New Mexico Land For Sale

Spending a day in the quiet expanse of the Valles Caldera National Preserve is worth the effort of booking reservations and getting to this remote location. Hidden beyond Los Alamos in the New Mexico Jemez Mountain Range, the 360-square-kilometer (89,000-acre) preserve is a secret garden enclosed by a geologic wonder, just two and a half hours from the Albuquerque airport. From Albuquerque, the highway winds through pueblos and red rock canyons before it reaches Jemez Springs and the preserve.

Those who wish to see the interior of the Valles Caldera preserve, or to see any of the smaller valles, might want to book a spot on one of the guided excursions, which range from group hikes to geology or archaeology tours to elk hunts or fishing clinics. If you do have the time, the geology tours are frequent and inexpensive, and worth it. The preserve geologist leads walking tours through the caldera at 10 a.m. and noon every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In an effort to make the caldera more accessible, the preserve does not require reservations for the geology tours — you just show up ahead of time and pay a modest $5 fee.

If you want to get deeper into the preserve, a hiking tour is your best bet. Most of the hiking trails are about 11 kilometers long, pass over the forested resurgent domes and offer spectacular views of the grassy meadows below. You can only hike from June through September, and hikers are advised to bring extra clothing for the elevation change. The hikes take 4 to 5 hours to complete, plus 30- to 60-minute van rides to and from the trailheads. There are guided and unguided tours, both of which require reservations and a $10 to $15 fee.

For those who prefer to sleep in beds, the town of Jemez Springs several quaint hotels and is a delightful place to spend an evening. Jemez Springs is on Highway 4, about half an hour west of the main gate of the Valles Caldera. The town rests at the feet of red rock mesas, the eroded remnants of lava flows from the caldera’s volcanic field. It is also the best place to enjoy the most inviting features of the volcanic landscape — the hot springs. The Jemez Springs Bath House in the middle of town offers indoor tubs and spa-like amenities such as massages and body wraps. Giggling Springs is a privately owned outdoor pool, and the local Zen center allows anyone to use its springs when workshops are not in session. All three are walking distance from the local hotels, and are a good choice for bathers who would rather not hike or drive after a full day in the caldera. For those who like to work for their bath, there are several hot springs on U.S. Forest Service land within driving distance of Jemez Springs. Directions and GPS coordinates are available on the Jemez Springs Web site.

After your foray into the wilds of the caldera and hot springs, head into Los Alamos which is about half an hour east of the caldera’s main gate and offers some great golf, as well as local art and cuisine. As Los Alamos was the birthplace of the first atomic weapon and is now home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory research community, nuclear history buffs may want to check out the Bradbury Science Museum, which is a good place to learn about the Manhattan Project and the current research pursuits at Los Alamos (they are many and varied).

If you’re traveling through the Desert Southwest, it’s worth a quick jaunt off the main highway into the Valles Caldera, even if only to see it from the road.

author: Jenna Beck

source: http://www.geotimes.org/july07/article.html?id=Travels0707.html