New Mexico Trip part 3--Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks

So how is it I spent 7 years of my life in Albuquerque and never once heard about this place?!? I only stumbled across it when I was doing a web-search of things to do in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. And boy, was I ever glad I discovered it! Tent Rocks National Monument is just a ways off the I-25 freeway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It is located on the Cochiti Pueblo and is very easy to get to. There are no dogs allowed and there is a fee station which charges a minimal $5 per car. The road from the fee station up to the parking lot is about 5 miles of seriously bumpy, washboard roads that I guarantee you won't get over 20 mph on! Make sure you add that to your drive time!

While on this bumpy ass road we came across a real treat! I slammed on the brakes, grabbed both kids and showed them this little beauty...
Since it was out roaming around I can only assume it was a male looking for a mate. He was HUGE and AWESOME! The kids loved him! The Monkey Man was impressed that I noticed him, but then again, it isn't terribly hard to spot a spider the size of a small cat!

We were definitely eager to start our hike once we arrived, so we grabbed our water bottles and backpacks and headed out! You have 2 choices, the cave loop and the canyon trail. The signs are a little misleading, we thought the canyon trail was also a loop, so we hiked and hiked and hiked, then realized in order to get out, we had to turn around and hike the entire canyon back! It was awesome, but probably not the wisest choice with a 3 year-old! But as you will see later, the views were worth any hardship!

On the hike in, this was one of the first formations that we saw. The small rock at the peak looks like a football helmet to me!

A lone manzanita bush

I'm a big fan of old dead trees, so I couldn't pass up a shot of this old guy.

My little Sunshine Girl discovering the tickly flowers of a chamisa bush

And once we got to the mouth of the canyon we found this incredible old tree with exposed roots. You can just imagine the wind and sand and water that eroded away all of the earth around it! It amazes me that it's still standing!

The following shots are various views from within the canyon. At some points it was so tight you had to scoot sideways to get through passages and then it would suddenly open up and blow your mind! The Monkey Man had a great time climbing and crawling through it and the Piggy was not about to be left behind. She stayed on her brother's heels all the way to the summit!




I can attest that this was no easy hike. Lots of places you had to duck or crawl, lots of tight spaces to squeeze through and at the end of the trail it was straight up the side of a mountain, but that's what we were there for, so we did it and these were the amazing views we were rewarded with!


Now I will be the first to tell you the hike back out is a bitch! Getting down from the summit is a little precarious, mostly with a 3 y.o. perched on your back! But although it was a long hike back to the car, every minute was worth it! There was definitely an energy in this place and at times you could swear that the wind was whispering to you as you made your way through the canyon! For me personally, it was one of those adventures that made me so happy that I have my kids! It is because of them that I want to explore more of my world. I want them to see all of the amazing things I never saw growing up. So if you are ever in the Albuquerque or Santa Fe area, I highly recommend that you take this day trip! Oh yeah, be sure to pack a picnic! There's not much in the way of restaurants out there! Happy hiking!