created many of the rock formations in the area including Bandelier National Monument. That eruption was about 60,000 years ago, and geothermal activity still takes place beneath the Caldera, which creates the hot springs.
Along the caldera there was a pulloff marked with a sign that read "Elk Viewing Area". I pulled over, and sure enough there was a herd of about 20 elk grazing.
They were very far away, so my pictures didn't turn out great. After driving along the rim of the caldera, the road turned away and descended down the mountain.
double-switchbacks and hairpin curves had to be taken at 20 mph. I was just thinking how much I love these kinds of roads, when I came around a corner and saw several cars stopped on the road. I hit the brakes, and wondered what was
Elk on the slopes
of Valles Caldera
-Eamon Decker
going on. I soon found out that an 18-wheeler got jackknifed on a sharp curve, and that the road was completey blocked. They had called a tow truck from Santa Fe, and the police said it may take an hour or more to clear the road. There was a cliff on the left, and a several-hundred foot drop off to the right, so it could've taken all day to move the rig. I wasn't going to sit there all day, so I slowly and carefully turned around and decided to drive down into the Valles Caldera. The caldera was made a National Preserve in 2000, and has plenty of room for hiking, horseback riding and fishing in the summer, and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. It was cold up there at 8,000 feet above sea level, and raining on and off, but I left the warm car and started walking across the caldera. There aren't many hiking "trails"
45 Southwest Highways & Fields