bjregan

It wasn’t a long hike and we almost didn’t go, but at the end of the day we both agreed it was a fun outing. The tail end of a winter storm in the north blew into Albuquerque last night and we knew it would be cold and windy today. I had been wanting to check out Nambe Badlands but thought another time might be better.

I really had second thoughts when we got to Santa Fe and saw that there had been some measurable snow there and in the area where we were headed. My hiking boots are not waterproof and don’t go above the ankle so I wasn’t prepared for tromping through snow.

To my relief, once we started up the trail I could see that the snow wouldn’t be a problem. Lee took the lead, making it possible for me to step into his footprints. The sun warmed us up quickly and the wind lessened a bit. We had some nice views of the snow-covered Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance. And now I can check Nambe Badlands off my bucket list.

Some of my favorite rocks are metamorphic rocks that have been formed by intense heat and pressure into wavy patterns referred to as foliation or schistosity. One of the best places I know to find metamorphic rocks is in the Manzano Mountains. On two hikes that we took there recently I found myself continually stopping along the trail to take pictures of the rocks.

The map view shows the location of the two hikes. The red line is a hike up Trigo Canyon, which is on the west side of the mountains, about midway between the north and south end of the range. The blue line is the Kayser Mill Run trail, at the south end on the east side.

I’ve made two groups for the metamorphic rock photos that I took. The first group was taken on the Trigo Canyon hike and the second group was along the Kayser Mill Run trail. I hope that you will appreciate the fascinating artistry of God’s handiwork in creating these formations.

If you are viewing the page that shows the two groups in a gallery, please click on the individual photo to see a larger image.

Trigo Canyon