Now that it is getting warmer we are looking to camp in
northern NM. Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs
Resort and Spa are on our agenda for an afternoon of relaxation so our
campground search starts there.
I have not been in this area for many years, I remember the
Chama River below the highway and Ghost Ranch in the general area but that is
it. My internet search reveals the
Abiquiu reservoir and campground as a possibility.
A phone call to the ranger tells me they are
open, all year actually. Yes, we should
get a campsite with the planned early Friday afternoon arrival. The campground is popular. We get one of the
two last open sites with our noon arrival.
The friendly camp hosts tell us a different story from the ranger I
spoke with earlier, this campground is very popular; arriving a few hours later
means we would be camping elsewhere. The
campground is on a cliff overlooking the lake, we see parts of the lake from
our campsite but a short hike puts us at the edge of the cliff for a commanding
view. The lake is down 10’ from normal,
not a good sign this early in the year; our particularly dry winter reminds us
of our state-wide drought conditions.
There are over 50 sites at the Riana campground, some of
them being tent only. Many of the sites
are quite close together, not terribly so, but closer than some of the other
campgrounds we have been to. After
unpacking a few items to make our campsite look occupied, we take off for Ojo
Caliente, a 30+ mile drive. Nicida has
been there a few times enjoying the hot waters, different mineral pools and mud
pool to help relax. This is new to me
but I am looking forward to something to help me relax.
The seven pools are scattered around a large courtyard. There are many deck chairs to lounge on along
with hammocks which seem to be more popular; very few of them are open.
Upon arrival back at the campground it takes less than 10
minutes to get the roof back up into living position from its lowered travel
position. After our grilled Greek
chicken, dolmadas, Kalamata olives, and salad we head out for hike along the
lake. Cameras in hand we search for
photo-ops and a way down to the lake. As
usual we wander off the path forcing us to extend our hike but we still make it
to our destination. A group of kids is
playing in the water along the small beach.
A breeze is blowing along parts of the shore but our move to a bench on
top of a hill puts us in the front row of a continuous wind. We have to pull the chin straps on our hats
extra tight so we do not have to chase after them. With no sign of letting up we hike back towards
our campsite stopping to admire the sunset with the ever changing cloud colors.
Campfires are not allowed due to the drought
conditions. We have to work on our
S’more roasting techniques by stove top yet again. We want our chocolate melted on
the crackers, not cold and hard making us depend on the marshmallows gluing everything together. By the second S’more we have come up with forming
a piece of aluminum foil into a plate holding the graham cracker above the
burner without burning the cracker. This
allows the chocolate on the cracker to slowly melt into the cracker. Mmm, good.
Our limit of two (each) is enough to satisfy our need for sweets.
The next morning we head off in the northerly direction,
within 5 miles we come upon Ghost Ranch.
The colors of the rock are indescribable. I have seen these colors only in paintings. On the way into Ghost Ranch there is a log
cabin which we stop at to photograph.
Nicida loves log cabins, so do I, so we spend time getting the ‘shot’ of
the cabin with the indescribable mesa background.
The Presbyterian Church owns Ghost Ranch. It was willed to them by one of the owners of
the property, the church is required to keep up the property and keep it open
for the public to enjoy. The walking
history tour is enlightening with stories of how it came into being and the
colorful past before, during, and after the forming of Ghost Ranch. Georgia O’Keefe owned a few acres but was a
visitor on the rest of the property. This
is the area where she got inspiration for her abstracts.
After the tour we stop for lunch before heading up the
Chimney Rock trail. Fruit, nuts,
crackers and hard boiled eggs make up our lunch. Checking our backpacks for adequate water is
the last thing we do before our hike.
 |
| Notice the hiker on the right side |
Every bend in the trail reveals more colors and rock
formations. It is easy to see why many
artists come here to paint, even today.
Approaching the top of the mesa we get a view of the entire valley
seeing all the way to Abiquiu lake.
Clouds come and go painting dark patches on the mesas and valley
floor. The colors immediately below
Chimney Rock are a family of pinks and reds mixed with spots of gray. The usually 90 minute round trip hike took us
over two hours. We were too busy taking
in the ever changing scene. I normally post at least one monochrome image from each trip. I couldn't this time... I had to show the remarkable colors in this area.
Our day did not end well.
Nicida’s phone slipped out of her pocket going into a hole on the top of
the cliff. Reaching into the hole I
could just barely get my fingers on the phone.
In trying to grasp it it slipped even further away. We quickly retreated back to the truck to get
a long stick and duct tape to spear the phone with the duct tape. Arriving back at the cliff we were not able
to see the phone where I had seen it before leaving. I was able to clear some of the soil away
with the stick but it was not buried either…
We were not able to find her phone…
We were both beat from our multiple hikes to the top of the mesa, it was
not a long hike, but the urgency of wanting to get back as soon as possible and
the let down of not being able to retrieve the phone took a lot out of us.
The next day returned to Ghost Ranch hoping someone had seen
her phone and returned it to lost and found, but no. Arriving back in Albuquerque we unpacked and
headed out to the cell phone provider to buy a new one. After several hours of problems with the
provider Nicida has a new phone.
With the exception of the phone ordeal, this was a good weekend.
Thank you for stopping by,
Mark
Update... A month after our visit, Nicida received a call from Ghost Ranch... Her phone was found at the bottom of the cliff by some hikers. After a long time charging she was able to bring the phone back to life seeing her data and images she shot that day.
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