalupe National Park was officially established in 1972.   The museum was closed when I visited.  I id not walk any of the trails that begin at this site.

Guadalupe Peak - the Guadalupe Moutnatains were home to the
Mescalero Apahes

Guadalupe Peak
The highest point in Texas
I did not walk to the top

Guadlaupe - El Capitan - I guess Yosemite does
not have a corner on the market for the name of '
El Capitan

SALT BASIN DUNES TRAIL

On the return trip to El Paso I took a side trip in an attempt to visit/find the Salt Dunes Trailhead.  Just before entering Salt Flat, TX I turned left and headed out to nowhere – desert.  I think I just wanted to go to a place that many people do not visit - 100 yards down the highway would have met that criteria - but I continued on for 17 miles until I came to a sign and a dirt road.

Salt Flat, Texas  - close to where I took the turn to  find Salt Basin Dunes in Guadalupe NP
There is still a phone in the phone booth - Guess the Greyhound doesn't stop here anymore

Guadlaupe Mountains in the background - this is the entrance to the NPS site about 7 1/2 miles in on Williams Raod

Of course I took the wrong dirt road but got a small tour of whatever is being grown in the irrigated desert fields.  I doubled back and went down Williams Road for 8 miles – leaving a cloud of dust behind me.- until I found another encouraging NPS sign that said I was near.

Guadalupe Salt Basin Dunes Trail-head - I could see the white sand
from 8 miles away along the paved  road
 but here you needed to walk several miles to see it - I didn't bother

When I reached the Salt Basin Dunes Trailhead – the road ended – and I didn’t see any dunes – I knew they were there – I could see them from the paved road – but after White Sands I’m sure these would be a disappointment.  It was late, I was tired and I headed back.  The side trip took about 1 ½ hours.  My truck needed a bath when I got to the RV Park. 




TUESDAY March 22, 2016

WEATHER:  57 at 5 am, it’s supposed to be windy today - - - 79 at noon in Alpine, TX high in the mid 80’s    EL PASO TX Sunrise 0706  ALPINE TX Sunset 2006; Moonrise 1840, Moonset 0629

TRAVEL:  Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX to Lost Alaskan RV Park, Alpine, TX – a drive of 4 hours 224 miles – Fort Davis NHS  was a 22 mile drive north of the RV Park

Lost Alaskan Resort, Alpine, TX gravel sites, level,  nice park,  WIFI works but no Verizon phone service or ONSTAR phone service.

Fort Davis parade ground - Officer;s Row in the backgroaund
below the Davis Mountains made of igenous Rhyolite

275 FORT DAVIS National Historic Site, Fort Davis, TX

Fort Davis is one of the best surviving examples of an Indian Wars' frontier military post in the Southwest. From 1854 to 1891, Fort Davis was strategically located to protect emigrants, mail coaches, and freight wagons on the Trans-Pecos portion of the San Antonio-El Paso Road and on the Chihuahua Trail.  It has an interesting history and was home to Wesley Merritt, Benjamin Grierson and Henry Flipper.

Fort Davis was established on the eastern side of the Davis Mountains, in a box canyon near Limpia Creek.  It was named after Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis and first manned by LTC Washington Seawell and 6 companies of the 8^th US Infantry from 1854 to 1861.

With the onset of the Civil War the federal government evacuated the post.  Confederates quickly occupied and then abandoned the fort because they spent more time fighting Apaches, Kiowas, and Commanches  than Federal troops.  It was deserted for five years.

BUFFALO SOLDIERS  - In July 1866, Congress passed an act to increase the size of the Regular Army.  The act stipulated that of the new regiments created, two cavalry and four infantry units “shall be composed of colored men.”

Black Regulars  - the Buffalo Soldiers

In 1869 the 4 black infantry units were consolidated into 2 regiments.  Troops of the 24^th and 25^th Infantry Regiments along with the 9^th and 10^th Cavalry Regiments served on the southwestern frontier.

LTC Wesley Merritt (classmate of George Custer who also fought at Gettysburg) with 4 companies of the newly organized 9^th US Cavalry reoccupied Fort Davis in June 1867.  The post was rebuilt by the end of 1869. Construction continued through the 1880’s.  Eventually, there were over 100 structures and over 400 soldiers.  

Forts in the District of Pecos along the San Antonio-El Paso Road

COL Grierson & Victoriio 

Fort Davis’s primary role of safeguarding the west Texas frontier against Commanches and Apaches continued until 1881.  The last major campaign involving troops from Fort Davis occurred in 1880.  In a series of engagements, units from Fort Davis and other posts under the command of COL Benjamin Grierson, forced the Apaches and their leader Victorio into Mexico.  There Victorio and most his followers were killed by Mexican soldiers.

2LT Henry O. Flipper of the 10^th US Cavalry was the first black graduate of West Point.  He served at Fort Davis in 1880-81.  Tried in a controversial court-martial he was accused and found guilty of misuse of government property while in charge of the Fort Davis Commissary.  He was dishonorably discharged from the Army.

2LT Henry Flipper

In 1976, after reviewing his case the Army gave him posthumously an honorable discharge.  In 1999, 2LT Flipper received a full presidential pardon.

Moonset 23 Mar 2016
Cathedral Mountain
EL 6886 along  Texas
Highway 118 to Big Bend NP

WEDNESDAY March 23, 2016

WEATHER:  58 at 4:30 am in Alpine;  it was 80 at Santa Elena Canyon by 1030; 90 in the desert return trip along Hwy 118; 80 at the RV Park when I returned 5:30 pm

ALPINE TX Sunrise 0751  Sunset 2007; Moonrise 1933, Moonset 0703

TRAVEL:  Alpine, TX to Big Bend NP/Rio Grande NSR to Alpine, TX.  An 100 mile trip one way – 1 3/4  hours.

276 RIO GRANDE National Scenic River, Big Bend National Park

277 BIG BEND National Park, TX

Including Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River, the National Park Service administers 245 miles of border - 13% of the entire United States-Mexico border.  I entered the park at the Texas Hwy 118 entrance about 8:45 am and took an immediate right along Old Maverick Road.  This is a 13 mile dirt road through the Chihuahua Desert to Rio Grande River and the Santa Elena Canyon.

Big Bend Timeline - the land was a gift from inidividuals to the US governement
The deed was presented to FDR on June 6, 1944

Big Bend National Park /Rio Grande National Scenic River is unique in that it has three distinct ecologic areas – Desert, Mountain, River – resulting in an outstanding diversity of wildlife..

This map does not do the park justice.  You can enter by road from the north or the west.  A lot of wilderness and desert.

There 5 Visitor Centers, Castolan Visitor Center, Chisos Mountains Visitor Center, Panther Junction Visitor, Rio Grande Visitor Center, and Persimmon Gap Visitor Center.  I stopped at the first three today.

The Santa Elena Canyon is an impressive landmark while travelling the Old Maverick Road.  The wall on the left is Mexico
the right hand side and everything in front is the United States.

Santa Elana Canyon
Trailhead

Santa Elena Canyon Trail – River Hike Difficulty: Moderate; Distance: 1.7 miles round trip. The trail begins at terminus of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.  Taking Old Maverick Road brought me here before many other people who took the paved road.  This trail leads into the stunning Santa Elena Canyon.   I spotted the canyon long before I arrived – it is stunning.  After crossing Terlingua Creek, the trail ascends on paved stead ps to a vista, then descends back to the water's edge, continuing into the canyon until the canyon walls meet the water. This ia a must hike.  The trail is impassable when Terlingua Creek floods.  I started at 0945 and finished at 1030. 

Dorgon-Sublett House Trail – Desert Hike this was an easy 1 mile round trip.

Dorgan-Sublett Trailhead

James Sublett made this dry land into a thriving farm
thanks to irrigation and the Rio Grande River

Only the outline of the Sublett House remain -
those cliffs are in Mexico

Castolan Visitor Center & General Store this is also Rio Grande River access point for raft/canoe put in or take–out.  Small contact station/visitor center – not open during the summer.

Castollan Store & Visitor Center

Castollan Visitor Center 

Cerro Castellan - picture at the left

Cerro Castellan form Castollan VC

Tuff Canyon – Desert Hike Difficulty: Easy; Distance: They say it’s a ¾ mile round trip, but NPS does not tell where it begins or end.  I think it’s more like 1+ miles round trip – the way I did it.  Started at 1140 finished at 1215.  Begins at Tuff Canyon overlook on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.  Tuff Canyon's three overlooks offer great views into Tuff Canyon, but you can continue on the trail at the south end of the parking lot to go down into the canyon. Tuff, made of welded volcanic ash, comprises this whitish canyon. During the rainy season, the canyon fills with pools of water.

Tuff Canyon
looking down
from the West Overlook

Tuff Canyon  - looking down
from the East Overlook
The black rock to the right is
about 12-15 ft straight up - to me
that was the end of the trail
Adventurersome hikers can climb around
the edges

Tuff Canyon Trail Map

Burro Mesa Pouroff Trail – Desert Hike Difficulty: Easy; Distance 1 mile round trip. The trail enters a dry wash and ends at the bottom of the Burro Pour Off.  Lots of geology here – it would be great to see it flow.

