US50 Phase 1: Capulin Volcano National Monument

Oct 19 Still in Raton tonight.

I went over to Capulin Volcano NM this morning. This national park encompasses the entire volcano and, in addition to the pretty decent interpretive center, they’ve got three well marked trails: one around the rim, one on the lava flow to the south and the third is in an area called the Boca where multiple flows occurred over many years; as well as a more primitive trail/bushwhack encircling the base of the volcano. I saw a number of mule deer here as well as loads of turkeys along the roads.

The road to the rim looks so civilized in
this overhead view. It's not!

The rim trail is exactly what it sounds like. Circling the crater at about 8000 feet, this trail is actually paved but not exactly easy what with the elevation changes. Plus the rim is not exactly wide in a lot of places and it’s a long ways down! There are some interpretive signs along the way and, of course, fantastic views of pretty much the whole northeast corner of New Mexico as well as bits of Colorado and Oklahoma. In fact while up there my cell phone picked up a tower from somewhere far enough to the east to switch it back to the central time zone. Before I figured that out I couldn’t understand how it got so late so fast!

I met a Canadian couple up there at the rim that were driving a small Class C. Apparently they had tried to buy a Sportsmobile but were told it wasn’t certified for sale in Canada. That seemed surprising to me but who knows. They had been on the road for 5 months and were just about to make a sprint for Toronto and home so were playing hooky up there on the volcano for one last hike and would be Walmart-ing it that night when they finally did stop.

The drive up to the rim is a bit of an adventure. The road spirals around the volcano in a steady climb and most of the trip up is not protected by a guard rail. From a distance the sides of the volcano don’t look too bad, but from the road they look pretty much straight down! On the way up you are on the outside of the narrow road (So narrow hikers and bikers are not allowed on the road after the gates open to vehicle traffic.) and constantly looking out the windshield at nothing since the road bends to the left the whole way up. It kind of makes your toes tingle! The trip down is much easier as now you are on the inside, up against the mountain.

The lava flow trail is at the southwestern base of the volcano at about 7000 feet. There are no guides or interpretive signs but there are some interesting views along the way. I had a mule deer nearly run me down on this trail. I guess I was between it and the shade of its favorite tree and the deer, apparently not the patient type, was unwilling to wait until I got out of the way!

The Boca trail, which I think is the best of the three marked trails, wanders around the western base of the volcano where several different types of flows occurred at different times. If you do this trail definitely pick up the trail guide at the visitor’s center. It might only be a mile or so long but I spent 3 hours on this trail.

After leaving the monument I went north to the little town of Folsom. Just west of here, after a flood pretty much destroyed the town in the mid 1900’s, is where a cowboy and amateur archeologist  out surveying fence damage, discovered mastodon bones exposed by the flood. That find quickly led to the discovery of the earliest sign of man in North America.

There is a small museum in Folsom but, despite the hours posted on the door, it was locked up, so, leaving town undereducated, I headed west on SR72. On leaving Folsom this road follows the Dry Cimarron Creek for a few miles then climbs the eastern edge of the massive Johnson Mesa, the largest mesa in New Mexico. After crossing the grazing lands on top of the mesa the highway falls off the western edge and eventually wanders back into Raton where, you guessed it, I checked back into ‘my’ campsite. Much of SR72 has a 35 MPH speed limit and there are a few 15 MPH switchbacks. 50 MPH is about as fast as you want to go anywhere along this road though there are sections posted at 55. A much more interesting drive than US64 which sticks to the lower elevations to the south. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I really like the color and texture contrasts in this photo
taken in an old camping area near the base of the volcano
(Only day-tripping is allowed now days.)

 

 

 

The Rim trail looks like easy walking, but it's not that easy!

 

 

 

 




It get's pretty windy up here on the rim!

Zoomed in you can see that these people
have one cool back yard!

US50 Phase 1: Sugarite Canyon NM

Oct 18 Spent most of the day in Sugarite Canyon today.

This canyon is only a few miles east of Raton and runs north into Colorado. The New Mexico portion is a state park and includes the site of an abandoned coal mining town. There is an interpretive trail through the town and, for those willing to take it, yes me included, a spur trail up to a couple of the coal mines themselves. I spent quite a bit of time hiking around up there, mostly because it was pretty interesting but in part because it’s up over 7000 feet and my flat-lander lungs needed the extra time.

To stress my lungs even more I went back down the canyon a ways to Soda Pocket Rd which climbs up to an even higher altitude near the western rim of the canyon. There's a primitive campground of the same name at the end of the road though I guess it's closed for the season since the road is blocked off. Since my map showed a trailhead up there somewhere I parked and jumped the barrier. The  Vista Grande Nature Trail was right where the map said it would be. There was hardly anyone around in the park and I didn’t see anyone at all when I was on this trail, which on one hand is great, but when you are standing there looking at a pile of fresh bear scat and you know there is no one within a mile of you it can get your heart racing. But then again, that was pretty much what it was like all that time I spent hiking in Alaska by myself. So, buck up and get to it.

I have begun thinking about getting a personal GPS for hiking though. Several times now on this trip lack of available maps made hiking a little more risky than necessary and it would have been reassuring to know I could check on where I was and also have a pointer to where I left the van.

Between all the hiking at altitude and periodically scaring the crap out of myself thinking about four-legged trail-mates, I was pretty well wore out by now went back to Raton and checked myself back into the same campsite I was in last night. If you ever find yourself at the Raton KOA in a class B or pickup camper they have a private little site tucked there between one of the cabins and what I take to be a semi-permanent care-taker's site, that is shaded, away from the main camping area, nice and quiet, and convenient to the main building .

