Sugarite Canyon State Park | New Mexico

Sugarite Canyon State Park is outside the town of Raton in northeast New Mexico.  It's really not that far out, but worlds away from the interstate and the town.  It's a canyon, which means on each side of the road, there are mountains that tower over the campsites on both sides of the road.  It's a small park, but I was able to get a site in the overflow parking. This means no hookups, which is fine with me because that means it's free with the yearly park permit, instead of having to pay $4 for the utilities!  Either way, it's a bargain!

Campsites are not on the lake, but the overflow parking area has a wonderful little stream running in back of the sites, so you can hear it when you're outside. 

It's bear country, but I didn't get to see one - probably just as well, since I was thinking on some of my hikes that I really didn't want to see one face to face!  I did see a few deer and a little faun, usually while driving, so I didn't get a good photo.  

A little chipmunk was sitting on a rock by the lake, just staring out at it and chirping every few seconds.  He really didn't worry about me sitting there taking photos of him.

The lakes were beautiful, the smaller one was actually in Colorado, but it wasn't a long hike.....

I liked the larger lake, on the New Mexico side, it seemed more picturesque.....

The hike to the coal mines was interesting, once I was able to find one of the mines.  Of course, they are blocked off now.   

 

This little building was where all the explosives were stored.

 

One of the impressive objects were the hoists that hauled the coal down the steep side of the canyon and then winched the empty cars back up.  I have not seen these at other mines, but possibly they didn't have the steep terrain.

The view from the top where the mines are was great.

From high above the valley, you could see what's left of the foundations of some of the houses.  There was a whole town of homes and other buildings for the miners.

One miner built this oven for his wife so that she could bake bread, which she sold to other families.

An interesting note - the symbol for the mines was the swastika.  Of course, this was before WW II.  Back in the early 1900s, it was a sign of good luck, and I even noticed them on a building in town, trimming the 6 story structure.

Another hike took me to a huge mesa, the views were great!

And then the storms started moving in - this is monsoon season......

 

In the small visitor center of the park, I found this little item.....

And heading into the park, I found this wonderful old barn - I just love these old abandoned buildings.

Classic Car Show - Cortez, Colorado

 

The town of Cortez, Colorado isn't very big, but they put on a pretty good classic car show. I've been to quite a few shows and I actually saw something there that I haven't seen anywhere else. The photo above and the two below are a 1942 Lincoln Continental. The owner has restored it, but instead of keeping to the original design, he has made the hood hinge at the front and the trunk is hinged from one side. The car doors have been changed to suicide doors. It was beautifully done, but I think I would have preferred it to be original as much as possible, especially since he said there were less than 200 built that year. He said it took him about 20 years to restore it.

This next car is interesting, especially the bullet holes, you can see them on the passenger windshield and above the door.

This Studebaker was in great condition and is interesting because it was the last of its kind to be built in 1963, and the plant was closed the day after this one came off the line. There were only 46 of these built during that year and this one is claiming only 48,000 original miles.

 

This next one is something I've never seen at a car show......
 

 

There were quite a few Mustangs, a VW, street rods and muscle cars. Below are a few that caught my eye - some of which would cause me to revive my dormant lead foot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

McPhee Reservoir, Colorado

I wish I could say that the above photo was the scene out my window, but it's only a short walk away. I've been camping at McPhee Reservoir, a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campground just outside Dolores, Colorado. Campsites are mostly without hookups, but there are some with electrical hookups.  There are water faucets throughout the park with water that actually tastes OK, a good change from Arizona. 

I have seen lots of jackrabbits and little cotton tails here as well as deer, including some little fawns.  And, of course, hummingbirds.

 

There are hiking trails that overlook parts of the reservoir, which is actually a river but looks like a lake.

 

 

It's close to some sites such as Hovenweep National Monument and The Canyons of the Ancients National Monuments, both of which include pueblo ruins. It's also close to two small towns which have activities of their own.  Plus, they have great libraries for internet.

 

Hot Air Balloons in Cortez, Colorado

I found out there would be a Hot Air Balloon Fest in a nearby town this weekend, so I called for information. I have been to a couple small balloon launches and it was fun watching the setup. The woman who answered the information phone told me where it was and then asked me if I wanted to be on a crew. I told her that sounded like fun and that I would like to do it.

When I arrived at the park launch site, at 6 AM (when I'm usually still sleeping), it was overcast and at the pilot briefing, there was a discussion if they should even launch because rain was predicted. The general consensus was that if the individual pilots felt it was safe, it was their decision.

I was set up as crew with a couple other people and trudged across the soggy lawn to the small trailer containing the balloon we were to set up. The first thing out of the trailer was the wicker basket, about 4' tall and maybe about 4' x 3'. It has a sturdy wooden floor, and it was easy to tip out of the trailer, but heavy to move away from the trailer. It had two large propane tanks in it also. The next thing to come out was a huge canvas bag containing the balloon itself, which they call an "envelope". It was heavy to move also, but as we started unloading it and moved the bag down the field, it got lighter. 

