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Published: October 19th 2012
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Towering over us
Chavez Canyon - Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument We've reached the final destination of this marvelous six-week road trip: "the land of enchantment," New Mexico. Our lodging is a small, charming adobe "casita" on the northern outskirts of Santa Fe. It overlooks the spare but beautiful pinyon pine and juniper forest so typical of the Four Corners area. Two years ago we traveled in this land of the Ancestral Pueblo people (the Navajo name, Anasazi, roughly means "ancient enemies" and so is no longer used) visiting a number of their fascinating prehistoric settlements. This trip we returned to explore the unique land surrounding Santa Fe.
Our first outing is a hike to the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument (Kasha-Katuwe means "white cliffs" in the traditional language of the neighboring Cochiti Pueblo people). As we entered Chavez Canyon, we were awed by the unusual land formations towering above us, so-named for their tent- or tepee-like shape. The formations were carved by water and wind from the relatively soft layer of "tuff"--pumice and ash hundreds of feet thick deposited by massive volcanic eruptions seven million years ago. The volcanoes are located a few miles northwest of these deposits, part of the Jemez Mountains. Following the eruptions, the tuff cooled and
compressed into distinct, colored layers, enveloping denser igneous rocks of various sizes. As the tuff is worn away, large boulders perched atop the "tents" protect the softer ash layers beneath from more rapid erosion. Once these "caprocks" teeter and fall away, the "tent" underneath disintegrates much more quickly. These crumbly and soft rocks are dangerous to climb and are easily damaged.
Within Chavez Canyon, the trail narrows and winds up through a dramatic slot canyon--in places only wide enough for one person to pass, and after a steep and rocky climb we reach a narrow ridge with sweeping, 360-degree views of the far-distant Jemez Mountains, the Rio Grande River valley, and the tent formations now steep below us.
Our next hike was to Bandelier National Monument, a well-preserved collection of cliffside caves, buildings and kivas--a distinct community of people that was part of a much-greater population of ancestral peoples that spread for miles throughout the canyons of this huge plateau. Rather than jostle the small groups of visitors crowding the cliff dwellings, we hiked down-canyon along shallow Frijoles Creek to a 60-foot waterfall. The trail narrowed in places so that the russet-colored oaks and golden-leafed bushes nearly brushed
our shoulders as we listened to birds chirping and the creek rushing over rocks just beside us. The trail climbed and opened at the falls to a magnificent view of the Frijoles Canyon and the Rio Grande River in the far distance.
Due to serious forest fires and massive flash floods, all visitors to the Frijoles Canyon are delivered by shuttle bus from the nearby town of White Rock. The most devastating fire was the 156,000-acre Las Conchas Fire in August 2011. The largest fire in New Mexico history, it burned across sixty percent of the upper canyons in the monument. Without living trees and undergrowth to hold the fine, sandy soils, heavy rainstorms that followed created flash floods that swept huge quantities of water, sand and debris down Frijoles Canyon, and washed away the visitor center's parking area. Mounds of sandbags still encircle the historic buildings.
We are fortunate to be staying in a central location for our day hikes and access to the historic city of Santa Fe. Santa Fe is not only the oldest capital city in the United States (in 1610 the second Spanish governor made it the capital of this northern province of
New Spain), it also has wonderful culinary traditions , a large selection of cultural events, and excellent shopping. Lucky for us: coincident to our stay, the Santa Fe School of Cooking offered a class featuring selected recipes of Georgia O'Keefe! When ninety-years-old, Ms. O'Keefe sought a live-in companion at her home in Abiquiu. Margaret Wood, a young woman whose family lived nearby, was retained. One of Ms. Wood's responsibilities was to prepare meals for Ms. O'Keefe--attended by her employer's specific advice! Wood's experiences led to a book many years later: "A Painter's Kitchen," now in its third edition. Tracy Ritter, culinary director for the school, planned and demonstrated a delicious, simple meal based on recipes from the book, and Wood spoke briefly about the four years as a companion, and Ms. O'Keefe"s high expectations for simple, healthy, flavorful meals prepared with local ingredients--sourced from Ms. O'Keefe's own vegetable garden and orchard as well as farms near her home.
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