Bluewater Lake State Park, New Mexico

Since our last travel day was only 25 miles, we decided we needed a long day to make up the miles. Off we went for a whopping 230 miles to Bluewater Lake State Park near Prewitt, New Mexico. From this base camp we wanted to explore Grants and other nearby sights. When we entered New Mexico, we stopped at the welcome center to gather materials on the area. We found lots of information, but no brochures about the national monuments in New Mexico. We continued our trip to Bluewater Lake, but right at the entrance to the park, these fellows decided to slow us down!

Once in the park, we unhooked the car to drive around the campground and find a good site since we weren't familiar with the park. We found one on the ridge--we had views of the mountains to the east over the canyon and a view of the lake to the west.

It was time to relax and enjoy after a long day on the road.

The following day we geocached our way to Grants and then drove NM 53 to El Malpais National Monument and El Morro National Monument. We thought about walking this trail, but it was 7.5 miles one way across lava rock. Hmm, there has to be something a little easier and shorter in El Malpais.

About 10 miles down the road, we found the visitor center and something unusual for us to do! There were caves at in the El Calderon area--wild lava caves. We asked the ranger for information to obtain a caving permit and she gave us a permit after deeming us fit for the caving experience. We put caving on our calendar for the following day!

We continued our drive on NM53 to El Morro national Monument where Inscription rock is located.

Bob and I decided to walk the trail to Inscription Rock and then go look for a place to eat lunch. The trail was almost a mile. Here Bob is standing at the trailhead behind the visitor center--the rock is in the background.

 Here I am a little closer to the rock.

 At the base of the rocks is a tank or natural holding area for the water that drips off the rock formation. The black marks show the water trail. When explorers and Native Americans traveled through this area, this was the only water for many miles.

As they rested and replenished their water supply, the explorers carved intricate messages into the sandstone. This is not the oldest one we saw, the oldest known Spaniard signature was dated 1604. Unfortunately, many of the signatures are disappearing due to erosion of the sandstone.

Later, the Americans carved their signatures and dates.

There was another trail, but since it was past lunch time we decided to drive on---unfortunately we didn't come to a town with a restaurant until we got to Gallup! It was a very early dinner for us!

When we returned to Sol, we got everything together that we would need for our caving adventure the following day--flashlights, batteries, bike helmets, and windbreakers.

Then next morning, we were off to El Calderon to do some spelunking and to hike the crater rim trail. Yes, we took a lunch with us this time. This is the entrance to Junction Cave. I think getting down into the cave was the most difficult of all. This is a picture straight DOWN into the mouth of the cave.

Once in the mouth of the cave, you had to limbo through a metal grate. If you didn't fit, then the cave wasn't for you. There was a marked trail to help you through the cave. The white you see are the backs of the reflectors marking the trail--going in they are red, out they are white.

Since this is a lava cave, it is not wet, nor does it have stalactites or stalagmites. As the lava dripped as it dried. The dripping lava on the ceiling is rather sharp and one of the reasons for the bike helmets. The other reason is low ceilings!

In several places we had to climb over lava rocks and then crawl on our hands and knees to get to the next room.

Bob and I took a break for a photo op. We are a little blurry because the camera had to focus in complete darkness!

This was one of the areas where we had to stoop to get through to the next area.

At the point pictured below, Bob and I decided we had seen enough of the cave. To get to the next room you had to belly crawl over the rocks in one of these arches. We were almost to the end of the cave so we turned around and headed out.

 This is a view of the mouth of the cave as we were exiting.

Here I am, almost to the top! It was a great experience and if you aren't afraid of the dark or small enclosed spaces, give it a try!

Time to walk the rim crater trail (after returning our caving equipment to the car). The rim trail was about 5 miles. As we started our hike, we passed by the opening of Xenolith Cave. It was a little deeper and longer than Junction Cave, but it was also rated difficult so we kept hiking.

As we neared the crater area, we came upon the lava flow trench.

To get to the top of the crater, we had to walk some steep steps up the side. I am about halfway to the top!

 Once at the top, we had a great view of the area. And yes, the cinders and ashes were red.

 We walked around the rim before descending on the switchbacks.

 From the top, before we started the descent, Bob took a picture of the steps we climbed on the other side of the rim. You may need to click on the photo to enlarge it enough to see the steps.

We continued on our way toward the parking area. About a mile from the parking area, the Continental Divide Trail joined our trail.

 We enjoyed our day of spelunking and hiking. Our next adventure would be at Bluewater Lake State Park's trails.