Winter came in of a sudden two weeks ago. Temperatures plummetted to the tens and twenties at night and we got a significant dusting of snow, some of which is still lingering in shady spots. This meant no hiking last weekend, since I feared the trails would be muddy. This...Read more

I had great fun visiting the Dome Wilderness three weeks ago. Well, aside from the frightening encounter with Snakezilla, which has got me in the habit of watching very carefully where I step. But I did not actually make it to the Galisteo Formation beds here. These are of interest...Read more

Dawn over Clayton Lake. After breakfast, I inspect the hole Coonzilla ripped in our tent. As the sun comes up, a large flock of buzzards circles to the south. I don’t think the Benadryl agreed with the raccoon. >:~> The wind has died down and the tent is more or...Read more

We awake to find the weather has taken a decided turn for the worse. (Which does not surprise us; we have been following the forecasts.) The vans take us to Folsom and on towards the valley of the Dry Cimarron. We stop at Folsom Falls, which is located in a...Read more

Gary and I wake to find it overcast and somewhat cool. The ground is wet enough to show we had rain during the night. However, the tent stayed dry inside and we enjoy a camp breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and steel-cut oats. We make it to Clayton in time...Read more

This weekend was the 70th Annual New Mexico Geological Society Fall Field Conference. This is my first time to attend the event, though I’ve followed the conference series fairly closely and have often used their road logs. Gary Stradling came with me, and having a buddy on the road trip...Read more

I had originally planned to take some friends to see Arroyo del Cobre this Saturday morning, but they are closing on a house this week and need the time to make preparations. Their priorities are in the right place, of course, but that leaves me needing a Plan B. The...Read more

The forecast was for a gorgeous Saturday, and those are not to be wasted. I briefly considered hiking one of the trails from St. Peter’s Dome, but those typically remain open until January. On the other hand, the usual back country season on the Valles Caldera preserve ends in October,...Read more

A couple of months ago I went hunting for xenoliths in the Cieneguilla Basanite, and came across a somewhat puzzling dike in a road cut. So Friday I took time while returning from Albuquerque to visit the area again and take a longer look. First, some background. Don’t worry; the...Read more