 

 

US50 Phase 1: Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site

Oct 17 Bent's Old Fort NHS

 

I spent the morning at the Bent's Old Fort NHS just a few miles east of La Junta on the north side of the Arkansas River.

 

Nicely done! The current 'fort' is a reconstruction built on the original foundations, of what was actually built as a trading post with fort-like properties. The reconstruction used detailed plans drawn up by an army officer during the trading post's heyday. I have to say, they did a good job! They have also put together a pretty comprehensive self-guided tour. And for those so inclined, they also have a 1.5 mile trail along the river and through the willows. Of course I had to wander that as well.

 

The parking area and restrooms are about a quarter mile from the entrance to the fort but if mobility is a problem there's a call box and someone will come get you in a golf cart, which looks a bit strange since the staff is in period costumes! Just to the left of the entrance is a small room where a short film about the fort can be watched, and this is the last of the modern inventions as the rest of the fort is as it was when operating.

 

I'm still looking for a replacement battery for my camera; today I was only able to take about 750 photos in and around the fort before it quit on me, but the small town of La Junta is not where I will find one.

 

As I leave US50 behind until next season I spent part of the afternoon driving southwest on about 85 miles of state highway that has a permanently installed barrier just outside town (La Junta) so it can be closed (Warning, no snow plowing 7PM to 5AM). The ground here started out like the western half of Kansas/eastern sliver of Colorado but soon started to get some texture to it as the first of the mountains, some 80 miles to the west, became visible. As I traveled down US385 between La Junta and Trinidad I passed a couple hundred cows, a dozen occupied houses, 6 cars and 0 trees. Not a bad ride!

 

Trinidad was my initial destination and driving through the brick streets of downtown was pretty interesting, but turns out both nearby campgrounds are part of motels which just doesn’t appeal all that much as they are often afterthoughts and sometimes the 'facilities' are simply an empty room and you have to go ask for the key every time you need it. Raton was only 20 miles away over the pass so I humped myself over the mountains, reaching 9000 ft. at the pass, and ended up at a nice KOA on the south edge of town. I even had a decent WIFI for the first time in nearly a week!

 

US50 Phase 1: Ulysses KS

Oct 16 Got the heck out of Dodge, literally this time.

 

This morning I packed up and headed west again. US50 follows the bluffs on the north side of the Arkansas River along this stretch and I went through several small communities focused on farming and cattle. But, having been there-done that several years before, this time I skirted around the southern edge of Garden City rather than going on into the heart of town and left US50 heading south on another side trip.

 

Once I climbed up and away from the river which is still headed west here, the land flattened out and I could see forever. There were no communities along here, small or otherwise, just feed lots and grain elevators. I wonder where the people that work at these places come from?

 

After 30 or so miles of that I turned west again, the turn marked by another feed lot, and ran some more of the Kansas plain until it fell away into the town of Ulysses sitting on the north bank of the North Fork of the Cimarron River.

 

My destination was the Grant County Museum Complex which I had spotted on my map. (Update, Feb 2014; unfortunately in the new version of my electronic map the museum complex is covered up with the symbol for the county ambulance office. The museum symbol is still there but you have to zoom in very close to see it. Sure am glad this wasn't the case with the map version I was using at the time or I might have missed this little gem! They don't seem to have one of their own but the best web site for them can be found here: http://kansastravel.org/grantcountyadobemuseum.htm )     A search on the web showed it includes an adobe building that is the main part of the museum along with a one-room school house and the front half of a hotel that was one of the key features of the town at one time. That sounded interesting enough to warrant the detour.

And it was.

 

The all volunteer staff has done an excellent job of putting this thing together and it is totally free (But after touring the place you just can't help but drop something into the contributions jar.) The museum covered everything from dinosaur fossils and stone tools of the earliest human inhabitants all the way up to a room full of 1950’s artifacts. (Not sure I’m too happy about the toys of my youth being considered fodder for a museum though!)

 

That kept me busy for a while then I ran into my first person-less gas station. This wasn’t one of those convenience stores that leave the pumps on for credit card sales after they close for the night. This place was built from the ground up with tanks, pumps and nothing else. Not even a shed for broom! You want fuel, they got fuel, you want anything else, just move on. . .

 

Leaving Ulysses I closed the loop by heading back north on SR25 to hook back up with US50 and continue on west. Two counties short of the Colorado border I drove into Mountain time. Here the change-over occurs on the border between Kearny and Hamilton counties, right where the town of Kendall sits straddling the county line. Wonder how they reconcile what time to operate under!

 

I crossed into Colorado and stopped in La Junta at a campground where the WIFI doesn’t seem to work. Between the nearly unusable WIFI at the campground in Dodge and the completely unusable connection here I’m getting way behind on researching points of interest. But to be fair, this campground recently changed hands and the new owners are expanding by adding additional sites towards the back of the property.

 

Originally I was thinking of spending a couple nights here in La Junta, (Can’t really remember why now.) but for some reason only booked one, which is a good thing as it looks like I may be moving on tomorrow looking for a working internet connection for more trip research. . .(Not like I can go down to the nearest Starbucks out here! And I’ve only seen one McDonalds today and got no WIFI signal from it.)

 

I'm now ready to accept that I won’t be able to complete the mountain portion of US50 this season unless I want to just drive right straight through, and that’s not the plan. So I have decided I need to break off and head south where things are not shutting down for the season, or at least aren’t shutting down just yet.

The Edwards Hotel



With its inviting front porch



And elegant staircase



But surprisingly rudimentary kitchen