Some more hiking, and the Chain of Craters dirt road

I found a really nice campsite here, called Joe Skeen, where I had a quiet and restful night, and thrilled to be spending a second night here. It comes with a covered pavilion and picnic table where I continue to do some of my wood carving pieces. I pre-cut these 5“ x 5“ squares of pine and redwood where I am carving and adding some texture for a series I will finish before my studio tour this fall. So even though I’m on “vacation,” I still take some work with me, and I will continue to make creative progress.

I am on route 117 and visited the Sandstone Bluffs overlook which gave me the willies, since it’s quite high and the winds are incredibly strong. Though beautiful. I didn’t stay long as I headed towards the very end of the road within this park called Chain of Craters backcountry byway. I drove about 45 minutes and then decided to turn around as I was hoping to reach the lava fields that I was told about by my neighbor at El Morro. I’m sure they are further ahead, but at some point driving on a dirt road is incredibly difficult, tiring, jolting, and hard on the Sylver Gypsy. Nonetheless, it was a peaceful world and untouched rural experience. And lo and behold I had cell phone reception where I could take some calls and conduct some business. That in itself is pretty unbelievable! At some point there is a true escape, but a trade off as well.

There was a windmill and water tank along the way, where I encountered two hikers. One from Oregon, one from Utah, young men with backpacks, out here in the middle of literally nowhere. I couldn’t help but stop to see if all was well, and it was, but just in case they needed anything I was there too assist. By the time I headed back to the main road, the one from Oregon was eating his lunch out of a pan so I figured they were A-OK. At that point I headed on to a hike called Lava Falls Area. A lava field that had the newest growth with spring flowers. The trail was marked by many cairns, although some slots in this lava looked fairly deep. God help anyone that stepped into the slots or a little puppy like Jo Jo, who I continually had to scooch over these deep crevasses. Yikes! The hike was approximately 1.1 miles. But it got to be a little more challenging. So, nearly at the halfway mark, we turned around and went back. It’s warm out here, and in direct sun it’s really hot, so we stay hydrated and wet each other down and kept plugging along to get our exercise.

Our next stop was the La Ventana natural arch. A very easy trail that seemed newly renovated with a sidewalk to a vantage point to witness this massive rock arch. There’s no way to climb up on the arch unless you were a rock climber, but the views were incredible set against the saphire blue sky. I made it back to Joe Skeen campground where I continued my woodworking, and winding down my El Malpais travelled days.









































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