Father's Day

Took a trip out to El Malpais National Conservation Area where there is a place called the Narrows. It is named for the 3 mile narrow corridor that developed when lave flowed close to the base of a 500 ft. sandstone mesa. We climbed to the top very slowly, but did not go the 8 miles round trip. The lava flows are approx. 1500 yrs. old. There are water holes on top of the sandstone that provide water for animals & birds. The sandstone is Jurassic in age (200 to 140my). We also stopped and hiked at LaVentana Natural Arch. Afterwards we took a ride on route 66.
We will probably not be on line for a while because we will be dry camping at Canyon De Chelly in Arizona and hopefully get to camp on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.
Be in touch when we get back into civilization. Hope all the Dad's had a great day.

more photos

June 20 Part 3

After all the hiking we did we took a road trip down the Zuni Canyon Rd. We saw the old railroad trestles that spanned creeks. The railroad went thru the canyon in 1901 and mined Pine Trees until WWII. The trees were sent to Albuquerque at 30 to 40 car loads a day.

June 20 2

The temperture in the ice cave never gets above 31degrees. As rain water and snow melt seep into this cave the ice floor thickens. The ice is approximately 20 feet thick and dates back 3400 years. It has a green tint caused by an Arctic algae. In the early days the ancient Indians and early settlers mined the ice. In 1946 ice removal was stopped and at that time the ice was nearly 12 ft. high. The steps going down and then up were brutal.
The trees growning in the lava find it hard to establish deep roots. The results are that the trees grow to be twisted and gnarled. Gene did not have any problems with the hiking.

June 20 Part 1

What a great day. We went without air conditioning for the first time in months. Temp. in the RV was 67 this morning. We decided to go to Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave all in the same area. The visitors center was a trading post built in the 1930's along with a dance hall and saloon. The old wooden floors have circles on them where the bar stools stood which gave the room character.Climbing up the trail to the Volcano are Ponderosa Pines, Douglas Fir and Alligator Juniper, Aspens and Gamble Oak, along with beautiful wild flowers. It was a beautiful sight. Of course all along the trail are volcanic rocks and reminates of different formations. In the distance you can see a number of other volcanoes. Over 29 in the El Malpais region. This volcano is a cinder cone. It began as the earth started to swell. Eventually a crack broke open and high pressure lava began spraying out.

June 16 to 19

Most of our time was spent shopping, talking, watching Tom Cruise's latest movie and taking the dogs out. Terin and Andrew have two pit bulls that are wonderful animals and make me think that bad pit bulls don't have good owners. These dogs listen and behave great. They are so playful and think they are little puppies and want to sit on your lap. We went out to an area near a dam that the dogs can run after the ball and play without being on a leash.
Left El Paso and drove to Grants, N.M. and will be here for a few days seeing the sights. The elevation is over 6500 ft and the weather is much cooler here.

On the road again.

We left Dallas Sunday, June 14th. We drove to Van Horn, Tx. and camped for the night. In the morning we drove to Andrew & Terin's house in El Paso. We all had lunch and decided to go to Alamogordo, N.M. to visit the Space Museum. The museum covers the history of the development of rockets and space program's from the 1930's through today. The pictures are of rocket engines, space capsules, and Gene trying to land the space shuttle in a simulator.