Dear Maia, Isaac and Virtual Wanderers,

I didn’t want to drive today. I woke up to wind howling at the motel window. Wind travel advisories are something I don’t take lightly ever since getting stuck in a 0 visibility windstorm near Kayenta over a decade ago in my Honda Fit. I’m now a big believer in “wait until the dust settles.*

Try as I might, I couldn’t make the hotels cooperate. So off we went on east bound US 60 east. We entered New Mexico turned north on North on NM Highway 32 to east bound NM 117. Today’s adventure was about some stops at El Malpias National Monument. Never mind the wind, it’ll be fun.

Because this trip is named Hoodoos, Haboobs and Hound Dogs, let’s circle back to a haboob. That word refers to a large desert storm driven by thunderstorms. It creates a wall – kinda like a tsunami. Today was filled with dust devils sprouting up everywhere along our route. It’s different than a haboob, but we got our desert storm chasing in, anyway.

The drive was sage and grass covered land turning to more pinion at higher altitudes. Very rural. I was glad for the sage holding as much soil as it could to the ground. Then, as we got to El Malpias, the scenery began to shift.

What you don’t see is that the entire drive is marked by the volcanoes of yesterday. In the flatter areas, the lava has broken down to become part of the soil. In El Malpias, there are visible rivers of old (but newer) lava at the foot of the sandstone.

We stopped at The Narrows picnic area for lunch. The Dakota sandstone walls created a nice windbreaker for a dog walk. (BTW if you read last night’s blog– Cimarron is feeling 100% better after her insect bite yesterday. ) Anyway, the striking lava rivers were very visible from our walk around the picnic grounds.

Next stop was La Ventana Arch at about mile marker 38. The arch was formed by wind and freeze/thaw. Look, I’m no geologist so please do your own research if you are interested. It’s a short paved walk followed by gravel. We met the bull snake and turned around.

The last stop was Sandstone Bluffs at mile marker 46. Unlike the wind shelter we got from the bluffs at other visits, this area creates a wind tunnel. The winds were haboob strong and we didn’t stay long, but below the cliffs lies the lava. It’s stunning even in a wind tunnel.

So, tomorrow is the last full day of Hoodoos, Haboobs and Hound Dogs. Hoping for just hoodoos and hound dogs, thank you very much.

Happy Trails, GM Cathy Hartt