After Work Hike - Tunnel Spring - Agua Sarca

We discovered this trail a couple weekends ago. A neighbor brought me to the trailhead while we were visiting a nearby artist during the Placitas Studio Tour weekend. If she hadn't shown it to me I would have been hesitant to go the two or so miles up the dirt road that looked private. Once you are almost there you can see the official markers, then parking area, bathroom, interpretive signs and trails. From out on the main Placitas road (Highway 165) we have always seen a bright green patch of trees and wondered about water. There are several patches of cottonwoods that cluster where there is either surface or underground water. Right now the bright green new leaves look spectacular when the sun is right and it is always perfect at some point, illuminating them into almost unnatural shades of brilliance!

Jeff met me in the parking lot around 5:30. We got going quickly since the 5 mile loop we wanted to do takes about 2 and 1/2 hours to do. This time we did the steep canyon ascent first up to the top trail and then followed it around the crest and around and around until we got back to the cars. This same green patch we parked at looks quite a bit different from different elevations. We started at about 6,300 feet and went up to about 7,200. We had sweeping views out toward the west.
       
The steep canyon short cut was really steep and seemed to take a long time to traverse. We saw a little bit of surface water and a lot of neat rock formations. There was even a mine opening in the hillside we peeked into (it is gated). Up we went looking up toward the trail on the side of the mountain. The trail follows the side of the mountain and depending on how you go will connect with other trails including the Sandia Crest Trail. Jeff has done a section of that trail from Albuquerque and almost ended up here! Once we were up the canyon the trail had some elevation changes but they were a lot more gradual. Cactus were blooming, a couple kinds, and many looked like they were ready to burst into bloom. I'm going to need to go up later this week to check out their progress!

This trail has a lot of neat rock formations and excellent views. Mostly I like that it is 15 minutes from the house. The light in New Mexico is amazing and the landscape changes as the light changes. This trail is great in the afternoon as the sun is setting and all the views change from reds to pastels and back as the sun does its thing.

Coronado State Monument

After driving past the Coronado State Monument sign multiple times I decided to check it out. I pass this monument going to Albertsons and Home Depot and wondered what could possibly be at such an odd location. The monument is located at 485 Kuaua Road in Bernalillo which is a half hour north of Albuquerque and about 15 minutes from our house. I picked an early morning before the spring winds would kick up and headed out. When I got there there was a nice sign, campgrounds, and a visitor center designed by Southwest architect John Gaw Meem (who I guess is a big deal). It was a very nice building plopped down along the Rio Grande river with a golf course in the distance and suburbia in the other direction. Odd. The site was excavated in 1930 and turned into a monument in 1940. It is the ruins and reconstructed kivas of a 1325-1600 Anasazi Pueblo with 1200 adobe walled surface dwellings/storage rooms, 3 plazas and 6 kivas. The dwellings/storage rooms are interesting when the docents explain that corn was stored at ground level and other levels were where people lived. The ruins don't look like much but do give you an idea of the size and layout. There are many other rooms that were re-buried when wind and the elements were threatening the construction. They were buried to preserve them. The construction was a ball or puddle adobe technique hand formed to make the walls. The balls were made by burning twigs and grass and combining the coal with dirt.

There are reconstructed murals painted in one of the reconstructed kivas after the originals were removed and restored and put on display in the mural room on site. They are spectacular but unfortunately you cannot take photos. They are one of the best examples of prehistoric pre-Columbian art in the northern hemisphere. There are also artifacts on display as well as a nice video.

There are trails that meander around additional ruins and go off toward the river. The location would have been a wonderful place to live. Not too many people walk the trails - I didn't see any one and only saw animal tracks and tumbleweed gatherings! School kids visit for tours and there were a couple busloads in the time I was there.

The only connection to Coronado that I could figure out was that Fransecso Vasquez de Coronado of Mexico wintered over in the Pueblo in 1540 while looking for the "seven cities of gold." Other than that I didn't understand why the site was named after him. That said, it is interesting as long as you have a docent explain what you are looking at. It isn't somewhere to spend a whole lot of time but for $3 why not go there and to the Jemez Monument nearby!

