Join us on our tour of a number of back roads in the north east corner of NM…
We started the day at the Capulin Volcano. The Capulin Volcano is a national monument and is said to be one of the best examples of an extinct volcano crater in the world. It’s symmetry is still intact because lava did not flow from the top, but from vents at the bottom of the volcano. This volcano exploded only about 60,000 years ago. The visitor center is currently under renovation and the rangers are working out of a shed. So, we just paid our entrance fee, picked up the brochure and left.
We drove up the road 2 miles to the parking lot at the top of the volcano. There are 2 trails at the top, the Crater Rim Trail and the Crater Vent Trail. Both are paved and get quite steep in spots. The Crater Rim trail has some great views both of the surrounding area and the crater itself. Most people took in the view from the parking lot and walked down the Crater Vent trail and drove back down. In my opinion walking the rim trail was worth it and it’s only a mile.
There are also a few trails along the bottom of the volcano. We did the Boca trail which is a 2 mile unimproved (so unpaved) loop. Saw a collapsed lava tube, a couple of mule deer, and a stone fireplace. The ranger took us that the fireplace was left over from the 50’s and 60’s when that spot was a camping area.
We then headed on to Folsom. This tiny town is known for the archeological site of the Folsom man. There was a huge flood in 1908, which wiped out about half the town. Those flood waters eventually lead to uncovered animal bones in a nearby arroyo. A former black slave, George McJunkin, saw those bones and knew that they were unusual and not normal bison bones. These bones were quite, a bit larger than today’s bison. This discovery was discounted until 3 years after George died when an archeologist came to research. An arrowhead was found and the site declared significant as this was the first time tools made by humans had been found with a prehistoric animal. The Folsom museum has an archeologist that leads tours out to the site a couple of times a year. The museum itself is quite small but $1.50 fee lets you walk through. Some interesting artifacts that have been collected throughout the town’s history.
So, since we were looking at prehistoric history, we decided to make a full day out of it. Our next stop was Lake Clayton. 12 miles outside of Clayton,NM. In the ’70’s, Fish and Wildlife built a dam to provide a water source for migratory birds. In 1982, the spillway flooded and the dinosaur tracks were exposed. You can now go to Lake Clayton and take a short walk to see the dinosaur tracks. It was a neat thing to see. So, if you happen to find yourself in Clayton or just passing through it’s worth the $5/vehicle fee to check it out. The park allows fishing at the lake and also has camping with electric hookups. Just note, the only shade this place has are the covered picnic tables at each campsite. We didn’t find that this park had much else to offer, at least for our interests.
On our way back from Clayton, we decided to take another route back to our campground. This ended up being quite the tour of the dirt roads of north east NM. We passed a sign that stated we would be on a dirt road for 35 miles. I believe the route we took was closer to 50 miles on dirt roads. Will has always loved his “shortcuts”.
Getting back to the RV park, Will saw another RV similar in age to Ms. Wynn. The owners Emma and Ben, a nice couple from England came over for a visit. They were on a 3 month tour of the US. They went out and purchased an old model RV when they discovered how expensive it would have been to rent one. They were making their way across the nation having started in San Francisco and visiting a number of the National Parks along the way. Their adventure ended in the “happiest place on earth”, Disneyworld. Ben was planning to list the RV on Craigslist. So, someone got a great deal a functional 30 something year old RV complete with pots and pans.