May 13

I will add comments on Sunday, May 14. Well, turns out this is the 18th.

The ranger who greeted me at Fort Union NMon first spoke of rattlesnakes on the property. I commented Pecos NHS had the same orientation. The wind and cold temps this morning had me thinking no snake would be out on the surface. Well, at least I did not see any as I walked the 1.25-mile loop trail around the ruins. The original Fort Union was off in the distance, with only a couple of structures left. The second fort was built in the military style of a star-shape. It never saw action from the Civil War. The third version of the fort, which is what visitors walk through today, was the largest 19th century fort in the region, until it ended active service in 1891. These are adobe ruins, so no full buildings to walk into, and no displays to present, except for artifacts which are in the VC. Do you want to guess what passed by and through the fort? Sure enough, the Santa Fe Trail. It was in everyone’s interest to put forts right along this trail’s path. The entrance to the park is about 8 miles off I-25. Along the way I had to stop twice to prod Pronghorns off the road. They did not want to budge. Seeing that my car was bigger, once I got close enough, they gave in. The ranger said these guys do act as if they own the place.

I-25 and US87 had me at Capulin Volcano NMon in short order. The main activity is to drive to the summit of the volcano. The ranger’s first question in the VC was whether one was going to the top. If so, you have to pay an entrance fee. Staying at the VC, or hiking the one nearby trail, meant no fee. I mentioned to the ranger that Ranger Melissa from Prince William Forest Park had asked me to say “hi”. The ranger replied she hoped Melissa was doing well back east. The view from the top of the extinct volcano was breathtaking. One could see for probably one hundred miles, in all directions. Plenty of mountains to the west, and flat prairie to the other corners of the compass. A short hike takes you to the center of the summit crater, with volcanic rock all around. The 107-foot change in elevation had a few people huffing and puffing. Others were taking the 1-mile loop rim hike.

Great Sand Dunes NP and NPres is across the first ridge of Rocky Mountains. This is the place with North America’s tallest sand dunes, up to 700-feet. Medano Creek cuts between the mountains and the dunes. If there is enough flow, one can go swimming and wading, between the dune’s parking lot and the dunes themselves. By this time of year the flow was low enough that one would only get their feet wet. But there were enough high spots of compacted sand that one could step across to the dunes without getting wet. The VC was closed due to a major renovation. The temporary VC was too small for the mass of people who were visiting today. I stamped my Passport book and headed out the door to the Mosca Pass Trail. This is the only trail which provides access to the Preserve portion from the Park portion. There is one primitive road for 4WD, High-Clearance vehicles, but one has to travel a few miles in the backcountry… and I do not have such a vehicle. After hiking past the Preserve boundary marker I logged my GPS location and headed back to the car. I am not a fan of the Preserves in the park system, since they are intended only for hunting purposes, but I still have to step inside their boundaries for this Quest.