June 24, 2003: Western Trip, Day 4
	June 22, 2003: Western Trip, Day 2
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Well, it's Monday morning, and we are up and gone from the Super 8 about ten in the morning, heading back down into El Malpais National Monument to make a stop at Junction Cave.

Junction Cave in El Malpais National Monument

As part of the planning he did prior to our trip, Fred identified Junction Cave, an example of a lava tube, as one of the places in El Malpais NM where we should stop.

Getting to Junction Cave

Getting to Junction Cave was really pretty easy. All we had to do was get back onto I-40 west from the Super 8 and go west one exit to NM 53 south. This highway parallels the western boundary of El Malpais NM, and we took it south and then west until we reached the turnoff for Junction Cave.

You can follow our route (and look at a map of the entirety of El Malpais NM) using the scrollable park map in the window at left.

History of the El Malpais Lava Caves

El Malpais NM is one of many places in the United States where caves were created by flowing lava. Other examples are found near Sedona, AZ, and throughout Volcanoes NP in Hawaii. But the El Malpais cave system is the most extensive and most easily accessed- or at least it was until December, 2010. At that time, the Supervisor of El Malpais NM, in conjuction with a Department of the Interior directive, closed all the caves in El Malpais to recreational caving; only certain researchers and Department personnel are allowed in. The reason is that there is a fungal disease that is devasting bat colonies across the country, and research is underway to discover whether the bats in El Malpais are already infected and/or how the fungal disease is spread. The concern is that it is spread through human activity in and near the caves, but no conclusions have been drawn as yet.

We were lucky, I guess, to have been here this year, long before the closure took effect, so that we had a chance to clamber in and around the caves. If you are unaware of what a lava tube is, a short explanation will suffice. During the volcanic eruptions here at El Malpais about 3,000 years ago, lava flowed across the landscape. As lava flows slow, cooling on the surface forms a solid crust of rock that becomes stationary, even though lava continues to flow underneath. Eventually, when the eruption ceases and the lava flows stop being replenished, the still-molten rock continues to flow underneath that crust until it has emptied out. What is left is, in effect, a natural tunnel. Because the "roof" of such tunnels is usually only a foot or so thick, natural erosion can cause the roof to collapse fairly quickly, depending on whether other soil is deposited on top, vegetation growth and weather conditions. In the arid southwest, weather was no so much of a factor, but over thousands of years collapses were inevitable. The result is that here at El Malpais, as in Hawaii and Arizona, long tunnel lengths may still exist, even though sections of the roof may have collapsed. Just a short distance from the parking area, we encountered more than five collapsed tunnel sections, three of which afforded access to the existing tunnel system.

We Enter the El Malpais Lava Caves

We took pictures in and around three of the caves here at Junction Cave. Junction Cave takes its name from the fact that the series of cave openings here are all connected; they were once part of the same lava tube. There is one place where you can go from one opening to another without artificial lighting, but that was basically just at the cave opening #2 on the aerial view above. In any event, I can show you the pictures we took at each of the cave openings we visited.

Cave Opening 1:

The first cave opening we visited was our introduction to these lava tubes, and we did a fair amount of climbing around at the entrance. This one had a sign saying that the opening was closed, although we found out later that it is one of the openings that requires some preparation to enter and navigate to come out at one of the other openings. Click on the thumbnail images at left to see some of the pictures we took here.

Cave Opening 2:

At the middle opening, we found that we could climb down the rocky boulderfall at the entrance and get down into the tube itself. This was almost like going into a regular cave, although we could see light at the end when we shut off our flashlight. I supposed we could have gone through to another opening, but we didn't. I've put thumbnails for the pictures we took in this cave below; just click on them to view:

Cave Opening 3:

The third cave opening we explored was the one right next to the path down from the parking area. It was another rocky opening, and we were able to climb down into it. You could see where the tube had been, but there were lots of collapsed rocks and it didn't look as if you could get very far.

We hadn't seen much wildlife here at El Malpais, but as we were walking around and exploring the tube openings, Fred did get a picture of one of the local denizens, and his portrait is at left.