 

Luckily, one of the guys crewing was a balloon pilot also, so he knew how to set things up. The other two of us were given jobs as needed. While the two pilots set up the basket, the other novice and I were given the task of spreading out the balloon, which was laying on the ground. By then, the basket was laying down and the burner connected to 2 large propane tanks in the basket. There was a large fan powered by a Honda generator and while we held up the bottom part of the balloon (with a flexible hoop inside it), so that the fan could pump air into the balloon to inflate it. This took quite a while and my arms were getting tired, but it was fascinating to watch it inflate. There was so much material lying on the ground that we could look inside and see how much was left to inflate. 

When we finally got it all inflated, it was still lying on the ground, but when the burners were turned on and shot warm air into the balloon, it started to slowly rise. The pilot wanted to move further into the field to a less crowded spot, so he turned on the burners so the basket lifted off the ground slightly while the crew maneuvered it to where he wanted it.

Since he didn't have any paying customers, he said he was only going to do a couple take offs and landings and asked the first crew member if she and her 5 year old son wanted a ride. She wanted to go, but the son was scared so they declined. He turned to me and asked if I wanted a ride - I hopped into the basket (not as easy as it looks) as fast as I could.

 

I've been wanting to go on a balloon ride, but they're really pricey out here. I was so glad that I had this chance for a short trip. The only photos I had a chance to take were during the trip, since I was working during the assembly. It was a bit of a strange feeling to be floating along in the open air with just the sound of the burners once in a while when he needed a lift.

 

Halfway through the trip, he told me he was going to land and give the other pilot a ride. He brought it down in an open field, with just a few bumps. The other passenger got in and then I got out and headed over to the chase vehicle. We then followed the balloon to another open field where it seemed like most of them were landing. The second landing was a bit more bumpy, and when he finally set down he must have hit a soft spot because the basket tipped almost halfway over. I'm glad I had the first landing!



Then, of course, we had to pack it all up and stow it in the trailer. It was hard work for such a short trip, but I can see why these people fly balloons. I could get used to floating through the sky with very little noise. I guess I'll have to check to see where these balloon festivals are being held.

 

 

 

 

The Galloping Goose

As I was driving down the main street of Dolores, Colorado, I noticed the vehicle shown in the photo above. I decided I had to check it out, to see what it was, since it looked like two separate vehicles attached together.

This turned out to be one of several vehicles that were used starting in the 1930s for about 20 years on the local railroad for both passengers and freight.  It was powered by gasoline and ran between Durango and Ridgway. Some of them were built with an open flatbed behind the front area, but this one had been converted to carry passengers. After World War II, the Goose was used for tourism until 1951.

The inside of the front had a few passenger seats, along with the driver seat. The second photo below shows the passenger area in the back, accessible by the rear door.

It's amazing what you'll find in these little towns.

 

Indian Ceremonial Dances

The town of Cortez, Colorado has an active cultural center, providing programs of local interest. There is a courtyard with an open area for shows, what looks like a pueblo is actually a painting on the flat side of the building.

I attended a program the other evening featuring typical Ute Indian ceremonial dances. It was a family affair, the father was one of the dancers, the son was on the drum and vocals and his two daughters were also dancers.

The son explained the traditional dress of the dancers. The headdress of the father is made of porcupine quills.  If he had been doing a certain old traditional dance, the object in his right hand would have contained fresh scalps if the U. S. Government had not outlawed the use of scalps. So, they don't do their scalp dance any longer.

The daughter dressed in the flowered dress has on what they call a breastplate, which was used during conflicts to deflect arrows. Since it's made of buffalo bones, it also makes it hard for someone to grab her around the waist. The footwear is typically beaded moccasins.

The younger daughter did a couple dances, one was a very energetic dance called "Butterfly", which included lots of turns and swirls of her fringed cape.

 

 

The older daughter did a couple more sedate dances, but were very traditional.  She carried a fan in one hand, and in the other, a Spanish shawl.  The Spanish had quite a bit of influence on the early Indian tribes; as a matter of fact, the family performing the dance had a Spanish last name.

 

 

 

This was a very enjoyable evening, made even better by the Indian Frybread available at the end of the program.  Frybread is dough shaped into a flat circle and then deep fried.   It comes out mostly puffy and you can top it with cinnamon, powdered sugar, honey or salt.  Or all of the above.  It wasn't available, but they also make an Indian Taco by piling on chili beans, meat, salsa, cheese, tomato and sour cream.  All yummy stuff!

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

 

Today I took a tour to see Cliff Palace, puebloan ruins that were built in an alcove sheltered by a large cliff in a canyon.

These were built around 1200 using local sandstone, a mix of mud and water between the blocks and local wood.

Evidence shows that they traded with neighbors and people from other villages. Seashells from the Pacific has been found here, as well as items from what is now New Mexico and other places.

These residents farmed corn, squash and beans, as well as hunting deer and small mammals.

The exit from this little community was fun - steps carved in a rock canyon, with 3 ladders to make it to the top, all shown in the photos below.