Santa Fe, New Mexico - Part 3

There was no idle time in Santa Fe, the adventure continues while Sharon, fondly known as the female “Meriwether” and Mike, her sidekick, known as “Clark,” blaze new trails!  We have assumed the names of Lewis Meriwether and William Clark, as we explore new territories, encounter Indian Nations, cross mountains, lakes and rivers, and travel from camp to camp in the comfort of our RV!

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

At the end of September we hiked the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument which includes 4,645 acres of public lands and is located 40 miles southwest of Santa Fe.  The national monument, on the Pajarito Plateau includes a recreation trail and ranges from 5,570 feet to 6,760 feet above sea level. The monument is a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed site that was established as a U.S. National Monument by President Bill Clinton in January 2001 shortly before leaving office. The monument is a unit of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System.  Kasha-Katuwe means “white cliffs” in the Pueblo language Keresan.

The area owes its remarkable geology to layers of volcanic rock and ash deposited by pyroclastic flow from a volcanic explosion within the Jemez Volcanic Field that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago. Over time, weathering and erosion of these layers has created canyons and tent rocks. A rugged 1.5 mile trail leads up through a slot canyon to a lookout point where the tent rocks may be viewed from above.


A slot canyon is a narrow canyon, formed by the wear of water rushing through rock. A slot canyon is significantly deeper than it is wide. Some slot canyons can measure less than 3 feet across at the top but drop more than 100 feet to the floor of the canyon.  It was a tight squeeze in many areas and we had to navigate some huge boulders to get to the other side! 

Many slot canyons are formed in sandstone and limestone rock, although slot canyons in other rock types such as granite and basalt are possible. Even in sandstone and limestone, only a very small number of creeks will form slot canyons. This is due to a combination of the particular characteristics of the rock, and regional rainfall.

A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, and earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. Hoodoos range in size from that of an average human to heights exceeding a 10-story building.

Hoodoos are found mainly in the desert in dry, hot areas. In common usage, the difference between hoodoos and pinnacles or spires is that hoodoos have a variable thickness often described as having a “totem-pole-shaped body.”  Hoodoo shapes are affected by the erosional patterns of alternating hard and softer rock layers. Minerals deposited within different rock types cause hoodoos to have different colors throughout their height.

Precariously perched on many of the tapering hoodoos are boulder caps that protect the softer pumice and tuff below. Some tents have lost their hard, resistant caprocks and are disintegrating. While fairly uniform in shape, the tent rock formations vary in height from a few feet up to 90 feet.

As the result of uniform layering of volcanic material, bands of gray are interspersed with beige and pink-colored rock along the cliff face. Over time, wind and water cut into these deposits, creating canyons and arroyos, scooping holes in the rock, and contouring the ends of small, inward ravines into smooth semi-circles.

 

 

 

We also hiked a 1.2 mile loop trail that leads past the base of the slot canyons. There was a cave high above the ground that was occupied by prehistoric peoples.  Mike climbed up into the cave and noticed the smoke stains on the ceiling of the cave. 

The smoke may have been caused by burning juniper wood, pinon, or manzanita.  Early Native Americans preferred caves that were above ground level because they stayed dry during storms, were more difficult for animals to enter, and provided a view of the surrounding territory in case of enemy attack.  Also, there has been erosion at the base of the cave so it is further from the ground than it once was. “Clark” wasn’t as agile jumping down from the cave as climbing in!

Veteran’s Memorial Overlook

True to our namesakes, we spotted an adjacent spot named Veteran’s Memorial Overlook on the map and headed off to see what was there. Halfway through one of the worst steep, twisty, turny, dirt roads with sheer drop-offs, “Meriwether” was ready to kill “Clark”. Persevering against hostile co-pilots and braving the threat of carsicknicus vomitus, “Clark” forged on and we ended up with one of the best views of the entire Kasha Katuwe valley and met another fulltime RV couple full of great info on the BLM and Army Corp. campground facilities.

Ghost Ranch

We took a drive to Ghost Ranch about 65 miles northwest of Santa Fe.  Near the entrance, we stopped at an old cabin. Over the years, the Ranch has been a popular location site for movies, television commercials and print ads.  Cary Grant was an early guest and John Wayne wanted to film here long ago.  The log cabin is a keepsake of the movie “City Slickers” (1991) parts of which were filmed at the Ranch.  Parts of “The Missing” (2003), “All the Pretty Horses” (2000) and the intro to “Indiana Jones” (2008) were also filmed at Ghost Ranch.

