Cochiti Dam and Tent Rocks National Monument

We survived the storm, thankfully only got spurts of snow flurries but lots of rain. When the sun finally peeked out on Friday morning there was snow again on the surrounding mountain ranges. Yesterday we had cabin fever and with the sun shining brightly and the promise of a nice day, we took a drive about 15 miles south of Santa Fe to the Cochiti Dam which is one of the Army Corp of Engineers' dams built to help ease flooding of the Rio Grande River. In the visitor's center we watched movie clips and learned alot about this river which originates in Creed, Colorado and flows all the way to the Gulf of Mexico by Brownsville. Amazing that last winter we not only crossed this same river in Los Ebanos, TX but we biked along the same river in Bentson State Park near McAllen, TX. We hiked one of the trails around the visitor center which eventually takes you to an overlook of the reservoir made from the dam. Very pretty area, a small Hobie cat sailing out on the lake and we saw camping on one side of the reservoir. The camping area is run by the Corp but it only has electric, not water. We don't like living like this in the RV so unfortunately while these campgrounds are very pretty and cheap ($10/night), we would not go there because we don't want to have to worry about getting water into tanks and then dumping when we leave.

From Cochiti Dam we drove about 5 miles south and stopped at Kasha-Katuwe (which means white cliffs) Tent Rocks National Monument, on the Cochiti Pueblo Indian Reservation and run by the Pueblo and the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. And again, we are glad Dave has the pass into the National Parks because the fee is waived if you have the pass. As we got within 1 mile of the monument we were awed by what we saw. Cone-shaped tent rock formations are from the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred over 7 million years ago and left ash, pumice and tuff deposits over 1000 feet thick. Pretty cool cones and way on top of the mountain - looks like a basketball sitting on a cone. We walked the cave loop trail which took us by a cave that was dug out by early man and you can still see the smoke stains on the cave roof. Signs said to beware of snakes which we didn't see but we were alert at all times. Large black crows flew overhead making strange muted sounds and their 'caw-caw' to each other was a treat to watch and hear.