On the Road - Day 4 -- Ken throws caution to the wind

Happy St. Patrick's Day. 

There is a little coffee shop about a half-mile away from the motel that I walk to in the mornings when I'm here. Today was a beautiful morning and the coffee shop was a little busy. I got my coffee and an orange scone and sat outside and read the local free paper. I'm guessing that this must be spring break for the local schools because there are kids roaming around all day and one of the Barista/Owners had her son working the cash register...he did a fine job.



Black Volcano from JA Volcano

 I decided to take up where I left off and headed back over to the volcanoes for a nice hike and some photography. No park rangers this morning but the water company was having some kind of problem and the water truck was blocking the parking lot. I think he was just lost because he drove in and then drove out again....maybe his GPS was messed up. The three notable volcanoes (actually there are five) are very old and mostly worn down to little nubbins of lava and solidified ash but they are perched high up on the western mesa and have a commanding view of Albuquerque and the surrounding area.  Apparently this section of the Rio Grande Valley is a rift valley that is still somewhat active. The Sandia Mountains are still rising and the valley is still sinking because the western edge if the rift is pulling away to the west....that's what the sign said anyway. At any rate there have been some massive geologic forces at work here for a very long time. Apparently a large crack opened up about 150,000 years ago and the five volcanoes all erupted at once.

There was no one around when I started my hike toward the first volcano and at over 5,500 feet elevation I was huffing a little when I got started. The trails are well traveled and since you can see for about fifty miles you can't get lost.  I guess the only hazard would be falling off the rocks, getting snake bit or being blown away by the wind. Today it was so windy that it almost blew my glasses off. There is nothing to break the wind once you get on the trail until you can get behind the volcano and take shelter in the rocks. Did I say it was windy?  I think it might have been close to 40 mph sustained wind up on the exposed parts of the volcano.

The view is pretty spectacular although there was a lot of dust in the air that tended to obscure details of downtown Albuquerque. I know some of the mountain ranges in the area but I saw several more that I didn't know about.  The first (southern-most) volcano is named JA Volcano and it is a pretty steep climb to a fairly small conical and rocky top. The second is Black Volcano and it covers a larger area and has a flatter top of about an acre or so.  I didn't try to go to the third one which looks like a much steeper climb. I was pretty well wind blown and had already walked a good distance.

After my wind-blown hike I drove up to Bernalillo and then checked up on my little ranchette-ette that is sitting waiting for me to build a house on it. It is still there although the road is almost gone. I took some time and walked around a little....somebody has been spray painting the utility boxes...nothing else to do. I guess. I found a piece of an Indian arrowhead back among the trees....from what I found it must have been a pretty big blade of some sort.

This being St. Patrick's Day I decided to get a little cleaned up and go out for a Guinness and some Irish food. I ended up at O'Neill's Pub on Central Avenue and just sat at the bar and watched the activity. I met Patty (from Michigan) and Shawn (from Wisconsin) who were doing the very same thing. I'm beginning to think that no one is actually from here. I was hungry so I had a bowl of lamb stew that was very tasty. Patty had the full treatment with corned beef and cabbage that looked really good. The Guinness was OK but the bartenders were having to use little plastic cups so the experience wasn't quite as I had expected. I ended up drinking a couple of Deschutes Brewery porters as we talked and watched the very crowded pub. Lots of green and some crazy hats and even a few kilts. After a while we were serenaded by a bunch of bagpipers who came in and played some sort of Scottish tune to rousing cheers.  Go figure.  I guess this as close as they could get to Irish music. Another guy at the bar had been to Ireland and was giving me tips on what to see and do in Kerry and Dingle....but he was pretty far gone so I'm not sure about his advice.

I ended the evening at the Sandia Casino...probably the largest of the several Indian casinos in the area. I usually go to the Santa Ana Casino up in Bernalillo so this was my first time at Sandia --- the results were the same. Nothing exciting to report.

Erin go Bragh!