Trip To The Other Side

On Saturday we headed out to the "other side" of the Sandia Mountains via road 165 which is our Placitas road. This is a dirt road that crosses the mountains. I had gone up it about 7 or 8 miles before Jeff got here checking out Sandia Man Cave and assorted picnic areas. It is a lot cooler up there (as in foggy and chilly the day I went before) and there is running water from the Las Huertas creek. This is a good "get out of the heat" summer spot I am told. Also it it great for cross country skiing in the winter when the road closes. I have seen bikers on it but when cars go by it is dusty so I don't think I'd like that when there is car traffic. We passed the cave, passed some picnic areas and continued to Balsam Glade before the curves started to get to me and I needed a break. We got out and scoped out picnic areas, trails, benches etc.
        


We saw a really neat bird I had seen at the house. The trees started getting denser and denser the higher we went which is opposite of what they do in Seattle! There are oaks and aspens and junipers and pines and a lot of trees that look familiar that I don't remember the names of. In fall it must be as spectacular as now - new leaves now and changing colors in fall. We continued past Balsam Glade up to the Sandia Crest and headed back down. The next stop was Sulphur Canyon where we did a 3 mile mini-hike.
   
The dirt was red, the geology was really neat, the bright green new leaves were electric and we saw either an alligator pine or juniper...everything smelled like pine but I didn't look close enough to tell which it was. All the areas were garbage free with bathrooms that were open, clean and stocked and trails that were peppered with benches and picnic areas. Interpretive signs gave good information about trails, plants and animals. We then continued toward Albuquerque to look at bicycles (REI sale). It was then that I spotted the sign for Tinkertown! I had read about this - Ross Ward was a collector and carver who took 40 years to construct a miniature world of circuses, towns and storefronts that have moving items in them. He dragged them around to carnivals and did puppet shows I think. Anyway, it was an eclectic and interesting little stop. Not really a destination but great for kids and decent if you have any kind of imagination!
 

Cats, Of Course

The trauma of moving and losing Chicken and all that is dulling and the 4 cats we have here are adjusting well to living inside. In Placitas, which is High Dessert and very open space, the threats to cats and dogs are Great Owls and coyotes primarily. There are also bears and bobcats and other threats but owls and coyotes are notorious for picking off pets. People here LOVE their pets and just about everyone has catios and dog pens that are covered (so owls don't swoop in and coyotes don't climb in). We knew this and before Jeff got here the first thing I did was start work on the catio. I got a 10 x 10 dog run and covered it with welded wire and shade cloth but couldn't do the tunnel from the existing dog door to the run myself. This weekend we solved that problem and now everyone can enjoy sun on their fur, dirt all over, rabbits lurking, lizards teasing and the sounds of birds. That also means the people (us) can have window screens open and the door screen open and latched without fearing someone will burst through and take off. Our hope is that they love the freedom the catio offers and with this new option have no desire to be "out." In the off chance someone escapes (the catio is as securely put together as it can be and I have observed them and sat in it with them)at least they will have put their smells outside and will have the lay of the land. Our intention is that they never get out.

I forget who went out first but everyone soon followed. Tuca and Pollo were initially hesitant but turkey pieces got them into the tunnel and then they figured it out. Dakota the old fart has adjusted the quickest and he has a new lease on life and is playing more (he is at least 15 plus years old). Pollo seems content inside. Jackie is the boss. Tuca likes being able to go out and when she is inside has been hiding under the bed covers for most of the day for a month now. She is slowly coming out more. Pollo and Jackie actually team up and bat her when she is under the covers though and that doesn't help. I have planted cat grass and flowers so the cats can snack and hide. I also planted sweet peas and beans to climb on the chain link to give more camoflauge. There is/was a catnip clump until they decimated it in the first excursion out! I worried that green beans might be toxic to cats and after looking it up found out that they are fine but the chives had to come out. I guess more catnip is required! Anyway, with this new option they have new places to be and can breathe fresh air! On a side note, Blanco and Rip continue to adjust to their new owners in the old house. Blanco reportedly has been spotted in the ferns in the front and Rip is slowly working his way up top (but shows up for food of course). We are REALLY thankful the new home owners were willing to take them in. Those two could never have survived the trip and would not have adjusted at all.