Grants, New Mexico: Nothing to report about yesterday in Taos. We checked out the town (we have been here many times before) and I didn't even take a photo! The day was filled with thunder, lightning storms, and rain. Plus, there were bear sightings in our Taos RV park (don't believe the website - it is several miles south of town) the past two days. Not only that, Kris and Brother Steve had gone to up Steamboat, Colorado, for the weekend and saw a big bear ripping up whatever was in the back of a pickup truck parked where they were staying! Steve reported this bear was also a Kodiak-lookin' fella 'bout 19 feet tall. The night clerk scared it off with bear spray. Word has it, drought and wildfires have forced wild animals down from the mountains in search of food before winter.
Be careful out there, people!
So we left our scary thunderstorm-and-rain-and-bear-ridden campsite in Taos and headed south to Albuquerque, where we headed west on I-40. (We have been to Albuquerque so many times, we not stop. We wanted to visit unexplored areas west.) For the next two days we will be visiting El Malpais National Monument (The Badlands in Spanish). Lava flows cover 114,000 acres with jagged black rock from volcanic eruptions - some from only 3,600 years ago. Called bad land as it was a terrible place to drive cattle through. Ouch. There are not only lava flows, but lava tubes, caves, cinder cones, spatter cones, ice caves and caldera. Marry a geologist, and you get to explore interesting places.
The weather was not cooperating when we left I-40 and drove twenty miles south to visit La Ventana Natural Arch. As we were approaching the arch, we came across nearly 100 elk drinking from a little watering hole that had formed from all the recent rains. As we slowed, the herd took off, but I managed to get one quick shot with my telephoto. After we drove away, the vista allowed us to see another huge herd in the distance!
Dang, if we haven't seen a lot of natural arches. La Ventana (the window, in Spanish) is a magnificent example of wind and water causing an arch within the sandstone. The colors are magnificent.
Since we will be visiting the other portion of the El Malpais National Monument tomorrow, we stopped by the park visitor center on the way to our campsite, gathered more information so we are ready for our trip and hikes.
No Dodger or Giants tonight. They played during the day. No one will be surprised the Dodgers won and the Giants lost. I made rice bowls with black beans, olives, corn, tomatoes, avocado, grated cheese, cilantro, sour cream and YUMM! sauce from Cafe YUMM!
Until my next update, I remain, your New Mexican correspondent.
Campsite Information: Grants KOA - another campground with a food cart.
Beautiful pictures……have never been there.
Safe travels to you!