Every time we drive through the northeast corner of New Mexico, I am enchanted.
Velvety green fields, unlike any I’ve seen in Texas, are intermittently filled with unusual mountains.
No farming, but occasional herds of cows, goats, or sheep can be seen. Nestled at the foot of some of the mountains are beautiful ranch homes.
And then the distinctive shape of extinct volcanoes emerges on the horizon.
In fact, 1000 square miles of Northeastern New Mexico and Southeastern Colorado to Oklahoma are full of them.
Sierra Grande
We usually stop for lunch at a roadside rest stop at Sierra Grande, the largest volcano in Northeastern New Mexico, with an elevation of 8720 feet it can apparently be seen from Texas on a clear day.
We are always delightfully chilled when we open the car door.
Thrilled to be cooling off in the middle of the summer as we escape the Texas heatwave, we grab our jackets and stretch our legs to check the view from the lava trail to the peak.
Capulin Volcano
Further on we drove by Capulin Volcano which even has a two-mile road winding around the mountain to the rim which I’d love to do sometime!
Capulin’s elevation is 8182 feet above sea level, with a rim about a mile wide, and the crater about 400 feet deep.
The views reach to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the night sky is certified as one of the darkest in the country.
Apollo 16 astronauts Charlie Duke and John Young did some of their geology training here in preparation for their trip to the moon.
En Route to Snow-covered Rockies
After a brief stop to enjoy the scenery, we push west, until eventually we catch sight of the snow-covered Rocky Mountains!
Excitement thrills our souls at this point!
As we cross into Colorado we drive through a mountain pass, rising high while our ears pop.
From the side of the steep cliff we look down into all the pine trees, excited about all the adventure ahead.