Burro Mesa Pouroff Trail

Burro Mesa Trail
This is the PourOff
and end of the trail

Burro Mesa
Trailhead

Burro Mesa Trail
Looks like another
PourOff from the mesa

The Chinos Mountains, as you drive around the park these become a familiar sight.
The basin in in the middle of the mountains.  This picture taken from the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

Chinos Basin Visitor Center – There is also a lodge here and small Visitor Center.  I tried to make a reservation on-line yesterday – rooms looked available but of course the website wasn’t working and I had no phone service to call.  Needless to say – by 2 pm all the rooms were gone for the evening.  I’ll come back here tomorrow for some hiking in the mountains.  There are mountain lions and black bears here.

Panther Junction VC

Panther Junction Visitor Center. – this is the park headquarters and the largest VC so far.  There was a good 30 minute video that highlighted the three ecosystems in the park – Mountain – River – Desert.  It was 3:30 pm –time to head back to Alpine, TX. 

THURSDAY March 24, 2016

Sunrise
Santiago Peak EL 6521
along Texas Hwy 118
on the way to Big Bend

WEATHER:  39 in Alpine Texas at 7am, down to 34 along Texas Highway 118 in the desert; as the sun came up it warmed up – it was 52 when I started walking Grapevine Hills Trail at 0925 with a brisk wind -  reached 73 when I was at the Rio Grande Village around 1310 – warm but pleasant – 62 when I was at Chisos Basin around 1800  

BIG BEND NP TX Sunrise 0752  Sunset 2008; Moonrise 2122, Moonset 0835 

TRAVEL:  Alpine, TX  to Big Bend NP/Rio Grande NSR to Alpine, TX still a 1 hour 40 minute drive to the west entrance of the the park.

276 RIO GRANDE National Scenic River, Big Bend National Park

277 BIG BEND National Park, TX

Grapevine Hills Trail - map

Grapevine Hills Trail – Desert Hike  Difficulty: Easy, the last ¼ mile is a uphill rock climb; Distance: 2.2 miles round trip.  The trail head is 6 miles down Grapevine Hills improved dirt road. Several rustic campsites are along the road – good for solitude. There is a small parking area at the trail head.  The trail leads to a group of balanced rocks in the heart of the Grapevine Hills. Initially, the trail follows a gravel wash, then climbs steeply for the last quarter mile into the boulders. Grapevine Hills is an exposed laccolith, with many giant, rounded boulders that are tempting to climb, but  you are warned to watch for snakes.

Balanced Rock
End of the Trail

Grapevine Hills
 Trail

Under
Balanced Rock

 

Big Bend NP - Heading southwest on the Grapevine Hills Road - The Chisnos Mountains an island in the desert

The drives between points of interest in the park are long. I entered the park at 0840 reached Grapevine Hills Road at 0900 and began hiking at 0925.  It took one hour to hike the trail. It was clear, the sun was rising, windy and 52 degrees.

After a short stop at the Panther Junction Visitor Center , I headed north toward north entrance of the park and Persimmon Gap Visitor Center.  The road is paved and not much to see along the 26 mile drive. I did stop at a Fossil Bone Exhibit.  A new building is under construction and with ever efficient government efficiency there was no construction going on – just some heavy equipment and a foundation on the site.

Dog Canyon Trail - A Desert Hike
I did not walk this.  Dog Canyon must
be in the distance. Looks like 1.9 miles
one way.  Take water.

Persimmon Gap VC Closed for Lunch sign in the door
This VC is only open in the "winter"

The Dog Canyon Trail is located about 2 miles from the entrance, but I didn’t have time to walk it.  When I got to Persimmon Gap Visitor Center, it was 1210 and closed for lunch.  I didn’t have the time to wait until the lunch break was over so I headed back without the Big Bend Persimmon Gap Passport Stamp, which was the main reason for the visit.  Unless you are coming from Marathon, TX or really want to see this part of the park – don’t bother – just so much desert.

I drove the 26 miles back to Panther Junction and headed another 20 miles southwest to the Rio Grande Village Visitor Center - arrived at 1310 – the paved roads in the park generally have a speed limit of 45 mph.  The Visitor Center here was manned by two volunteers. 

Remember the brown south of the Rio Grande is Mexico

Rio Grande Village
Nature Trail - Wetland
the water was refreshing
after walking a lot of desert

Rio Grande Village Nature Trail – River Hike Difficulty: Easy; Distance: I took two alternate routes to the river and came back to climb up to the overlook. – probably 1¼ miles   It took 45 minutes to walk.  The trail head  is near Site #18 in the Rio Grande Village Campground.  The layout is confusing to drive around in.  The trail has interpretive numbered markers but of course there is no trial guide.  The trail is very scenic.  The first 100 yards is wheelchair accessible and crosses a boardwalk through a spring-fed wetland. Then the trail gradually climbs a limestone hill with panoramic vistas of the Rio Grande and the Chisos and Del Carmen Mountains. This trail would be great for a sunset walk..

The Rio Grande
Mexico on the
 other side

Rio Grande Village
Nature Trail
trail head

Grinding hole
The location of a spring
and the river was a
natural place for people
to live

Boquillos Crossing Station
There is fencing at the building
Port of Entry

Boquillas Del Carmen is a Mexican Village on the other side of the Rio Grande.  There is a crossing station – Port of Entry – no reason to visit so I stayed away.

Boquillas Canyon Trail -  River Hike This is a 1½ mile round trip – moderate/easy trail with spectacular view of the Boquillas Canyon.  It begins with a short climb then descends to a sandy side of the Rio Grande.  Like the Tuff Canyon Trail yesterday, I walked until I thought I reached the end of the trail. A more adventurous person may have braved the steep, slippery rocks to continue. 

Boquilloas Canyon
Trail - that is Mexico
looks like a wall to me

Boquillos Canyon
Trail head

Boquillos Canyon
Trail - the green
was refreshing

Hot Springs Trail - Ruins of the Spa

Hot Springs Trail
Trail head

Hot Spring Trail
Along the river

Hot Springs Historic Trail – River Hike  Difficulty: Moderately/Easy; Distance: 1 mile round trip.  The dirt road into here is not recommended for vehicles over 20 ft.  The last ¼ mile in and out are narrow, winding one-way dirt roads with drop-offs to one side.

Begin at Hot Springs parking lot   This trail passes the remains of the Langford Resort, pictographs (never found them not marked), homestead, and hot springs (not marked).  There was no brochure and I never really found the hot springs – it could have been the pool along the river where 15 young people were romping.  Supposedly, the 105°F springs are a popular destination (0.5 mile roundtrip), but I continued to where the trail forks, leading to the top of the bluff and back to the parking lot.  This trail took about 45 minutes to walk.

Chinos Basin Window View Trail 

Chinos Basin Trails

It was getting late but I had enough energy to still go to back to Chisnos Basin.  I arrived there at 5:45 an started to walk the short  Window View Trail – Mountain Hike only .3 miles round-trip - this is an easy, paved wheelchair accessible trail circling a low hill with excellent views of the mountain peaks surrounding the Chisos Basin, and a view through the window. Benches along the trail offer a place to sit and enjoy a classic Big Bend sunset.  At one bench there was a couple from Chicago – we had a short but interesting conversation while they were viewing the sunset; at another the were two young women drinking something  – as I passed I said something like “I hope you are enjoying the wine . . .” they responded “it’s beer” – well I didn’t get an invite so I continued on.  I headed back to Alpine at 1830.

Big Bend - Window View Trail
Chinos Mountains

Mountain Islands in the Sky

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK can be a 1-5 day excursion.  I saw just plenty in two days of hiking.  Consider an overnight in the lodge at Chisos Basin or camp out at a remote site or at Rio Grande Village.  A raft or canoe trip down the Rio Grande with an overnight is the real way to see the canyons – this is another two days.  Most of the main connecting roads are paved – the dirt roads offer some adventure and in some cases the only way to reach a trail head.  Another option is a long walk/overnight in the Chisos Basin.

FRIDAY March 25, 2016

WEATHER:  cool 42 at 6 am, got up to a pleasant 73 with wind

 BIG BEND NP TX Sunrise 0751  Sunset 2007; Moonrise 2213, Moonset 0910

TRAVEL:  stayed in Alpine, TX

GOOD FRIDAY

Intended to read and update the blog today.  Only read one chapter of “The Civil War in Arizona” and did update the blog – most of the day was spent trying to fix the thermostat for the RV.  I had some long distance assist from Sturtevant but could not resolve the problem where a static discharge from my finger appears to have shorted out the thermostat.  The discharge made the AC and furnace both come on at the same time.  A temporary fix of removing the fuse and turning the circuit breaker off solved the problem.  My concern is that the fuse for the furnace (which I can do without) is also on the same circuit as the refrigerator (which keeps the beer and meat cold).  Time to clean the refrigerator out.   I’ll see an RV repair place in Del Rio, TX on Monday. 

