at the preserve, so I walked
over a cattle guard and along
some tire tracks in the grass.
They graze cattle here in the
summer, so there are dirt tracks
leading to the wide open past-
ures. The tire tracks petered
out, and I walked over a hill and
down to a stream. The cold
wind swept over the flat, open
caldera and I did not see many
birds out. After my nice
refreshing hike in the valley,
I went back to the headquarters
office to warm up by the fire.
The area around the caldera had suffered from the Bandelier fire the year before, and some of the hills were covered in scorched trees. I saw some Mountain Bluebirds when I was driving back up to the highway.
It was getting late in the afternoon now, so I headed back the way I came to Albuquerque. I didn't get to visit Santa Fe, but I really liked hiking in Valles Caldera.
Hopefully I will be going to Santa Fe and other New Mexico destinations this year, and I will be sure to take pictures and include them in future editions of Travels with Eamon.
I spent the night in the Sandias, then went back to the Balloon Fiesta the next morning. Guess what? It was raining this time. The admission was free due to the inclement weather, but the balloons were grounded again. I visited the Balloon Museum which is located adjacent to the balloon field. They had some interesting exhibits on the history of ballooning. It kept raining on and off, and there wasn't much hope of the balloons flying, so I went to Old Town
Valles Caldera
-Eamon Decker
Albuquerque. Adobe churches and high-end Mexican restaurants line the streets.
I toured the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, which is a good educational family destination, complete with a giant T-rex skeleton. My last destination that day was the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. In the middle of Albuquerque, the park is a great spot for birdwatching; I saw nuthatches, hummingbirds, and hawks along the walking trails winding through gardens. The nature center building has a very comfortable room right on a pond where you can look out the window at the ducks from inside the heated nature center.
Even though I never got to see the balloons in the sky, and didn't make it to Santa Fe, it was still a good trip, and I got to see some very cool places. Oh, and I can't forget the Sandia Tramway.
March 2013 46