On the third day of my New Mexico trip, I went to Bandelier National Monument (seen above), through the Valles Caldera, to Jemez Springs (including the Soda Dam and Jemez State Monument), and Cochiti Lake before winding down back in Glorieta.
Bandelier National Monument is known for the Native American cliff dwellings built in the porous volcanic rock. Like Yellowstone and the northwest corner of Wyoming, north central New Mexico sits on the caldera of a supervolcano. Much of the rock near Bandelier is soft and easy to carve out into homes, which the Native Americans did. Bandelier is a big park, but the main loop is only about a mile and offers a great glimpse of both the dwellings and the natural environment.
I traveled the majority of the main loop with a friendly Canadian couple, then took the back end of the main loop’s nature trail by myself. It was on the back end that I encountered these deer. I was no more than 30 feet from them at one point, and I’m sure they’re used to people. Still, it was a genuinely beautiful moment for me.
Entry into Bandelier is $12, and you’ll find it is likely the busiest national monument/park in the area, even in November. However, it’s nothing compared to Glacier or Yellowstone in the summer, so don’t let it scare you away. After Bandelier I drove southwest to Jemez Springs. The road followed the Rio Grande and I was in the mountains the whole time. Imagine my surprise, then, when I emerged from the forested mountains to discover the Valle Grande. Found at the heart of the Valles Caldera in the Jemez Mountains, Valle Grande is one spectacular grass valley.
I completed my journey to Jemez Springs, and was underwhelmed by the state monument (left) there, but I did manage to backtrack a mile north to the Soda Dam, which smelled of sulfur, but looked cool.
From Jemez Springs I drove south, then east to Bernalillo before heading north to Cochiti Lake (and Tent Rocks National Monument, which was closed upon arrival). Cochiti Dam was closed to the public, so I didn’t get to drive across it, but I did manage to see a great New Mexico sunset and grab some scenery shots from the highway before heading back to Glorieta.
by Joe Kennedy
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