SATURDAY March 26, 2016

WEATHER:  41 at 7 am clear and calm, partly cloudy, got up to mid-70’s with some wind   ALPINE TX Sunrise 0748  Sunset 2009; Moonrise 2208, Moonset 0846

TRAVEL:  Alpine, TX to  Fort Davis NHS, Fort Davis, TX to Alpine, TX

FORT DAVIS National Historic Site, Fort Davis, TX

Fort Davis Hiking Trails - worth the time to walk them

Since Tuesday my plane had called for a return to Fort Davis to walk the trail.  Today I left the RV Park and drove north the 25 miles to Fort Davis.  I headed straight for the trail head the leads up to the Davis Mountains.  There are three trails that all kind of blend together for a trip of almost 3 miles.  The Tall Grass Loop starts just to the right of Officers Row.  It winds its way up the Davis Mountains and connects with the North Ridge Trail or you can walk down to where you began.  The North Ridge Trail will take you all the way to Davis Mountains State Park  or connect with the Hospital Canyon Trail and end just behind the Fort Davis Hospital.  It took me about 1¾  hours to walk the 3 miles including pictures and side trips to overlooks.  Take water.  

Fort Davis from the Overlook   Enlisted Barracks left; officers row enter; Post Hospital far left
foundations of kitchens and CO's private stable  can be seen behind the homes.
CPTs and above had their own homes.   Married LTs shared a duplex arrangement. 
 Single Officers usually had two rooms in a 2 story kind of apartment building.

Named a Nature Trail it had more interpretive signs than all the trails I walked in Big Bend National Park.  Along the top it reminded me of many volcanic trails in Hawaii without the tropical rain forest . . . .  Take the time to walk this trail.  It was well worth my re-visit.

Engleman
Prickly Pear

Older lava trail
than Hawaii

Old Lava formations - rhyolite

SUNDAY March 27, 2016

EASTER

WEATHER:  37 degrees when I left Alpine at 1020 – clear – 66 in Del Rio at 1440 with some wind   DEL RIO TX Sunrise 0736  Sunset 1958; Moonrise 2247, Moonset 0915

TRAVEL:  Alpine, TX to Del Rio, TX.  Now I know where I may have heard of Alpine, TX before – a college town – home of Sul Ross University/Big Bend University (Named for former Texas governor and Civil War Confederate general Lawrence Sullivan Ross, it was founded in 1917 as Sul ). Passed it on the way east, out-of-town, along US 90.   The drive was 203 miles along US 90 – 3 hours 20 minutes.  Passed the Judge Roy Bean Museum (Law West of the Pecos) and the Pecos River.  The speed limit varied between 70 and 75 mph, I maintained 65.  Only passed by about 2 dozen cars in 203 miles and more than 10 were within 20 miles of Del Rio.

Our Lady of Peace

Attended 8 am Mass at Our Lady of Peace Church in Alpine, TX.  The mass was said in Spanish.  A small church, about 70 in attendance – friendly atmosphere.   I do not speak Spanish -  2 years of high school  Latin and a semester of collage German (I remember little of either) didn’t really help me out.  No servers, no bells . . .  the longest consecration of bread and wine I’ve ever seen – with words during the elevation that did not conform with what I consider the norm – no idea what that was all about -  a Hispanic choir, guitars – polka/waltz rhythms, and the quick playing of a lead while a rhythm and bass guitar maintained the beat.  I was greeted by the priest with “buenos dias” when I entered the church.

Broke Mill RV Park, Del Rio, TX   WIFI Works – gravel site – level.  Friendly owner, who also runs a ranch and has some of his beef for sale.  I’m on the outskirts of Del Rio which a city of over 35,000.  Laughlin AFB is NE of the city and it has a FamCamp – when planning I guess I didn’t put 2+2 together – this location is a little more expensive but closer to Amistad, saves drive time.

This sign is at the entrance to Diablo East
boat ramp and marina

278 AMISTAD National Recreation Area, Del Rio, TX

Amistad National Recreation Area consists of the US portion of the International Amistad Reservoir.   Amistad, whose name comes from the Spanish word meaning friendship, is best known for excellent water-based recreation, camping, hiking, rock art viewing, and its rich cultural history. Amistad is also home to a wide variety of plant and animal life above and below the water.

Amistad VC and Park HQ
not much to brag home about

Amistad NRA Visitor Center is located on US 90 about 6 miles west of Broke Back RV.  There was no sign for the VC.  Apparently a huge storm with golf ball size hail and huge winds, perhaps a tornado, hit here last week.  The sign was blown down.  There are several movies available for viewing.  I’ll watch them later in the week.

Amistad is for boaters and fishermen.  There are 12 public boat ramps with 540 miles of public shoreline in Texas.  There are 750 miles of navigable river behind the Amistad Dam.  The international boundary follows mid-channel.

Amistad Dam

Friendship Memorial in the center of the dam
I felt like I was trespassing.  The Mexico Entrance Staion
is about 100 yards to the left and the US Port of Entry was 2 miles
to the right.  Good thing I had my passport.
 I needed it to get back to the US.

The Amistad Dam was constructed by the USA and Mexico in accordance with the Water Treaty Act of 1944.  Several sites were considered for the dam –the site here was chosen because of its strategic location below the confluences of the Pecos and Devils Rivers. 

Construction began in August of 1963 and was completed in 1968.  The National Park Service began providing for and managing recreation at the Amistad Reservoir on November 11, 1965.  I travelled across the dam to the center and came back.  The Visitor Center used to be on the dam before 9/11 – when border security wasn’t such an issue.  Good thing I had my passport to get back into the US.

MONDAY March 28, 2016

  

WEATHER:    52 degrees at 6am – mostly cloudy; s/b 59 at noon and reach a high of 69 by sunset.   DEL RIO TX Sunrise 0734  Sunset 1958; Moonrise 2339, Moonset 0954

TRAVEL:  Broke Mill RV Park to Amistad NSRA

278 AMISTAD National Recreation Area, Del Rio, TX

The Amistad NRA area is home to dramatic 4,000 year-old rock art. These mysterious paintings adorn rock shelter walls in the upper reaches of Amistad Reservoir. Boaters can usually access Panther and Parida Caves (depending on lake level), and hikers can go on a guided tour at nearby Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site.

Amistad National Recreation Area - boating and fishing - there are over 200 fishing tournaments a year on the reservoir
Water is clear - up to 60 feet down so also a good place for SCUBA diving

Pictographs - look to the right below

Taking a closer look at the modern landscape of Lake Amistad can tell a person much more about the history of the area than they might at first expect. Surprisingly, the history of the Lower Pecos River Region begins far before the U.S. Military’s early camps and outposts and goes far beyond the beginning days of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The first visitors to the canyons that now form Amistad NRA arrived some 12,000 years ago following herds of large ice-age animals that grazed the grassy upland plateaus and ventured deep into the canyons for water. And although the people might be gone, they’ve left a legacy of their lifeways in the artifacts and rockart that grace the canyon walls.

A portion of the rock art

I watched two films at the VC today.  Spirits of the Canyon is a 30-minute film that gives insight into the Lower Pecos region rock art. Window to the Past is also a 30 minute film that describes Amistad National Recreation Area.  Both are PBS quality and worth viewing.

There is a lot of rock art in the area left by prehistoric peoples.  Little is known about them because there is no recent tribe that has claimed this land as theirs.  There is 25 foot long pictograph at Panther Cave left by a culture long gone – a picture is in the VC because the site is only accessible by water.  The entire area is full of rock art.

Diablo East Nature Trail
Claret Cup Cactus

These buoys mark the
international boundary in
the reservoir

Diablo East has a small marina, boat ramp, fish cleaning station and a short Nature Trail.

I stopped by the RV dealer t query about the thermostat.  Unfortunately, there was no way they could work on it before Wednesday.  I’ll see if I can get it fixed in Albuquerque when I travel east and come home in April for 3 weeks.  Perhaps, I can avoid the storage.

TUESDAY March 29, 2016

WEATHER:  62 at 6 am cloudy; 70 at NOON; 78 at 5 pm with a steady wind    DEL RIO TX Sunrise 0736  Sunset 1959; Moonrise 0000, Moonset 1037

TRAVEL:  Broke Mill RV to Amistad NSRA to Langtry, TX to Amistad to Broke Mill RV

Pecos River - US 90 Bridge

278 AMISTAD National Recreation Area, Del Rio, TX

Unless you’re a boater or a fisherman, there just isn’t a lot to do here.

Amistad -Pecos

Pecos River is the last landing for Amistad NSRA although the NPS runs well past Langtry on the Rio Grande and up the Pecos River to Shumla Bend.  Like I said fishing and boating. 

There is a short nature trail at Pecos.  It is an easy walk and informative.  There also was a set of stairs that goes down the cliff..

