… at Kasha-Katuwe National Monument. We’ve seen the gorgeous photos of these rocks displayed everywhere since we arrived in Santa Fe. So a visit with camera in hand was high on Frank’s to do list. Like most adventures, it was a little more difficult than that. The Monument is partially on the the Cochiti Pueblo. Kasha-Katuwe means “white cliffs” in the traditional language of the pueblo. The other-worldly rock formations are the result of volcanic eruptions. The rock spires (called hoodoos) are topped by boulders that protect the softer stone below. Some hoodoos are 90 feet tall, sculptured by wind and water.
People have occupied the area for 4000 years. We decided to start our visit at the end of the trail, at the Veterans’ Memorial Scenic Overlook. Getting there required driving 8 miles over a rough gravel road, a single lane in spots.
The view was nice, but left us wanting more tent rocks. Working our way through the gravel, we discovered they’d been behind us all the time.
We parked and deciphered the map. The photo Frank wanted required a trek to the end of the Slot Canyon Trail, 1.5 miles of rugged walking including a steep climb. Frank completed the last 3/4 of a mile alone … sandals were not adequate footwear. Plus it was quite claustrophobic squeezing through some of the narrow canyons. The final view was spectacular.
After the walk and climb, we headed back to Santa Fe. Here we need a quick note about pinon nuts. They come from the pinon, New Mexico’s state tree. They are taken from pine cones, like pine nuts. Vendors have small stands in parking lots selling little bags of roasted pinon nuts. After reading about them while waiting for the Sandia Tram, we wanted to try them and bought a bag. That’s when we discovered that they are not sold shelled. All it took was one mouthful of very hard nutshell fragments. The vendor, who I’m sure was laughing hysterically inside, patiently showed me how to shell them without breaking my teeth. I’m convinced our small bag holds thousands of pinon nuts. They’ve become our staple car snack. We’ll probably have at least half a bag left when we head east….
After our pinon nut snack on the drive back to Santa Fe, we had a lovely dinner at the Santa Fe Bar & Grill, close to the hotel. And we ended it with a hot fudge and pinon nut sundae!
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