We were just in time for a tour of Ghost Ranch.  Our tour guide wore a western-style hat with a leather closure that “Meriwether” admired and later was on a quest throughout Texas to find a similar one for her collection!

Our guide shared a colorful history of Ghost Ranch.  She pointed out points of interest as we walked around the property, including Kitchen Mesa, Georgia O’Keeffe’s winter home, housing for ranch guests, a library, and the river (sometimes frequented by bears…”Meriwether’s” number one fear). 

   

There was a group of children touring Ghost Ranch for a school outing.  So we got in line for lunch (before them) at the ranch restaurant where we sat with a couple from our tour who were from New York.  As we talked, they were interested in St. Augustine, so we gave them the website of The Cedar House Inn that we spend our anniversaries at each year.   After lunch we visited the gift shop full of books, jewelry, and everything you could ever want!

The History of Ghost Ranch

As our tour guide said, Ghost Ranch has a colorful history. Spanish conquistadors arrived in what is now New Mexico, in 1598.  In 1766, the Spanish king awarded the Piedra Lumbre land grant, including the 21,000 acre Ghost Ranch, to Captain Pedro Martin Serrano.  The name Piedra Lumbre means “Fire Rock” and stems from Pedernal Mountain, which is largely composed of flint, a rock used to start fire. Over the years, some of the land was divided among the captain’s heirs, some was acquired by the Salazar family of Abiquiu, and some was sold to small-time Anglo ranchers.

 

Carol Stanley, a concert pianist from Boston, met and married a handsome cowboy guide.  With her money and his charm, they opened a dude ranch. Both the ranch and the marriage failed.  In the divorce settlement, Carol Stanley got Ghost Ranch, which her ex-husband allegedly won in a poker game.  She moved to the Ranch with her grand piano and her English maid and carried on her dude-ranching venture hosting many wealthy and influential guests.  Charles Lindbergh and his family, and the great conductor Leopold Stokowski were among the first who stayed at the remote and exotic resort.

In 1933, Arthur Pack, environmentalist, editor and publisher of Nature Magazine, purchased the struggling operation from Carol Stanley and built a house and a thriving dude ranch that attracted many prominent people.  During World War II, the Ranch was a secret retreat for the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos. 

Georgia O’Keeffe discovered Ghost Ranch in 1934 and rented the Georgia O’Keeffe Cottage, just down the path toward Ghost House, for that summer.  “Rancho de los Brujos” it was called; “Ranch of the Witches,” haunted by evil spirits.  It is not surprising that today’s name for this land is “Ghost Ranch,” and the logo is an oxen skull drawn in 1935 by Georgia O’Keeffe.

Since 1936 O’Keeffe would winter in New York and every summer she rented a studio space in Arthur Pack’s Rancho de los Burros home.  While at Ghost Ranch O’Keeffe explored on foot and on canvas the beauty of the place.  

Kitchen Mesa at the upper end of the valley is an example of the red and yellow cliffs she painted many times.  Pedernal, the flat-topped mountain to the south that rises to 9,862 feet, was probably her favorite subject.  “It’s my private mountain,” she frequently said.  “God told me if I painted it often enough I could have it.”

One spring she arrived at Ghost Ranch unexpectedly and found someone else in the house.  She demanded to know what those people were doing in her house.  When Pack pointed out that it wasn’t her house, she insisted that he sell it to her.  In 1940, she became the owner of a very small piece of Ghost Ranch land: the Rancho de los Burros house and seven acres. The house is now owned by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. It is not open to the public, nor is it visible from the Ghost Ranch road.

In 1955, Pack gifted the entire property to the Presbyterian Church to be used as a resource for learning, sharing and retreat.  Pack’s generous gift perpetuated the conservation of the natural beauty and sanctity of the Ranch, and has protected it from subdivision and development.

Today, Ghost Ranch offers a diverse schedule of programs and adventure and can accommodate over 300 guests.  The Ranch is committed to spiritual development, peace, justice, honoring the environment and exploring family through the celebration of art, culture and nature.  Retreats and workshops are balanced with time for leisure activities.  For more information go to www.GhostRanch.org.

Horseback riding, swimming, hiking, challenge courses and climbing wall activities, canoeing and kayaking, massage, meditation and activity in the great outdoors all become transforming experiences. 

