Dear Isaac, Maia, and Virtual Wanderers,

The last full day of Hoodoos, Haboobs and Hound Dogs is in the rear view. Today was definitely a hoodoos and hound dogs day.

We started the day in Grants, New Mexico then headed west on I-40 for about 20 miles. I hate I-40 in a subcompact about as much as I hate windstorms in a sub compact. So crank the music and ignor the sea of semis on all sides.

After that it got pretty. We turned north on New Mexico 371, AKA the Bisti Highway. Bisti is the Navajo word for “living among the adobe” – a call out to the shale hoodoos and formations that populate the remote badlands.

It’s about 100 miles from Thoreau, NM to Bisti Badlands. It’s a gorgeous drive headed north from Thoreau. The red cliffs remind me of the Window Rock area a few miles west.

The red fades to more traditional sandstone color as you drive further north to Crownpoint and over the Continental Divide. Then things mostly flatten to sage and grass with some buttes. 

Between mile marker 70 and 71, you arrive at Bisti Badlands. Imagine and undersea garden with slippery mud at the bottom.  That’s where we would be if we hiked here 70 million years ago. As the sea dried, the formations were created. There were also fires that baked the clay resulting in the red rock that is scattered over the landscape.

It’s our 3rd or 4th trip to Bisti.  We had a picnic first. Just like 2 days ago, Cimarron got bitten by an ant. She panicked, again, but not as bad as the fire ant 2 days ago. It’s a PTSD type reaction, most likely, to her IVDD nerve pain. Anything that sends a sharp pain up her leg is panic. I need to see her vet about more anxiety meds, because that too much work for a 15 year old heart with valve disease.

Last time, I buckled her in and drove to calm her, this time she went in her carrier. I decided the best thing I could do is stay calm and divert her attention.

I think it was my attention that got distracted. We usually find a side alcove to explore vs the main wash. But, I couldn’t find the one from last time. I compared our Wooftrax maps from both days, and we stayed on the main wash way further this time. But, it simply gets too rocky for the pups before we hit any of the iconic Bisti formations.

We actually backtracked to look for our alcove and then went forward on the main wash, again. Maybe I was distracted or maybe a monsoon changed the fragile landscape in the last 3 years.

It was fun to hike in such a remote area. Water, cellphone tracker, garmin mini. It’s like exploring the moon. Cimarron just wishes it didn’t have ants.

Tomorrow, the long drive home.

Happy Trails, GM Cathy Hartt