Break from Winter; Day 11; Los Lunas to Moriarity
The activity today was planned just the previous night. Yesterday we went much further than planned so we had a day to kill. We decided to visit the El Malpais National Monument near Grants, NM. Our route today was Hwy 6 west and north to I-40 west to the El Malpais National Monument at exit 89. I-40 then took us east to our day's destination, Moriarty, NM.
We left our hotel at 8:30. It was a bitter cold 10 degrees and Poonie was covered with frost.
The temperature never reached 30 and at times the wind made it feel even colder. Despite the unusually cold weather for this area, we had a good time.
Our first stop at El Malpais was the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook. It overlooked an immense lava flow. I took a photo of the sign that explained how the lava flow came to be. If you want to read it click on the link to the photos at the end. To access the overlook we had to drive a mile and a half on a dirt road that was mostly snow covered.
Our next stop was the La Ventana Natural Arch. It was only a half mile round trip hike to get as close to the arch as we could.
Our third and last stop was the Lava Falls, which might make you think there was a waterfall. In fact, it was a hike over the lava flow. It was a fun mile-long hike over lava rock, which was frequently cracked, uneven, rocky and difficult to navigate. The trail was marked by stacks of lava rock. The lava flow was at about 7,500 feet elevation so us old folks were a bit gassed when we were done.
We drove through Grants, NM on the main drag and the best we could come up with for our late lunch was KFC. Our day concluded in Moriarty at 4:15, where it was 25 degrees. We drove 271 miles today.
Click here to see all the photos taken today: Day 11 Photos
We left our hotel at 8:30. It was a bitter cold 10 degrees and Poonie was covered with frost.
The temperature never reached 30 and at times the wind made it feel even colder. Despite the unusually cold weather for this area, we had a good time.
Our first stop at El Malpais was the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook. It overlooked an immense lava flow. I took a photo of the sign that explained how the lava flow came to be. If you want to read it click on the link to the photos at the end. To access the overlook we had to drive a mile and a half on a dirt road that was mostly snow covered.
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| that is Mt. Taylor in the background |
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| Chris on the sandstone bluffs looking out over the lava flow |
Our next stop was the La Ventana Natural Arch. It was only a half mile round trip hike to get as close to the arch as we could.
Our third and last stop was the Lava Falls, which might make you think there was a waterfall. In fact, it was a hike over the lava flow. It was a fun mile-long hike over lava rock, which was frequently cracked, uneven, rocky and difficult to navigate. The trail was marked by stacks of lava rock. The lava flow was at about 7,500 feet elevation so us old folks were a bit gassed when we were done.
We drove through Grants, NM on the main drag and the best we could come up with for our late lunch was KFC. Our day concluded in Moriarty at 4:15, where it was 25 degrees. We drove 271 miles today.
Click here to see all the photos taken today: Day 11 Photos
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