Pecos River
Trailhead

Pecos River 

Pecos River

JUDGE ROY BEAN MUSEUM, Langtry, Texas    Pop 45

As long as I drove to the Pecos River, I continued the drive to Langtry, TX and the Judge Roy Bean Museum.  As a kid, I recall watching a TV series, called Judge Roy Bean – Law West of the Pecos . . . there was the Judge (a rotund man with a short  beard and a top hat) and a girl – and of course bad guys . . . . don’t recall much more.

This was worth the drive.  If you are ever out this way, for something other than boating or fishing take the time to visit the Judge Roy Bean Museum.  Allow an hour – the cactus garden walk alone is worth the side trip – better than anything you’ll find in Armistad.

This is the original building

Amistad - Sunrise Trail

Amistad - Sunrise Trail
Road is Spur 454

The Sunrise Trail is 2.5 miles long round trip and connects the park Visitor Center with Spur 454.I never got to the spur – the trail disappeared in green.   Located on the old Brite Ranch, I saw a large variety of plants and birds while hiking.  IT was good to hear the birds sing.  I came across a small herd of deer while on the trail.  This is the only trail worth walking at Amistad.

Amarillo KOA
Tin art - mariachi band 

WEDNESDAY March 30, 2016

WEATHER:  71 in Del Rio, TX at 5 am cloudy;  73 windy and clear in Amarillo at 5 pm

AMARILLO TX Sunrise 0733  Sunset 2006; Moonrise 0145, Moonset 1218

TRAVEL:  Broke Mill RV Park, Del Rio TX to Amarillo KOA, Amarillo, TX; a trip of 500 miles – 8 hours 40 minutes – and an uphill climb north getting only 8.7 mpg. I’m in the “high plains” -  A long day 

Amarillo KOA -  What can I say - it’s a KOA, near a RR track and in the flight path of the airport – and don't forget the sound of the highway - not many jets in and out of Amarillo but at least you know you’re near civilization.   . . . . as expected the WIFI Works.

THURSDAY March 31, 2016

WEATHER:  35 at 6 am, clear, not a cloud in the sky; 58 by 1:30 pm some clouds but mostly sunny.  AMARILLO TX Sunrise 0735  Sunset 2008; Moonrise 0236, Moonset 1310

TRAVEL:  Amarillo KOA to Alibates Flint Quarries NM - Lake Meredith NRA to Amarillo KOA.  The Visitor Center for Lake Meredith is Alibates.

  

Alibates Flint Quarries - building in backgorund is the VC

279 ALIBATES FLINT QUARRIES National Monument,

Alibates (3 syllables Al–i–bates) has a small Visitor Center with museum and a 15 minute film..  The ranger was very helpful.  Since the quarries are still considered an active archeological site, only guided tours get you there.  There were none scheduled today. 

A local volunteer “flint knapper” is usually on site but not today – I watched an interesting video on how this almost lost art fashions stone tools out of the flint. .

Alibates Flint is unique because of its color and beauty.
The edges when "knapped" are are charp as a razor blade.
Alibates Flint is found hundreds of miles from here due to trading

13,000 years ago this site was already well-known by mammoth hunters as a place to get the best stone for their tools. Centuries passed but the colorful flint found right here in the Texas panhandle never lost its value and usefulness.

Archeological traces of prehistoric Indians' homes, workshops, and campsites dot the entire Canadian River region of the Texas Panhandle, but few sites are as dramatic as Alibates Flint Quarries.

Although termed "flint," the stone is technically a silicified or agatized dolomite occurring in Permian-age outcroppings. These deposits, exposed as slightly undulating layers, are unique to the Panhandle area. But regardless of what the stone is called, none of the terms captures its startling beauty.

The Alibates agatized/silicified, dolomite, is distinctive for its many bright colors. This flint comes from a 10-square-mile area around the monument, but most is concentrated on about 60 acres atop a mesa in the heart of the 1,000 acre monument.

More than 700 quarries exist where this flint was dug out by hand. The quarries today are usually round ovals about six or more feet in diameter with depressions in the center. Wind and rain have filled the once four to eight foot deep holes with soil.

Un-weathered flint was obtained by digging a foot or more below the surface. The flint bearing dolomite layers are up to eight feet thick. Tools made from Alibates Flint have been found in many places across the Great Plains and Southwest. Its use dates from 13,000 years ago to about 1870.

Between 1150 and 1450, people identified as the Plains Village Indians, ancestors of the Caddo, Pawnee and Wichita, lived here in large permanent villages and smaller, outlying farming and gathering communities. Villages were built of rock-slab houses from one to 100 rooms. Most were single-unit dwellings, although some rooms were connected. Architecture of this period featured rectangular or semi-circular rooms with funneled entranceways and stone enclosures. Environmental conditions, including severe drought, coupled with encroachment from neighboring tribes from the West likely drove these Indians out of the region by the end of the 15th century.

Lake Meredith (a remnant of what it used to be) National Recreation Area & Alibates Flint Quarries
Look real close for what used to be the boundaries of Lake Meredith

Lake Meredith - Harbor Bay

280 LAKE MEREDITH National Recreation Area

Not much going on here – not a boat on the Lake.

Since 1965, visitors to Lake Meredith National Recreation Area focused on the lake and activities like boating and fishing. But over the last decade, the lake has gradually shrunk due in part to drought conditions and water use in the surrounding communities. This shows us just how important water resources are to local inhabitants - including humans as well as wildlife and plant communities.

Harbor Bay Trail - map

This is the Harbor Bay Boat Launch  -  CLOSED
I wonder how long its been since you could launch a boat here?

I stopped by Harbor View and hiked the Harbor Bay Loop – a hike of about 2.3 miles in about an hour and 10 minutes.  The Harbor Bay Trail system covers a total distance of 5.2 miles. This is a bike/hike trail – rated as Advanced for mountain bikers - never saw a bike track.  The terrain consists of a variety of gently rolling hills, steep slopes with steps, and switchbacks. It is a moderate to hard hike that travels through canyons and over mesas, with views of picturesque mesas, local foliage and Lake Meredith below.   This was a refreshing walk.

Harbor View Trail

Harbor View Trail
Looking down
on the trail

Harbor View Trail
Bay was once the
bottom of
Lake Meridith

Within the dry and windswept high plains of the Texas Panhandle lies a hidden oasis, a welcoming haven where wildlife and humans find respite from the dry grasslands above. Through this plain, the Canadian River has cut dramatic 200-foot canyons, or breaks, where humans have eked out a living for over 13,000 years. Lake Meredith now occupies these hidden coves where early humans once roamed.

FRIDAY April 1, 2016

WEATHER:  35 at 6 am, cloudy

TRAVEL:  Amarillo KOA to Alibates Flint Quarries NM/Lake Meredith NRA to Fritch to Sanford to Borger to Panhandle to Amarillo KOA.

NO FOOLING I went back to Alibates NM/Lake Meredith NRA to hike a trail at the end of a road on the north side of the lake.

Sanford Dam - that's the earthern dam in the background
Low Water - What happened to the water?

Attempting to control the furnace by fuse is problematic, in that replacing the fuse does not always immediately cause the furnace to go on.  Yesterday, I replaced the fuse, the refrigerator came on but it took 10 minutes for the furnace to come on – of course the thermostat is not in control – I took the fuse out when it reached 60.  Today I replaced the fuse, the refrigerator comes on and 90 minutes later still no furnace.  Around 9 am, just as I was about to leave, the furnace came on.  It’s still 39 outside supposed to get up to the mid 50’s – maybe.  I’ll remove the fuse when I leave.  The thermostat as a control cannot be trusted.  I’ll be glad when the thermostat is replaced.

A last word about Amarillo KOA – WIFI works during the week when it fills up on the weekend forget about updating a blog – too slow.

279 ALIBATES FLINT QUARRIES National Monument,

280 LAKE MEREDITH National Recreation Area

This is where Lake Meredith used to be
Plum Creek Landing  - only the river in the background

Through the town of Fritch and Sanford , across the dam to the Plum Creek boat landing.  The landing is closed, like Harbor Bay, because the lake level has dropped considerably since the 1960’s.  The trail there was recommended by the ranger I met on Thursday.

But do think I could find the trailhead? – NO .  It did find two horse camps and horse trails.  It is possible that the horse trails and hiking trail is the same  . . . . .  but then I am not a horse and was not prepared to cross Lower Plum Creek without waders – easier for a horse.  Just when I was about to give Lake Meredith higher marks than Amistad for hiking . . . . . of course they don’t have any maps of the trails.  Well, the ranger was nice .  Still haven’t seen a boat on the lake.

The highlight of the day was finding NBS (Nuts, Bolts & Supply) next to the True Value Hardware in Borger, TX a town of about 13,000.  I found the absolute match for the screws I needed for my grill for $1 – and 10x better service than Home Depot.

I’ve seen all the NPS sites in Texas – my favorites are Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains.- both NPs.- primarily because of their hiking trails  Big Bend is huge.

