September 11, 2009

September 11, 2009

From the Santa Fe Trail we make a detour east to see Capulin Volcano National Monument. Capulin was set aside because it is an almost perfect cone shaped volcano. It is probably the world’s only drive-up volcano. The scary park road circles up the outside and ends on the low side of the crater rim. The crater is much smaller than I expected. It takes us well less than an hour to hike completely around the rim and then down to the vent plug. The Capulin cinder cone was formed some 60,000 years ago when the volcano erupted like a Roman candle sending a fountain of lava bombs into the air.

From Capulin we return to the Santa Fe Trail stopping at Fort Union National Monument. The first Fort Union was built right after the Mexican war to secure New Mexico for the US. Later at the beginning of the Civil War a new star shaped earthen fortification was built to counter the expected attack from southern rebels. Johnny Rebs out of Texas did march up the Rio Grande taking Las Cruces and Santa Fe. Before they could take Fort Union, northern troops repulsed them just west of here at Glorieta Pass. Interestingly the same Colorado Volunteers involved in this battle later became infamous at the Sand Creek Massacre.

The third and largest Fort Union was built at the end of the Civil War and served mainly as a supply depot for New Mexico’s other garrisons. Mostly what is left of this sprawling adobe military complex is the brick chimneys, a few melting adobe walls and the stone prison cells. Through the center of the complex are ruts from the Santa Fe Trail.

We spend the night in Las Vegas. That’s New Mexico not Nevada. No slots to be found here.