Bisti Badlands, El Malpais, and Our Junkyard Dogs

 

Sunset over Bluewater Lake.

Our time at (not) Bluewater Lake, wasn’t over yet. We had extended our stay until Wednesday, 4/26, to wait out yet another windstorm. We weren’t idle though. We did day trips on all but the most blustery day. On that day, we took the pups back down into the canyon for a long walk with some protection from the wind. Riley must have been working his snow mojo hard though, on Wednesday morning there was ice on their outside water bowl! The wind is enough to contend with, we don’t need snow and ice too!

No kayaking today!
The winds were whipping up white caps on the lake.

Down into the canyon for some walkies out of the wind.

We set out on Sunday, 4/23, to explore the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness area about 40 miles south of Farmington, NM. We opted to leave the pups napping in the coach for this trip, as there is no shade and no water in the Badlands.

The Bisti Badlands is roughly 60 square miles of inhospitable land with some of the most unusual scenery in the world. Time and the elements have created a fantasy world of strange rock formations made of sandstone, shale, mudstone, coal, and silt.  Sandstone hoodoos - weathered rock in the form of pinnacles, spires, cap rocks, and other unusual forms abound.  Fossils occur in the sedimentary layers too. In 1997, a new genus and species of tyrannosaur was found here. Dubbed the Bisti Beast, he is a smaller more primitive cousin of T. Rex. We didn't find any fossils, but we did find a petrified wood log. The harder petrified wood keeps the softer sandstone underneath from eroding, so it looks like it's on a pedestal. 

Love this little mushroom guy. 

The Chocolate Hoodoos.

Petrified wood on a pedestal. Lol. 

There are no defined trails in the Badlands, but there is a 3-mile loop on All Tails (a hiking app that we frequently use) that passes several of the iconic formations. We had great fun trying to locate specific formations with varying degrees of luck. We often found ourselves scrambling over rocks and up bentonite clay hillsides only to realize we must have zigged when we should have zagged. Oh well, it was all fun and the views never disappointed.

Scrambling across the badlands.

So this was a dead end. Lol. 
Great view though!

Back down we go, in search of a better route.

We saw lots of hoodoos, but one of my favorites was an area called, “Cracked Eggs”. Sandstone boulders weathered into very unusual patterns, to me they looked like stone roses. Lol.

Loved the cracked eggs!

More fun hoodoos.

We wandered through the surreal and fascinating landscape for several hours and then headed back to the RV and the puppers. They got a long evening walk on the Canyonside trail to make up for being coach dogs during the day. A compromise that made everyone happy. Lol.

Amazing colors and contours.

Colorful mesa and mini hoodoos.

A super fun day exploring just a tiny portion of the Bisti Badlands.

On Monday, 4/24, we took Riley and Raney with us to visit El Malpais National Monument. El Malpais was established in 1987 to protect 178 square miles of volcanic landscape along with historic and archeological sites.  You can access it on the west side from Hwy 53. We’d driven by that area on the way to El Morro on Saturday, so we decided to check out the east side along Hwy 117. Many of the highlights of the park can be seen on short hikes from the road. We stopped by the visitor center and confirmed that the pups were welcome on the trails. El Malpais means “the badlands” in Spanish, but it was totally different from Bisti Badlands. Much of the park is covered in lava rock, the lava on the west side of the park dates back to 60,000 years ago, while more recent eruptions on the east side are less than 4,000 years old.

Lava fields as far as you can see.

Our first stop was at Sandstone Bluffs Overlook. Rog and I climbed the bluffs for a panoramic view of the distant mountains and lava fields below. Lava poured out of the McCartys Crater 3,900 years ago. More than 20 cinder cones ring the park and within the park is a lava tube cave system extending at least 17 miles. The caves are off-limits, but there is one ice cave on private property that you can visit on the west side of the monument. Something worth checking out on a return trip! I loved climbing on the sandstone and, while there were no fantastical hoodoos, there were lots of fun features including a lovely bathtub. Lol.

The sandstone bluffs rise out of the lava field.

Beautiful views from the bluff. 

I found the bathtub, but where are the bubbles? Lol.

Our next stop was La Ventana Arch. Meaning, “the window”, La Ventana is the second largest arch in New Mexico. It is 125 feet high with a span of 165 feet. Riley and Raney walked with us to the viewpoint, but they did not seem impressed. Lol.

La Ventana Arch.

Storm clouds moving in.

Our third excursion was at Lava Falls. Unlike the boardwalk at Valley of Fires, this hike is across the lava fields. Not pup-friendly in the least. It was cool enough that we were able to leave the kids in the car while Rog and I did a quick march across a mile of broken, dystopian landscape. We are getting familiar with many of the lava formations and saw pressure ridges, deep cracks, collapsed tubes, Pahoehoe, A’a, and a huge lava bowl. The trail is marked by cairns, and we did great until the very end when we somehow lost track and just decided to wing it back to the parking lot.

Cairns mark the trail.

Ok, so maybe El Malpais deserves to be called the "badlands".
That is a pretty rough looking landscape.

Cracks, caves, and pressure ridges.

The details are interesting too. 
Rog called the tiny cactus "adorable, but vicious". Lol.

Pahoehoe. Now this looks familiar!

This section was smoother than most of I40. 😁

Huge lava bowl.

And the obligatory lava selfie. Lol.

There was a grassy field nearby which Riley and Raney were happy to explore after waiting patiently for mom and dad to return. They are super good travelers and love just going in the car with us. In fact, sometimes the hardest thing is getting them out when the ride is over. Lol.

A romp through the grass.
Raney is very proud of her stick. 

On the way back from El Malpais, we stopped at Junkyard Brewery. Rog is always on the lookout for interesting local breweries. He did his homework well and it was such a great find. The brewery is still a working junkyard and behind its inauspicious façade is a treasure trove of old cars, parts, and memorabilia. Everything is auto themed – the tables are hoods, many of the seats are lifted right out of old vans, hubcaps line the walls, and the bar…oh, you just have to see the pics – there is no describing it. In addition to the autophile décor, they also offered a delectable BBQ sandwich (we got the Junkyard – a combo of pulled pork and brisket) and several very tasty brews. We sampled a few and left with a growler of “Piston Colada”, a Belgian white based beer infused with tropical fruit flavors that is perfect if you love piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. Lol. Best of all they were dog friendly! Riley and Raney made excellent Junkyard Dogs. Lol.

Doesn't look like much from the outside, but...

...the inside was awesome!

Cool cars!

Lots of interesting vintage autos and decor. 

Our sweet Junkyard dogs. 

Actually, the growler was for our friends Bob and Carole. Bob loves piña coladas and a beer version was too unique to pass up. Happily, we had plans to meet up with them at our next stop! Yes, we are planning a joyful reunion with Bob, Carole, and Ruby at Petrified Forest National Park. So, stay tuned for more awesome rocks and fun puppy play times ahead.