I finished reading Trinity: The History of an Atomic Bomb National Historic Landmark by Jim Eckles,  Trinity was the name given to the site where the first atomic bomb was exploded.  Eckles served as PAO for White Sands Proving Ground.  The site owned by the army is only once a year, on the first Saturday in October.  The army will not release control to the National Park Service.   An easy read; with some good science and detail from primary sources.

SATURDAY April 2, 2016

WEATHER:   35 at 6 am clear, 71 in Oklahoma by afternoon – pleasantly warm with the sun and of course some wind

TRAVEL:  Amarillo, TX to Elk Creek RV Park - Elk City OK  to Washita Battlefield NHS to Elk Creek RV Park

Elk Creek RV Park, Elk City, OK – what can I say about this place – it’s a RV Park – probably the “best” there is within 50 miles.  Sites are gravel – I wasn’t told about the showers – bath house or laundry when I checked in.  WIFI – they claim to have it – but don’t hold your breath you could suffocate before you connect – Lots of big Class A and 5^th wheel rigs checked in after I did – bet they’re gone in the morning.

Washita NHS  shares a building with the
 USFS Black Kettle National Grassland

281 WASHITA BATTLEFIELD National Historic Site, Cheyenne, OK

This was a piece of history.  A story that deserves to be remembered and retold.  It was a “rehearsal” for the Little Bighorn – except at the Little Bighorn, the odds were against Custer and the Cheyenne along with the Lakota Sioux got their revenge.

The site protects and interprets the setting along the Washita (wash-i-taw) River where LTC George A. Custer led the 7th U.S. Cavalry on a surprise dawn attack against the Southern Cheyenne village of Peace Chief Black Kettle on November 27, 1868. The attack was an important event in the tragic clash of cultures of the Indian Wars era.

BACKGROUND – A Setting For Tragedy

1851 – Treaty of Fort Laramie assigns to tribes a large swath of the Great Plains and promises annuities.  Tribes guarantee safe passage for settlers along the Oregon Trail.

1858 – Gold is discovered in Colorado

1861 – Treaty of Fort Wise greatly reduces 1851 treaty lands.

11 AUG 1864 – Colorado Governor John Evans issues a proclamation authorizing citizens “to kill and destroy . . . hostile Indians.”

29 AUG 1864 – In response to Evans’ proclamation Chief Black Kettle has George Bent  and others write letters to the Indian Agent asking for a meeting.

28 SEP 1864 – Cheyenne & Arapaho leaders, including Black Kettle, meet with Gov Evans and COL Chivington.  They are told to lay down their arms and turn themselves in at Fort Lyon, nothing else.

OCT 1864 – Evans writes “ winter is the most favorable time for their chastisement.”  The Cheyenne arrive at Fort Lyon and eventually to Sand Creek.  Black Kettle’s band is there.  The 700 people are mostly Cheyenne in 130 tipis..

NOV 1864 – COL Chivington leaves Fort Lyon with 675 men and four 12 lb mountain howitzers.  The column heads for Sand Creek.

28 NOV 1864 – Chivington’s column moved up Big Sandy Creek.  Cheyenne Chiefs Black Kettle, Standing in the Water and White Antelope with Arapaho Chief Left Hand walked toward the mounted soldiers to parley.  Cavalry crossed the creek firing into them and the village.  All be Black Kettle were killed or mortally wounded.

COL Chivington ordered the artillery to fire.  As the soldiers scattered over many square miles command and control were lost.  Many soldiers died in their own crossover..  When the firing was over,165-200 Cheyenne and Arapaho people were killed – 2/3 of them women and children.  There were 100 fighting-age men in the camp who tried to form a line to protect the women and children.  Some

soldiers looted, scalped and mutilated the dead.  The Sand Creek Massacre is a National Historic Site in Colorado that I plan to visit later this year.

1867 GEN Philip Sheridan took command of US forces in the West proposing to bring peace to the Plains.

Following the Sand Creek Massacre, Warrior societies of mostly young men, opposed the reservation life.  Many called themselves “dog soldiers.”.  Sheridan adopted a policy of “punishment must follow crime.”   MG Winfield S. Hancock begins a campaign against the Cheyenne and other tribes rumored to be planning attacks on Kansas settlements and trade routes.

WASHITA

Sheridan  frustrated that traditional campaigning methods failed to defeat the Plains warriors prepared for a winter campaign.

Batlle of Washita

23 Nov 1868 LTC George A. Custer set out from Camp Supply in Indian Territory with about 700 7^th US Cavalry troopers.  His objective was the Washita River where about  6,000 Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa had laid out their winter camps.

Battle of Washita  mural in Visitor Center

Traveling through a foot of snow, the command reached the Washita Valley shortly after midnight  on November 27 and took up positions near an Indian encampment.

Custer divided hi command to encircle the village and hit it on four sides.  Coincidentally this was the camp of Black Kettle who had survived Sand Creek.

Washita - map at trail head

Washita Aftermath

Custer attacked at dawn.  He watched from a knoll as while his men drove the Cheyenne from their lodges barefoot and half clothed and pursued them in all directions.  Black Kettle was killed.  When firing ceased two hours later 30-60 Cheyenne lay dead in the snow.  Some escaped; 53 women and children were captured.  Some of these soldiers and warriors will meet again at the Little Big Horn.

The Cheyenne & Arapaho camps to the east came to the aid
of Black Kettle's Cheyennes - resulting in the a feint attack
by Custer and the loss of MAJ Elliot and 17 soldiers.

Custer ordered the burning of all the lodges, belongings and killed 800 Cheyenne ponies.  The engagement at Black Kettle’s camp may have been different if the larger encampments to the northeast had been closer. 

There is a well marked  1½  mile trail on the site. A trail guide is available for purchase from the Visitor Center. Several laminated copies of the trail guide are also available for use at the trail head.  I walked the trail in my Ariat western boots – no blisters – comfortable enough to walk in – a mild surprise.  The boots took on a lot of red Oklahoma dust.

Today, as in 1868, the Washita River flows silently through the valley. The river banks are shaded by cottonwoods and sycamore and flanked with waving fields of grass. Ancient hills of red dirt rim the horizons. This peaceful setting offers us hallowed ground to contemplate this watershed event in our shared history, a place to find understanding, meaning, and perhaps healing in the wake of tragedy.

SUNDAY April 3, 2016

WEATHER:  35 at 6 am – it truly is coldest before the dawn,

TRAVEL:  Elk Creek RV Park

8 am Mass at Our Lady of All Saints located in Sayre, OK.  The same priest covers St. Andrew’s church in Elk City.  The priest is Indian.   The gospel was about the ‘doubting Thomas.”  The gospel allowed the priest to focus his homily on Thomas’ travels and martyrdom in India.   A young priest; with a congregation of about 50.  After mass I was approached by a man asking where I was from in WI – he was from Gilman, near Eau Claire.  A friendly congregation.

Nothing Exciting about this place

Route 66 Museum
Elk City, Oklahoma

As expected most of the big rigs were gone when I returned to the RV park about 0930.

Read and rested most of the day – labeled yesterday’s pictures.  As expected, the big rigs started to come in around 2 pm – overnighters - an unfriendly lot – they don’t even come out of their big rigs (of course there is nothing inviting about Elk Creek RV) -usually in a hurry to get someplace else and of course I can’t connect with WIFI.  In all fairness – I did meet a guy at the end of the day from Janesville – heading back after wintering in Mesa, AZ.  Even ‘tourists’ are more friendly.   I’ll be glad to get to LETRA tomorrow I don’t expect WIFI but the people will be friendlier.

MONDAY April 4, 2016

WEATHER:  49 at 5 am; clear got up to the highs 80’s at Fort Sill, clear blue sky

TRAVEL:  Elk Creek RV Park to Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area (LETRA), Ft. Sill, OK   I waved at the coop in Apache, OK as I drove to LETRA.

LETRA

Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area (LETRA) – I’ve passed this
place many times on the way to the Plantation or Meers or Mount Scott but never drove down here.  A pleasant surprise - - - WIFI that works –5x better tha Elk City RV -  not many folks here – only drawback is a drive of about 8 miles from Main Post – but maybe that is actually good.  General Store and Lodge not open Mondays and Tuesdays.

FORT SILL

This is the Old Corral
The original fort.  The gate is open
bu the place is closed for renovation.
With funding the way it is, look for it to
re-open in the distant future.

In late 1868, General Philip Sheridan arrived in the area with the 7^th US Cavalry under LTC George A. Custer, the 10^th Cavalry under COL Benjamin Grierson, the 19^th Kansas Volunteers and the 6^th US Infantry.  The new post was soon staked out and construction began on the permanent stone buildings in 1869 -70.  The post was soon named Fort Sill in honor of General Joshua Sill who was killed on December 31, 1862 at the Battle of Stones River during the Civil War. 

All four Black regiments that were later referred to as the “Buffalo Soldiers”; the 9^th and 10^th Cavalry and the 24^th  and 25^th Infantry served at Fort Sill during the late 19^th century.

