An unplanned side trip brought us to the Capulin Volcano National Monument, a unique little National Park in eastern New Mexico. Driving through the grasslands, we noticed numerous hills popping up, just as we noticed the sign for this National Monument - of course we had to stop. The park visitor's center was at the base of the cinder cone and a narrow road took us to the top of the rim to look into this 60,000 year-old volcano. The views looking out from the rim were spectacular to see over the grasslands bespeckled with old cinder cones. The geology of this area is fascinating. Oh, and Miss Dylan became a Jr Ranger once more.
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As thunderstorms loomed over the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, we toured the town of Santa Fe. Parking spots were scarce, so we kept driving around. Suddenly, the cloud burst sending quarter-sized rivulets of rain splattering on our windshield. Deciding not to play the tourists in the downpour, we made our way south. Our goal was to hit White Sands National Monument before sunset as we had been advised that there was no better time to be there.
Three and a half hours of driving through stark, desert landscape with nothing but dust, creosote, and a smattering of one-horse towns, brought us over a crest and into a large agricultural valley. We were amazed at the abundance of orchards compiled of trees that we did not recognize. To our right materialized the largest pistachio we had ever seen. Of course, loving pistachios the way we do, we felt compelled to stop. The store was just about to close its doors, but they let us in for a quick wine and ice cream sample. As we devoured our pistachio ice cream, the host at the front door took us outside and gave us some pertinent information about how pistachios grow and are harvested. He even picked up a small bunch from the ground and handed them over to us as a gift. Back in the car, we began down a highway that is often closed due to missile testing. We were in the area just south of where the first atomic bomb was tested in 1944 (hopefully we don’t suffer any unusual mutations as a result). Through the desert landscape we continued until contrasting dunes of white gypsum sand appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Driving into the park we felt so out of place, like we would drive into the ocean around the next bend. We found a spot relatively free of people and parked the van. The sand felt soft and cool under our feet with the rain having chilled it hours before. Dylan ran up the dunes leaving her little footprints behind and spreading sand behind her with every step. With the GoPro set up to take a time-lapse exposure of the sunset, we played around in the sand – flying from the tops of the dunes to land and slide halfway down, making “sand angels”, and sledding on our backsides. Today happened to be Carolyn and my anniversary. As the sun set over the dunes, the landscape appeared nearly as beautiful as Carolyn. I couldn’t take my eyes off either. Things we have learned thus far in our 5 days on the road…
1. How startling it can be while driving, when your 4 year old is watching Dora with headphones and yells “backpack” at the top of her lungs. 2. We MUST return to Santa Fe New Mexico as it is a gorgeous town that we weren’t able to explore enough. 3. An Earthship on our property is a MUST. The Earthship Biotecture community outside Taos New Mexico was incredible to explore and learn in depth all the concepts. We had a lovely conversation with Sean at the welcome center about the future of making it a reality once we land in Nova Scotia. 4. Black bears are very curious and very stealthy when they sneak up on you at 7 a.m. while you are getting in the van. He was literally within reaching distance as I got into the van in the morning before I even realized he was there. 5. Ordering breakfast burritos in New Mexico “Christmas Style” is a thing. The green chili at Tecolote Cafe in Santa Fe was to die for (of course Carolyn and Dylan thought it was a little too zippy). 6. Spiritual (hippie) communities do still exist and feel absolutely refreshing. We spent our first night in the lovely high desert/foothill town of Crestone, Colorado (populations 150) in a campground along the river. The town smells of pine reason and patchouli and the people were friendly and calming. We woke the next morning to a black bear walking within reach of our van as we were leaving our site. After exploring a few of the many dozens of temples/shrines in the area we felt as though we would love to do a retreat here in the future. 7. The US must have many, many “world records”. In our first 3 days we have already stopped at the worlds biggest rocking chair in Colorado, the world’s highest suspension bridge (Royal Gorge bridge in Colorado that held the record from 1920-2001 and is now considered the highest suspension in the US), and the world’s largest pistachio in Alamorosa, New Mexico. We also stopped at the oldest church in Colorado located in Conejos. A few thoughts on all of these… roadside attraction signs really do work as that is how we were attracted to all of them… how closely are these records truly monitored – I hate to play the skeptic, but that’s a lot of record breaking things in just 3 short days… and we need to be find the balance of where to stop and what to push through or our time on the road will take significantly longer then we had planned. 8. Bandelier National Monument is definitely worth seeing. We would suggest spending the night in the campground and getting an early start to avoid the crowds that begin arriving on the 9 a.m. shuttle. Having the park basically to ourselves allowed us to explore each dwelling and truly allow ourselves to picture how life must have been for the Ancestral Pueblo people 1000’s of years earlier. 9. Bring guide books - bring guide books. For us, we wish we had more in-depth guide books on plants, insects and birds for these southern regions. The landscape is ever changing, and it has sparked our curiosity about the plants and birds that we are passing at 70 miles an hour. The cactus along I-10 through NM and AZ are INCREDIBLE. 10. Try not to hold too strongly to your expectations while on your journey. Plans change constantly, a lot more then we had anticipated, and areas we thought we would enjoy deeply just didn’t hold our soul. Although a lovely small town, Taos did not call us to return the same way Santa Fe did. |
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April 2019
AuthorCarolyn and Will Bollwerk share their adventures with their 5 year-old daughter, Dylan. |