I was reluctant to make a post dedicated to Blake’s Lotaburger on the New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail. Blake’s are everywhere here in town and I’ve had them a million times before, but the ‘Rona has kept us from making proper stops anywhere else, so I thought I’d go ahead and do this now.
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Petroglyph National Monument, Boca Negra Canyon Trail
January 10, 2021
I met up with Alan at the Information Center of Petroglyph National Monument on the west side of Albuquerque at around 1:00. We went in to the visitor’s center and I picked up a couple of trinkets for my souvenir wall before carpooling out to the trailhead.
The Boca Negra Canyon trailhead was another 7 minute drive north of the visitor’s center. When we arrived, it was in the high 30s; cold and overcast. I was layered up with jeans, wool socks, and undershirt, a waffle weave Henley, a flannel and my hoodie. I also wore a beanie, and had light gloves with me, but didn’t need them.
AllTrails and the NPS website both have this trail marked as “easy” so I was expecting a walk on par with my first hike on the Copper Trailhead Loop. That was not the case.
The trail was a very primitive trail with only a couple of cement stairs strewn throughout, and a few handrails of varying integrity, from wooden built handrails to metal cables run through rods loosely stuck into the ground. We found ourselves climbing over volcanic boulders and rocks at grades as much as 46% (which, considering the Copper Trailhead Loop maxed out at 25%, and I fought with that…)
I was undeterred though. We made the trek, stopping periodically to take pictures and for me to catch my breath (thanks Alan for being so patient while I worked through the strain.)
Along the way, we encountered several petroglyphs carved into the volcanic rock by early Puebloans and early Spanish settlers.
A little over halfway through the hike, we encountered a spur in the trail that took us further up the mesa for what would likely have been a wonderful vista of the Sandia mountains to the east, if not for the low clouds obscuring the view. We did get to see the Rio Grande Valley… and a lot of people’s back yards. The trails at Petroglyph are largely embedded in quite suburban areas.
We made our way down the side of the hill and landed back at Alan’s truck about 40 minutes after our departure. We decided to go scope out the Piedras Marcadas Canyon Trailhead, which was another 15 minute drive north of the Boca Negra trailhead, and even further into a suburban neighborhood. The NPS website has this one marked as “easy to moderate” so I might not be able to do this one just yet.
Once we got back to my car at the visitor’s center, Alan and I made plans to meet once a month (to start) to get out and do something. We have tentatively scheduled our next outing for February 20 but we’re not quite sure what we’re going to do yet.
But until we do it, here are some pictures from Sunday’s outing, including a handful from Alan:
2020 Year in Review
Before this year, I was constantly filled with dread, worry and stress. I often found myself angry at the positions in which I regularly found myself and pessimistically saw that there was never any way out of it. Depression and despair were regular guests in my psyche. That changed on January 26, 2019.
Good Riddance 2020
What is there to say about 2020? I think enough has been said about it so let’s just move on and look forward to 2021.
Copper Trailhead Loop
December 5, 2020
The Copper Trailhead sits in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains and spawns four separate trails through the desert landscape.
Almont, CO
November 19-23
Brandy decided to treat me with an escape to Three Rivers Resort for my birthday a couple weeks ago.
Hiking
I’m not a hiker. I never have been. Never been a runner either. Hell, I’ve hardly been a walker in my life. Closest I’ve gotten to any regular outdoor activity was before I got my drivers’ license when I had a bike that I rode everywhere. As soon as I got a car though, phew, forget it!
Ruidoso, NM
November 7-8, 2020
It seems it’s been a while since we’ve gotten out of town. My last post was in early September. We did make a short trip up to Gunnison, CO, in early October but I didn’t take any pictures and it was a rather uneventful trip, so I didn’t bother making a post about it. However, that means it’s been nearly a month since we’ve traveled. Unacceptable.
So we made a fairly last minute decision to take a quick, overnight trip to Ruidoso.
Cripple Creek, CO
September 3 – 7, 2020
We took a trip through Colorado at the beginning of September, mainly looking for tiny towns where we might want to move to at a later time.
Taos, NM
August 29, 2020
Brandy and I woke up early on Saturday in anticipation of visiting the farmer’s markets in downtown Albuquerque and in Los Ranchos on Rio Grande Blvd. We got to the market downtown and it was PACKED. Way too many people for our taste, so we bypassed it and went straight to the market in Los Ranchos. There was hardly anyone at that one so we got out and browsed around a little. We wound up with some gigantic squashes, a watermelon and a cantaloupe. We started heading up Rio Grande with the expectation of heading home when Brandy said, “Let’s drive to Taos.”
So we drove to Taos.