Fort Sill’s primary purpose was to control Commanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa and other tribes of the Southern Plains who were making frequent raids on settlements in Texas and Mexico.

The museum was CLOSED on Monday

The Visitor Center was CLOSED on Monday.

The Old Corral was CLOSED.

I first met LTG (Ret) David Valcourt when he was S3 of the 212 FA Bde
I believe I was the S3 for the 1-121 FA .  We were both Majors.
He either commanded the first HIP (Howitzer Improvement Program)
  Battalion or Battery.   HIP was this was the precursor to  the Paladin. 
He served as G3 IIICA during the Gulf War but was not deployed. 
 I was S3 of the 1-121 FA.  Then his career took off like a meteor.
Somewhere in that career he was Commanding Officer Ft. Sill.
Why do I think he moved the golf course? or the clubhouse?

GOLF FORT SILL, OK – I’ve played here before in a very dry, 90+ degree heat at the end of the day – I was walking – I remember all the water coolers were empty – nice – taking care of soldiers . . . . . it was CLOSED on Monday and somehow just doesn't seem like the course I remember . .  .

Meers - that is not my truck parked in front  - JUMBO Hamburgers

Everything is BIG at Meers
Known for HUGE hamburgers
This was Meers Gold
a tasty ice cold wheat beer

The Old Plantation
not like I remember it at all
this place is clean and
unforutnately they do not serve
Busch - known for JUMBO steaks

I drove to Meers and had a beer then drove to Medicine Park for a brew at the Old Plantation.  The Old Plantation is habitable – new owners actually put some money into it.  On the menu is a 22 oz sirloin for $22.  The whole of Medicine Park looks more like a resort than a run-down, old, dirty, do I really want to stop here place - like it used to.  Meers hasn’t changed.

Maybe – just maybe I’m far enough away from lights to see stars. . . .  . too much light pollution from LETRA probably for security

TUESDAY April 5, 2016

WEATHER:  57 at 5am, clear – even with the light pollution Scorpio is still brilliant in the southern sky; by 4 pm back to Ft. Sill it was 87 and very windy – gusts 40-50 mph – it’s Oklahoma – the West – to be expected

  

TRAVEL:  LETRA  to Chickasaw NRA to LETRA

Everything I visited was in the
Platt Historic District

282 CHICKASAW National Recreation Area, Sulphur, OK

The Visitor Information Center is co-located with the Chamber of Commerce in Sulphur Springs, OK.  Of course, when I got there at 9:20 am no one had showed up to open at 9 am – not a NPS site.

Veldome Artesian Well
Strong smell of sulphur
Water is very clear

Veldome Artesian Well (right) no longer goes 30 ft high

I found Sulphur Spings just a block down the road – it does smell like sulphur – but people drink the water – it is very clear.

Archeologists believe that people have lived here for thousands of years.  Ancient peoples believed in the healing power of the strong-smelling mineral water, and tribes like the Wichita, Caddo and others came here.  In the early 1800’s, the federal government began moving tribes from east of the Mississippi River  - Choctaw, Chickasaw and others – to this area.  In 1855, land that is now part of the NRA came under control of the Chickasaw Nation.

Chickasaw National Recreation Area - Map of Platt Historic District

Veterans Lake - there is a paved trail around the entire lake

By the late 1890’s settlers had built the town of Sulphur Springs around the fresh and mineral springs, with hotels and bath houses that promoted the waters’ medicinal qualities.  Residents of the town and the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, fearing the waters would suffer from uncontrolled use, worked with government officials to find ways to save the springs. 

In 1902, when the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations sold all the springs and 640 acres to the Department of the Interior to protect these resources, the area became Sulphur Springs Reservation. 

Civilian Conservation Corps

In 1906, it was expanded and renamed the Platt National Park  for Sen. Orville Hitchcock Platt, sponsor of the legislation.

In the 1930’s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built pavilions, roads, trails and waterfalls, and planted over 500,000 trees.  As I drove through the Platt Historic Area it reminded me of Whitnall Park – a near urban setting but with shelters, picnic areas, trails, roads, dams and ponds all a result of the CCC – except here the water is not muddy – it is very, very clear – spring fed.

Chickasaw Travertine Nature Center

In 1976, Platt National Park, Arbuckle Recreation Area and additional lands were combined to create this nearly 10,000 acre recreation area.  The foresight of the Chickasaw nation in 1902 played a critical role in preserving the springs and creeks.  The park is named in their honor.      

Springs, streams, lakes-whatever it's form, water is the attraction at Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Little Niagara and Rock Creek beckon waders and swimmers. Relax in the coolness of shaded stream or take a dip in a swimming hole. Veterans Lake calls anglers to test their skills. Lake of the Arbuckles provides excellent motor boating, skiing, fishing and swimming.  The lake is actually a reservoir created by a dam.

I found the Nature Center and this must be what the NPS calls its Visitor Center.  There were no rangers here on duty but they must give children and group programs here as requested.  I did watch a 7 minute film about the area.

Buffalo Springs
Containment built by CCC

Antelope &
Buffalo Springs Trail

Built by CCC
Antelope Springs is above
second waterfall in background

Just behind the Nature Center were the Antelope & Buffalo Springs Trails – 1.2 mile round-trip.  This was a pleasant walk – an employee/volunteer at the Nature Center gave me a map of the trails in the park – but only after I expressed interest in walking trails. The non-experience at the Chamber of Commerce almost caused me to give up any idea of hiking – I do not like walking any trail without a map or an idea of what to expect.  A two hour plus drive to find a place CLOSED is not encouraging.  It does not speak kindly of a visit to the location.  This is a recreation area – The Platt Historic District is best described as a very well maintained urban park.

Chickasaw Visitor Center
Park HQ - amonument ot itself

I did find a Chickasaw Visitor Center with the NPS logo on the building but it must be state or city run – the HQ for Chickasaw – well a nice place for the Superintendent and staff but no NPS presence at the desk or in the bookstore. It’s not even listed as park HQ on the Chickasaw NRA  brochure – guess there was no money to update the brochure after the new HQ was built.

That’s 2 strikes (Amistad – Lake Meredith) and a foul tip (Chickasaw) against the NPS involvement in NRAs – maybe if I was a fisherman I’d feel different.

I did stop at the new Fort Sill Museum –I wonder why all the Crusader prints and paintings are hanging in the latrine – somebody’s idea of a joke? – the old museum is still open.  However, the gift shop is only open on Thursday.  I didn’t even bother going to Snow Hall. Even the golf course didn’t seem right  -  Fort Sill just isn’t like I remember it.  At least the PX, Commissary and Clothing Sales are where I remember them to be.

WEDNESDAY April 6, 2016

WEATHER:  59 and windy almost decided not to travel – glad I did – it wasn’t that bad – clear and sunny – in the 60’s; 71 when I got to Raton

TRAVEL:  LETRA , Ft. Sill, OK  to Raton KOA, Raton.  I left at 7:45 am CDT – arrived 2:45 pm MDT; gained an hour but a drive of 443 miles – 8 hours on the road.  Raton EL 6680 – Lawton EL 1112 – a gain of over a mile in elevation, against the wind - only 7.8 mpg pulling  the trailer.

,

Ration KOA – WIF works, gravel sites, close to each other, typical KOA

Santa Fe Trail - originally a trade route to Mexico's city of Santa Fe
not a route for immigrants and settlers.  The Mountain Route through Raton Pass
was more difficult but had more water and less hostile Indians.  The Cimarron Route
 had less water and more potential for hostile Indian attack.

Fisher's Peak - high point in
Raton Pass - a landmark along
the Santa Fe Trail

I drove through Ratón Pass on I-25 into Colorado.  Raton Pass is on the Santa Fe Trail along the Colorado-New Mexico border.  It is a federally designated National Historic Landmark. Ratón is Spanish for "mouse."

THURSDAY April 7, 2016

WEATHER:  39 at 6am in Raton clear sky; it was cloundy

TRAVEL:  Raton KOA – Capulin Volcano NM – Fort Union/Santa Fe Trail  NHS –Wagon Mound, NM – Cimarron/Philmont Scout Ranch, NM - Raton KOA

NM sign at turnoff to Capulin
Volcano National Monumnet

283 CAPULIN VOLCANO National Monument, Capulin, NM

Capulin Volcano's cinder cone
in the background

This could be an easy 6-8 hour visit if you walk all the trails; or at least at half day full day visit and bring a picnic lunch.  The Visitor Center  has a short film and Nature walk.  The drive up to the crater rim  will provide spectacular views and short but sometimes steep walks on paved trails.  Take your time and enjoy the surroundings.

A unique place of mountains, plains, and sky. Born of fire and forces continually reshaping the earth’s surface, Capulin Volcano provides access to nature’s most awe-inspiring work.

Capulin Volcano Trails

/The White Line is the road.  The Black Circular Line in the Crater Rim Trail.
The short Black Line is the Crater Vent Trail.  On the lower left is the Lava Flow Trail.

