Sometimes the wanderlust really gets the better of me, and I end up improvising a trip into the hills. This was one of those times. I was in Albuquerque Saturday and finished up around 2:00. I had vague plans to visit the Veterans Memorial Lookout at Kashe-Katuwe Tent Rocks National...Read more

St. Peter’s Dome is a remote but geologically fascinating area that I’ve tried to visit before. This time, I was determined not to be deterred by bad roads. But first, the usual word from our sponsor: St. Peter’s Dome is one of the San Miguel Mountains, a cluster of small...Read more

Winter is a good time to hike areas at lower elevations. This particular weekend I was already in Albuquerque on other business, the weather was warm (if windy), and the Albuquerque volcanoes beckoned. Ironically, I lived just north of here, in the Ventana Ranch subdivision, for five years, but I...Read more

Not all my rockhounding takes the form of big day-long trips. Particularly at this time of year, when things get busy, days are short, and weather is unreliable, I’m more inclined to take frequent short trips than occasional long trips. I’ll be showing photographs here from several recent short hikes...Read more

Not all my rockhounding takes the form of big day-long trips. Particularly at this time of year, when things get busy, days are short, and weather is unreliable, I’m more inclined to take frequent short trips than occasional long trips. I’ll be showing photographs here from two relatively short trips,...Read more

This trip was to the Abiquiu Embaymant and northeast Jemez, mostly to see some of the Mesozoic and late Paleozoic rocks exposed along the southeastern boundary of the Colorado Plateau. After packing up the usual supplies — a backback with binoculars, a lunch, camera, cell phone, geologist’s hammer, loupe, water...Read more

With a few other stops along the way. This trip was to the southwest Jemez to see some of the Precambrian rocks exposed along Guadalupe Canyon. This area is along the boundary of the Jemez volcanic field and the Sierra Nacimiento uplift, and has the most accessible Precambrian outcrops in...Read more

This trip was to the Tusas Mountains of northern New Mexico. These mountains lie more or less directly north of my home in White Rock and have one of the two closest exposures of Precambrian rocks to the Jemez Mountains. I used my Friday off to take care of my...Read more