The El Calderon Cinder Cone

Another feature that you can explore at this stop is the remains of the old cinder cone that was the source of one of the eruptions 3,000 years ago- the El Calderon cone.

There was a path leading to the cone from the area around the lava tubes, and we took the five-minute walk to get down there. It was not a particularly well-defined cone, at least not from our ground-level vantage point, but in the aerial view it is much easier to spot.

We took a few good pictures here, and if you click on the thumbnails below you can have a look at them:

Well, that was about it for Junction Cave and El Calderon. Now we are off to our next point of interest- El Morro National Monument.

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The El Morro National Monument

El Morro National Monument is a fascinating mixture of both human and natural history. A natural water source has attracted wildlife and travelers for hundreds of years. The massive sandstone bluff, formed largely by ancient sand dunes, is a geologic wonder in itself. The softness of the sandstone made it easy for travelers to carve pictures, names, dates and messages. That same characteristic complicates the National Park Service mission of preserving the inscriptions in perpetuity while allowing natural processes to operate. Rain and snowmelt draining down the gentle backside of the bluff have also eroded a very pretty box canyon.

Getting to El Morro National Monument

As you can see, getting to El Morro was simplicity itself. We just continued west on NM 53 for about ten miles until we found the turnoff for the monument. Actually, we could see El Morro in the distance almost immediately on leaving Junction Cave.

Here is an aerial view of El Morro National Monument:

History of El Morro National Monument

El Morro is both an historical national monument, and one of most beautiful hiking trails in New Mexico. The trail is also accessible to people in wheel chairs. El Morro means "headlands" or "bluff". Because this was an important water source on the ancient trade route between the Acomas and Zunis, petroglyphs and drawings were inscribed on the side of a magnificent sandstone cliff.

Most of the inscriptions were carved into the rock adjacent to the natural pool, and the carvings date to the Spanish arrival in Mexico in the 1500s. Anglo-Americans later began carving their names in the 1850s and 1860s when they served in the Army and homesteaded the area.

In 1906, El Morro became a National Monument in order to protect the carvings.

Our Walk Around El Morro National Monument

When we first turned into the entrance road to El Morro, there was a turnout where we could stop and see El Morro in the distance. It was, to say the least, an impressive headland.

At the visitor center, we got some information on the trails we could follow and the hikes we could take. Basically, we learned that there is a continuous loop that would afford us visits to all the major points of interest. We'd see the natural pool and the inscriptions nearby, we'd hike to the very top of the headland to take in the views, we'd see the ruins of the ancestral Puebloan ruin, Atsinna, and we'd view the box canyon that's been created over the millennia by wind and water erosion.

We had the time and wanted to do it all, so we followed all the trails that you see on the park map at left. We began by following the sandy path that led from the visitor center over towards the base of the cliffs. There, we picked up the paved walking trail that allows everyone to at least view the pool and inscriptions.

The Inscription Trail

This trail is something that everyone who visits El Morro must do, and the paved path makes it easy for everyone. This part of the trail begins near the visitor center and winds in an arc along the eastern base of the cliffs, coming quickly to the natural pool that has been a reliable water source for centuries. Fred noticed that near to the pool there was a large stand of lemonade sumac, a plant he rarely sees.

It is in this area of the cliffs that we find most of the inscriptions that have been carved into the rock over the years by Spanish and Anglo visitors. One of the earliest was an inscription carved in the rock by Don Juan de Oņate 15 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock -- "Passed by here the Adelantado Don Juan de Oņate, from the discovery of the Sea of the South, the 16th day of April of 1605." In 1680, the Pueblos had revolted against Spanish rule and the Conquistadors had been thrown out of the colony. In 1692, a returning general carved (in Spanish) "Here was the General Don Diego de Vargas, who conquered for our Holy Faith, and for the Royal Crown, all of New Mexico at his own expense, year of 1692 ." The last Spanish inscription was carved in 1774. "Por aqui paso Andres Romero." You can see some good examples of these Spanish carvings here and here.