The Crater Rim Trail is a paved, 1 mile loop around the top of the volcano. It is moderately difficult due to steep climbs and descents. Wayside exhibits with panoramic photographs provide visitors information about the surrounding features in the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field.

View west from rim of Capulin Crater
On the horizon are the snow capped peaks of the Sangre de Christo Mountains -
Home to ski areas near Taos, NM.  Lava fields and older volcanoes surround Capulin.

The Crater Vent Trail is a 0.2 mile (one-way) trail leading to the bottom of the Capulin's crater. This trail is paved and has an elevation change of 100 feet.

A Cinder Cone Volcano spouts ash and "bombs" from it's vent forming an ashen cone.  Lava flows from vents near the base
of the volcano..  Capulin Volcano is higher on one side due to the prevaling winds blowing the ash to one side.

Lava Flow Trail with
Capulin Volcano in the background

Capulin's Vent and the bottom
of the carter

The Lava Flow Trail at the base of the volcano is an unimproved, 1 mile loop that crosses one of the volcano's lava flows. Pick up a trail guide at the visitor center to learn more about Capulin's lava flows and features along the way.

The Nature Trail is adjacent to the visitor center. It is a figure eight sidewalk trail that is handicap accessible. Stops along the way describes plant life, geology, and wildlife in this short walk around a volcanic "squeeze up."

The Boca Trail is an unimproved, 2 mile strenuous loop through the Boca area. This is the vent area at the base from which the volcano's lava flows originated. The trail provides close up views of numerous geologic features.  I didn’t walk this trail.

Fort Union Historical Marker

284 FORT UNION National Monument, Watrous, NM

Fort Union National Monument &
Santa Fe National Historic Trail

This was a little more than a hour drive from Raton, NM.  Plan 2-3 hours for a visit and you’ll see just about all there is to see – but there is more history here than I thought.  When this was declared Fort Union a NHS in 1954 something in the wording said “preservation” – therefore, the NPS has not put any effort into “restoration” of the fort or any of its buildings.  I had to ask the ranger because it just seemed odd – the NPS generally restores to as close to original as possible.

Just believe the sign-  they say the Santa Fee Trail was here.

Exposed to the wind, within a sweeping valley of short grass prairie, amid the swales of the Santa Fe Trail, lie the territorial-style adobe remnants of the largest 19th century military fort in the region. For forty years, 1851-1891, Fort Union functioned as an agent of political and cultural change, whether desired or not, in New Mexico and throughout the Southwest. 

When New Mexico became United States territory after the U.S.- Mexican War, the army established garrisons in towns scattered along the Rio Grande to protect the area's inhabitants and travel routes. This arrangement proved unsatisfactory for a number of reasons, and in April 1851, Lt. Col. Edwin V. Sumner, commanding Military Department No. 9 (which included New Mexico Territory), was ordered "to revise the whole system of defense" for the entire territory. Among his first acts was to break up the scattered garrisons and relocate them in posts closer to the Indians. He also moved his headquarters and supply depot from Santa Fe, "that sink of vice and extravagance," to a site near the Mountain and Cimarron branches of the Santa Fe Trail, where he established Fort Union.

1st Fort Union was built of wood
at the base of the hills
in the distance.  NPS does not
allow you to walk out there.

1^st Fort Union

Usually, civilians employed by the Quartermaster Department built frontier posts, but Sumner discharged these men and assigned the work to his soldiers. The result was what one might expect from unskilled laborers.  The result was almost uninhabitable.  It quickly fell apart and into disarray.  Despite the dismal living conditions, the soldiers managed to live there for ten years, and participated in several Indian campaigns. Civil War came in April 1861, and when news reached New Mexico things began to change...

2nd Fort Union - the earthen Star Fort

2^nd Fort Union

Situated in the valley east of the first Fort Union, a massive earthen fortification began to take shape in July 1861. Earth parapets formed a square with angles shaped like arrowheads shooting out 200 feet from each corner. Located in these star points were storehouses, company barracks, and officers' quarters. The parapets supported firing platforms and artillery emplacements. Four other angles served as curtains against enemy fire. The structure resembled an eight-pointed star.

Fort Union's second fort, a massive, bastioned earthwork constructed in 1861 and largely abandoned by the close of 1863, stands as a unique and important example of mid-nineteenth-century American military architecture. The fort is exceptional for several reasons: 1) it is integrally associated with the Battle of Glorieta Pass (March 26-28, 1862), a crucial western engagement of the Civil War.  It ended Confederate incursions into the American Southwest. 2) it is the sole surviving earthen star fort erected west of the Mississippi River. 3) it is the most intact, least-disturbed Civil War-era bastioned earthen fort surviving anywhere within the United States today

Artist conception of the 3rd Fort Union.  The Post was on the left.  The Depot left rear..
The support and supply was everything to the right.

Fort Union was the supply base for these army posts

Fort Union ruins of
Officers Row

3^rd Fort Union

Fort Union ruins

The Third Fort Union (1862 - 1891) was built in the traditional "territorial"

style, and was constructed using native resources such as clay, stone, and lumber. The walls were constructed of adobe brick that stood on stone foundations, and were coated with plaster fired in limekilns. They were adorned with red bricks brought to New Mexico along the Santa Fe Trail.

The Post at Fort Union was made to accommodate four companies, both cavalry and infantry; and the Fort Union Quartermaster Depot was equipped to supply all other New Mexico forts. As the central supply hub for all New Mexico posts, the Fort Union depot was larger than the Post, and it employed more men, mostly civilians.

Wagon Mound Historical Marke

Wagon Mound New Mexico
located just easst of present day I-25

Fort Union stayed in operation until the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad in 1879 slowly put an end to the Santa Fe Trail. The railroad ended one era and opened another in the Southwest. Fort Union lingered on for another ten years, and as the buildings deteriorated the end was in sight. The post, along with the trail, had outlived its usefulness.

After its abandonment in 1891 the once majestic buildings fell into ruins and faded into the pages of history. Fort Union National Monument was established in 1956, after a group called Fort Union Inc., and others, advocated for its protection and preservation. Today, the Fort Union ruins stand as a reminder of its unique history and the vital role it played in the development of the Southwest.

Philmont Scout Ranch
Historical Marker

St. James Hotel
Cimarron, NM
worth a stop

Philmont's Trademark
"The Tooth of Time"

 FRIDAY April 8, 2016

WEATHER:  39 and still at 6 am – cloudy most of the day – some rain driving through Santa Fe – mid 60’s in Albuquerque.

TRAVEL:  Raton KOA, Raton, NM to Albuquerque KOA, Albuquerque, NM.  A 4 hour drive..

Albuquerque KOA – better than the average KOA.  WIFI works, paved and level sites, paved roads, several bath houses – large 170 sites.  Depending on the site, some shade from small trees.  This KOA has won the KOA President and Founder’s Award but they don’t brag about it – and they deserve it.  A simple reproduction of the logos on their brochure.  

I drove to Kirtland AFB with the potential of moving there . . . .  however, even at $18/day – I don’t think so.  Unbelievable, but the KOA is 10x better. And I know the WIFI works at the KOA – at the FamCamp it will be slow – unable to load pictures on the blog.  This FamCamp and the base itself is nowhere near the quality of  Davis-Monthan’s Agave Gulch FamCamp. 

Kirtland is home to Sandia National Laboratories.  Most of what I drove through today is Sandia.   There is a nice BX and Commissary.  The Tijeras Arroyo Golf Course is quite a drive east of the base and labs but it has green fairways – looks a lot better than Fort Sill.

I read a pamphlet entitled Santa FeTrail National Historic Trail published by the Western National Parks Association. 

SATURDAY April 9, 2016

WEATHER:   45 at 5 am, it rained for at least 4 hours last night.  This was the first dew on the truck and trailer since I was in San Diego.  I washed down the truck and trailer with a squeegee and towel before I left for the day.  Cloudy – puddles on the road – light rain-heavy fog - driving through Santa Fe – cleared up to partly cloudy and mid-60’s by afternoon 

TRAVEL:  Albuquerque KOA – PECOS NHP (Glorietta Pass) – Bandelier NHS – Albuquerque KOA.  Pecos is just north of Santa Fe just off I-25; a 1 ¾ hour drive.  Bandelier is about 70 miles from Pecos a good 1 ½ drive.  It was 2 ¼ hours back to Albuquerque.

285 PECOS National Historic Park, Santa Fe County, NM

A visit here is worth a 3-4 hour visit.  The Pecos Pueblo Trail is paved, well marked and takes about an hour.  There is a short movie narrated by Greer Garson in the Visitor Center, as well as, a small museum and bookstore.  The drive to the Glorietta Pass Trailhead is about 15 minutes from the VC and you need the combination to the lock in order to enter the gate. 

In the midst of piñon, juniper, and ponderosa pine woodlands in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains not far from Santa Fe, the remains of Indian pueblos stand as meaningful reminders of people who once prevailed here. Now Pecos National Historical Park demonstrates to modern visitors the cultural exchange and geographic facets central to the rich history of the Pecos Valley.

