December 30-31, 2011

December 30-31, 2011

This morning we continued west taking a detour near Santa Fe to visit Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. This BLM-managed site was established in 2001 by Bill Clinton. Since it is new I am not expecting much. I thought it would be a good excuse for some exercise. As we drive closer, I am getting a little worried by all the snow we are passing; plus the temperature has yet to climb above freezing. I am thinking we should come back in the summer.

The monument terrain is composed of layers of ash and mud deposited from volcanic eruptions that have been common in New Mexico’s geologic history. Our hike takes us up the eroded edge of this ash bed. It turns out to be wonderful, and a two-fer nonetheless. The first part of the four-mile roundtrip is up a slot canyon that was much narrower than I expected. In many spots it was only body-width. The canyon was beautiful against the white snow and blue sky. This is one of the few real hikes we have taken in wintry conditions.

The second part was at the mesa top and was totally different. Here teepee-shaped formations abound. Apparently the volcanic ash part of the ground is easily eroded. But when the force of erosion encountered a resistant boulder or rock, the earth below was protected leaving behind these conical shapes. Very Cool!

The downside of hiking in winter is getting back down the cliff. This National Monument turned out to be very popular and between the sun and many footsteps the snow is now packed ice. Our descent is treacherous with both of us slipping several times. Aimee says I just missed hitting my head on a rock by an inch.

Normally on our way from Amarillo to Tucson we take the short cut across the mountains of New Mexico. This time we decided to follow the all-interstate route. I-25 follows the El Camino Real National Historic Trail. El Camino Real (Royal Road) was a Spanish trade route that connected Mexico City with Santa Fe. In New Mexico the trail follows the Rio Grande River. It was used starting in 1598 for almost 300 years until a rail line was laid atop of it.

South of Socorro, we arrive at the El Camino Real Heritage Center. Unfortunately we got there an hour before closing because Aimee made us stop at a quilt store on the way. We had to make a mad dash through the museum before it closed.

We continued following the trail south but didn’t make it very far before sunset. We spent the night in Truth or Consequences, NM. This town was originally named Hot Springs but changed its name in response to a contest offered by the game show. On the way out of town the next morning we noticed hot springs steaming in the distance.

On this long drive back to Tucson we have been listening to a linguistics course we did a few years ago. It is just as interesting as the first time. It is fascinating to see how all languages change dramatically over time. In the absence of writing to “freeze” pronunciation, people make lazy shortcuts. For example, you can easily see how the English word “nothing” could evolve into “nuthin”, then "nutin" and “nudin”, and likely “nud” in only a few generations. This is how Latin slowly and naturally evolved into Italian in Italy.