Insert photos of ranch

Museum on Ghost Ranch Showcases

The Little Dinosaur – Coelophysis

Also on the property are two museums that we toured, the Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology and the Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology, which showcase the rich history of this Rio Chama Valley region.  Paleontologists with international reputations have been attracted to the Ranch since Edwin Colbert discovered Coelophysis (the New Mexico State Fossil) in 1947.  Also known as the Little Dinosaur of Ghost Ranch, Coelophysis is about 205 million years old and lived in a wet forest environment when this part of the North America was located near the equator.

The Coelophysis Dinosaur Quarry is a National Natural Landmark, a National Park Service designation that recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in both public and private ownership.

While mostly Coelophysis dinosaurs are found at the Ghost Ranch Coelophysis Quarry, more than two dozen types of animals are found at Ghost Ranch’s Hayden Quarry discovered in 2002.  The small predator, Tawa, surpassing Coelophysis in age, is now the oldest North American dinosaur known from complete skeletons and was found at the 212 million year old Hayden Quarry.

If you have always wanted to be part of a dinosaur dig, Ghost Ranch offers week-long field workshops to collect Triassic vertebrate fossils at the new Hayden Quarry site, explore the badlands of Ghost Ranch for new fossil locales, and learn about the paleontology and geology of Ghost Ranch.

Tour of Georgia O’Keeffe’s Home & Studio in Abiquiu

We scheduled a tour through the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe to tour Georgia O’Keeffe’s other home and studio in Abiquiu, just 15 miles south of Ghost Ranch. This home was a cluster of crumbling adobes set on the edge of a mesa when O’Keeffe acquired it in 1945.  Under the supervision of her friend Maria Chabot, the property was restored and renovated for her occupancy by 1949 for permanent residency from Ghost Ranch.  The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation was established in 1989, after her death, to carry out the wishes and legacy of O’Keeffe.  The Abiquiu home and studio is also owned by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. 

During the last few years of her life, Georgia O’Keeffe was unable to come to Ghost Ranch from Abiquiu.  Eventually, she moved to Santa Fe in 1984 where she died in 1986 in her 99^th year, reclusive to the end.  “I find people very difficult,” she said.

Sunset at Abiquiu Lake

After our tour of the Ghost Ranch and Georgia O’Keeffe’s home in Abiquiu we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the nearby Abiquiu Inn, a lovely place to stay. Take a look at www.abiquiuinn.com.

Since it was almost dusk and although it looked like a storm was brewing, we decided to go to Abiquiu Lake for the sunset.  It was one of the only bodies of water in New Mexico that wasn’t dry and we may decide to return with our kayaks another day.

 

Abiquiu Lake is the Albuquerque District’s northern most flood control reservoir in the state of New Mexico, or as the locals call it – Tierra Encantada – The Land of Enchantment.

It is located on the Rio Chama River approximately 32 miles upstream of its confluence with the Rio Grande and is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Panoramic views surround the lake.  Abiquiu Lake sits between the rugged Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountain ranges of northern New Mexico. At an elevation of 6,400 feet above sea level, it is possibly the highest reservoir in the Corps of Engineers.  

The project is 1,621 miles upstream from where the Rio Grande empties into the Gulf of Mexico.  

Abiquiu Lake is fed a diet of cold, clear, transmountain water which is diverted from the San Juan Mountains in south-central Colorado, and piped under the continental divide into the Rio Chama approximately forty-seven pristine miles upstream from the project. 

Although most of the water impounded by Abiquiu Dam is destined for Albuquerque, the state’s largest metropolitan area, some water flows through irrigation ditches that channel life-sustaining water to the arid land.  Abiquiu Lake is part of a comprehensive plan for flood and sediment control in the Rio Chama-Rio Grande River Basin. The project was authorized by Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1948. Construction of the project began in September 1956, and was completed in February 1963.  Originally, flood control at Abiquiu Dam involved the temporary capture of water during peak drainage seasons; slowly releasing it at a predictable and reliable flow rate.  In was not until 1986 that Abiquiu Lake took on a new role (water storage), when the Corps entered into a water supply contract with the City of Albuquerque.

Stay tuned for Part 4 of our Santa Fe adventures! 
Happy Holidays!

Mike & Sharon

“The air is full of sounds, sighs of the wind in the trees, sighs which fade back into the overhanging silence. 
A bee passes, a golden ripple in the quiet air.”

Marion Milner, from “A Life of One’s Own”