There is a one mile paved trail that winds through the Pecos Pueblo.  Prior to my visit here I had no idea what this park all about or that a sizable pueblo housing over 2,000 people was built here.

Pecos Pueblo became a regional power whose 2,000 inhabitants could muster 500 fighting men.  The Pueblo was enclosed by a wall.

Like other Pueblo groups the Pecos enjoyed a rich cultural tradition with inventive architecture and beautiful crafts.  They had to be vigilant with nomadic Plains Indians, whose intent – trade or war – was not always clear.  The Spanish learned that the Pecos could be determined enemies or powerful allies.

Spanish Franciscans built a mission complex.  The first church was huge.  It could house almost the entire population of the pueblo.  Decades of Spanish demands and Indian resentments climaxed in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.  Indians from scattered pueblos united to drive the Spanish out.  The first church was destroyed. 

Twelve years later the Spanish returned and were welcomed by the Pecos.  A smaller church was built on the site of the old.

The Pueblo declined in stature and was almost a ghost town when the Santa Fe Trail trade began flowing past it in 1821.

Battle of Glorieta Pass

I had signed up for a two-hour, ranger guided van tour relating the Battle of Glorieta Pass. They need 3 in order to schedule the tour.  On Thursday I was the only one, by Saturday I was still the only one.  Probably, good that it was cancelled I walked the 2 ½ mile Glorieta Pass Trail.

Brig. Gen. Henry H. Sibley's brigade marched north from Fort Bliss in January 1862, aiming for Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Fort Union, and eventually Denver. By March 5 the Confederate Army had taken the capital of Santa Fe. Only Fort Union stood between them and Denver.  Soldiers from Fort Union joined forces with New Mexico and Colorado Volunteers, and headed south to meet the Confederate Army at Glorietta.

The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought from March 26-28, 1862, was the decisive battle in the New Mexico Campaign during the Civil War in the West. Union forces, under the command of Col. John P. Slough, 1st Colorado Volunteers, and under the direction of Maj. John M. Chivington, 1st Colorado Volunteers, successfully defeated the Confederate forces. With the loss of Sibley's supply train went the "grand design for the Confederacy in the West." The Battle of Glorieta Pass had successfully eliminated the Confederate threat in the western territories.

286 BANDELIER National Monument, Los Alamos, NM

Driving into Frijoles Canyon gave me an awe inspiring feeling - similar to what I experienced when I first visited Yosemite Valley.  Bandelier is not Yosemite, but it appears to be able to draw crowds.  I was surprised to see so many people at 3 in the afternoon – it was a Saturday.

There is s short video, museum, bookstore, gift shop and snack bar at the Visitor Center.  Allow 2 hours for a visit, unless  you decide to walk some of the trails up the canyon .

There was no road into Frijoles Canyon until the mid 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built one along with trails, the visitor center and lodge. 

Bandelier National Monument protects over 33,000 acres of rugged but beautiful canyon and mesa country as well as evidence of a human presence here going back over 11,000 years. There are 70 miles of trails.   Petroglyphs, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and standing masonry walls pay tribute to the early days of a culture that still survives in the surrounding communities.  

In the 70’s the term Anasazi was  a popular term to give to the people who lived in these cliff dwellings.  Now it appears that Anasazi is not politically correct – now they are called Ancestral Pueblo People.  Somehow, that outdated term has a Navajo origin, roughly translated as “ancient enemies”.  Therefore, the term is no longer used.

Main Loop Trail
I purchased a Trail Guide for $1.  The trail is a 1 ½ mile loop, with 21 numbered stops.  It took just about an hour to walk it.  The route is generally paved to the remains of the Tyuony Pueblo.  Inclines and stairs lead to the Talus House Cliff Dwellings and the Long House Cliff Dwellings.  After crossing Frijoles Creek, Spanish for “little river of beans”,  there is a Nature Trail that leads back to the Visitor Center.  You need the trail guide to understand what you are looking at.  This park like Washita and Pecos had trail guides for use and return – you don’t have to buy one.

This trail is part of a ranger guided tour mid-May through mid-October, daily at 10:30 and 2:00.

SUNDAY April 10, 2016

WEATHER:  upper 40’s at 6 am;  50’s with the sun was warm – clear -  then it clouded up by 3 pm in the high 60’s

TRAVEL:  Albuquerque KOA – Kirtland AFB – Albuquerque KOA

Kirtland AFB Chapel

Kirtland AFB Base Chapel – today was First Communion for eight children.  Plenty of incense and a mass said by a priest from Africa, a deacon, 3 boy servers, a 7 person choir to include baby grand piano, bass, and 12 string guitar.  The homily was directed to the children but the priest was involved – easy to listen to – as he reflected on the readings – “follow me”

I had planned to golf this afternoon but I have a back problem similar to what I experienced in October 2015 when I was in Washington, DC – except this is not debilitating.  At least I can sit down – sitting aggravates the back  – but I don’t have a standup desk in the trailer.  There may be some benefit to that . . . . . standup desk.   In the meantime, a pillow in the small of the back offers some comfort.  It got cool and cloudy with some drizzle anyway.  Maybe golf on Tuesday.

I read a little, updated the blog and titled pictures.  Still have 125 pictures from yesterday to label.

                                                                                               s

MONDAY April 11, 2016

WEATHER:   42 at 5 am in Alburquerque,   42 in Valles Caldera at 1030 am  got up to the mid 60’s clear and sunny in Albuquerque

TRAVEL:  Albuquerque KOA through Bandelier NM to Valles Caldera National Preserve and back to Albuquerque following the NM Hwy 4 loop on the way back.

I forgot to take my phone/camera and literature regarding Bandelier.  There was a threat of rain and time  . . . . I did not re-visit Bandelier VC but drove through a lot more of Bandelier in order to get to Valles Caldera National Preserve.   One benefit – no pictures to edit and label.

286 BANDELIER National Monument, Los Alamos, NM

Nothing has been said about this place’s namesake.  Adolph F.A. Bandelier was a self-taught anthropologist and historian.  He came to the New Mexico Territory in 1880, sponsored by the Archeological Institute of America.

Bandelier was guided by men from Cochiti Pueblo to their ancestral homes in Frijoles Canyon in 1880.  He spent 18 months in the field and visited 166 archeological sites.  Bandelier’s pioneering work is relatively unknown but it established a foundation for much of southwestern archeology.  Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett, a prominent southwestern archeologist, directed several excavations in Frijoles Canyon in the early 1900s.  He was instrumental in getting Bandelier National Monument established in 1916.

287 VALLES CALDERA National Preserve, Jemez Springs, NM

Entering Valles Caldera is another awe inspiring experience, after a winding uphill drive along NM Hwy 4 you suddenly break out into a large flat valley grassland.  This was formed when the dome of the volcano sunk-deflated.  It is surrounded by volcanic domes.  Quite a view for the eyes..

About 1.25 million years ago, a spectacular volcanic eruption created the 13-mile wide circular depression now known as the Valles Caldera.  The preserve is known for its huge mountain meadows, abundant wildlife, and meandering streams. The area also preserves the homeland of ancestral native peoples and embraces a rich ranching history.

The Visitor Center is nothing more than a small Contact Station – NPS just took over the property last year October.  The ranger I spoke with has only been there two weeks.

Here’s some background:  The Valles Caldera Trust, a wholly owned government corporation, was created by the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000.  The trust, governed by a nine member Board of Trustees, was described as an experiment in public land management.  It was established as a demonstration area which incorporated elements of public and private administration.  The land changed hands October 1, 2015 when the National Park Service took over.  There is a contact station but no “approved” brochure.

The Valles Caldera started as the historic Baca Ranch, nestled in the Jemez Mountains. For years, the stunning landscape was private land.  The National Park Service wants to make the area even more accessible.

I walked the 1 mile La Jara Trail around a large volcanic dome “squeeze” behind the Contact Station.  Refreshing, quiet, no cars, no people, no wind, just me in the middle of this awesome meadow surrounded by mountains . . . . .  it was cloudy – the long grasses were still bent from the winter snows.  There was still snow in some places.

The roads past the Contact Station do not open until May 15^th.  Then only the first 35 cars are allowed to travel them daily.

If you were regular to the area, there will be a savings in cost. In seasons past, a visit to the trust could hit your wallet hard.  It was somewhat of an a la carte system.  Each activity cost $10 per day per person.  A family of 4 spending 2 days in the park would be charged $80.

Even before the switch to the National Park Service, Valles Caldera changed the fee system. Now, a family can get into the caldera for $20. That’s pays for one vehicle and it’s good for up to seven days.

One of the biggest challenges for the new site is infrastructure, which includes narrow, unimproved, dirt roads. There is also a need for more parking areas, toilet facilities and trail expansion.  If you visit Bandelier – you should visit here.  Unless you have a pass, each has an entry fee of $20 per carload.