
The longest, hardest 1.5 miles I’ve ever walked!
But one of the most rewarding as well.
We stopped at this National Park in northern New Mexico on our way home during a family road trip to Colorado.
My travelling partner kept saying, “Oh, it’s a quick, easy little hike. We’ll stop for an hour or so and you can see.”
And it was gorgeous! Not that easy though. Halfway up the 300’ climb I was huffing like I’d been on the StairMaster for too long already.
But there was so much natural beauty along the way it was so worth it.

The view from the top is incredible. You can see for miles and easily imagine cattle on the Sante Fe Trail driving through to Raton Pass and far off to the left you could even see Black Mesa in Oklahoma.


The knarly juniper trees have a special attraction to me and the lichens along the rocks, mixed in among vegetation, are impressive.

Winds of Change (from the placard)
There are forces shaping the volcano even today that are more powerful than the original eruption. During its formation, winds were changing the very shape of the volcano. Long ago, wind likely carried the first seeds of the pinion and juniper trees to the mountainside. Today, wind has shaped those trees into the these bent shapes seen all around the rim area.


Time Stains (from the placard)
The delicate gray, green, and yellow growths on the boulder are plants called lichens. Some lichen colonies are 20,000 years old, leading to the nickname “time stains”. These crusty growths are responsible for creating a weak acid that breaks down the rocks making soil. Plants can then grow on the volcano allowing other life to flourish.