Anglo inscriptions date from the 1800s. The first US Army Officer to visit El Morro was JH Simpson, in 1849. His carving, which you can see here, reads: "Lt. J.H. Simpson USA & R. H. Kern, Artist, visited and copied these inscriptions, September 17th 18th 1849."

To see more pictures of the inscriptions, click on the thumbnails below:

In addition to the inscriptions during historical times, there were also carvings that were made by indigenous peoples; the age of these carvings is, of course, not precisely known. But they are of a time with the other petroglyphs found over near Albuerqueque and throughout the Southwest. Click on the thumbnails at left to see a couple of pictures of these petroglyphs.

The Headland Trail

From the pool and inscriptions, we continued on what is called "the Headland Trail," which is another 1.5 miles beyond the inscriptions and which continues to the top of the bluff. We began, though, by making our way along the paved path around the point of the headland to the ascent on the western side. Click on the thumbnails below to see some pictures of us as we rounded the point of the mesa:

Indeed, the trail began to ascend over an uneven sandstone surface and became slightly strenuous. We left the pavement behind shortly after the trail began to ascend on its 250 ft. climb to the top of the mesa. As we climbed across the western face of the mesa, we were treated to better and better vistas- and we could also see that a vertical column of rock that we'd seen from below looked as if it was about to fall off. Eventually, we came out on top of the mesa and we were rewarded with spectacular views of the Zuni Mountains, the volcanic craters of the El Malpais area, and the El Morro valley. If you will click on the thumbnail images below, you can experience some of the beautiful vistas that we saw from the top of El Morro:

The top of the mesa was pretty flat, and easy to walk around. Fred walked over to the southwest side of the mesa, and I followed him to get an excellent view of the box canyon and its central, free-standing spire of rock.

Atsinna

Another reward for hiking the Headland Trail is to be able to look at the Ancestral Puebloan ruin, Atsinna, or “place of writings on rock”. Between approximately 1275 to 1350 AD, up to 1500 people lived in this 875 room pueblo. The location was strategic—it was near the only water source for many miles and located atop a nearly impenetrable bluff. Atsinna was partially excavated in the 1950s and masons and archeologists continue to work towards its stabilization.

This hike concluded our visit to El Morro National Monument, and we stopped again at the Visitor Center to plan our next moves. The next stop on our list was to be Canyon de Chelly over in Arizona, and the drive to get there would be at least a few hours. Since it was already mid-afternoon, we thought that we would get about halfway there and look for a campground where we could stay the evening.

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We Camp on Navajo Indian Land

The map at left will show you the "lay of the land" for our trip from El Morro NM to Canyon De Chelly NM. Although the distance was only about 120 miles as the crow flies, there was no straight-line road, and the total distance was going to be more like 160 miles, which would put us there at dusk. So our plan is to head back up north, across I-40 and take Highway 264 across from New Mexico to Arizona. Crossing Washington Pass at about the state line would put us up high and in a much cooler environment, so that is where we thought we might camp.

So, first, we left El Morro NM and continued west on NM 53. Near the Zuni Pueblo, we picked up NM 602 and took that north to Gallup, New Mexico.

We crossed I-40 at Gallup and went north on US 491 to the small town of Yah-ta-Hey. There, we turned west on NM Highway 264. We took this west almost to the state line and then eagle-eye Fred spotted a small sign for the primitive camping area north of the highway on Navajo Indian land.

Although we thought there was supposed to be a $5 fee, we couldn't find anyplace to deposit it; perhaps there is some office in one of the towns nearby that you are supposed to use, but we had no way of knowing. In any event, we were the only folks in the camping area, which was about a mile north of the highway up by a small lake.

We found a flat area for the tent and I set it up while Fred got busy trying to find someplace where he could set up the little camp stove. We finally just set it up on the ground, and sat on a blanket while we had some supper. There being nothing to do except read once it got dark, we just turned in, and spent a pleasantly-chilly if not just a bit windy night all by ourselves in the mountains by a lake.

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	June 24, 2003: Western Trip, Day 4
	June 22, 2003: Western Trip, Day 2
	Return to the Index for Our Western Trip