DO YOU LOVE WILD FLOWERS
Some of the best wildflower fields aren’t that far away! Anywhere in the Carson National Forest you can see an abundance of wildflowers growing everywhere. If you would like to take a scenic drive Tres Piedras for example offers a beautiful 49 mile long drive to Tierra Amarilla. Aside from beautiful wildflowers, maybe even some wildlife, Tres Piedras is at 8,000 plus feet and a lovely place for perfect weather. It was founded in 1879 and is home to just over 1,000 people.
If you really like to drive, then the Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos is for you. There are over 33,000 acres of beauty there, including rock dwellings and lots more. You can walk among the wildflowers that are everywhere. The area is also full of history of a long ago time when Ancestral Pueblo people lived there. Be sure to take your hiking boots on this adventure. Find much to see on a guided tour May to October, but self guided tours are available all year round.
Santa Fe offers the Hyde Memorial State Park just outside the city limits. There are 42 miles of trails to hike, and you can chose to spend the night in a ‘yurt’! At 8500 feet there is still snow in winter, but as spring emerges, so does woodland animals and flora. Take Waterfall Trails for a breathtaking view. Don’t forget Piggyback Trail and it’s footbridges.
There is also lots of space to traverse in the Sandia Foothills. Over 2500 acres offer wildlife and wildflowers. Plenty of birds to enjoy as they explore the flowers, and you may even see some prickly pear cactus! There are plenty of trails to hike near Albuquerque that won’t take too much effort on your part.
There is a wildlife refuge offering not only many birds, but javalina, jackrabbits and other animals that can be found in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, close to San Antonio,
New Mexico! Located on State Highway 1. That is not an error! There is a San Antonio New Mexico! It began in 1939 to protect the migrating waterfowl and there are tens of thousands of crane, geese, and ducks wintering there each year in the now 30,000 acres of wilderness.
Further away, near Las Cruces is Organ Mountain, at 9,000 feet. Wildflowers cover the entire mountain in the spring and summer. There is now almost half a million acres of protected land between Las Cruces and El Paso, Texas. Horse back riding is even permitted on the 6 mile trail named Baylor Pass Trail. Other trails offer hiking and mountain biking. The Desert Peaks National Monument is in the Organ Mountains. This is a fairly new national monument established in 2014. Young for most of our national treasures.
When and if you get tired of looking at all the beautiful wildflowers in our state, plan an out of this world trip to Bisti Badlands and De-Na-Zia Wilderness! If you think only South Dakota has badlands, you would be wrong! Northwest New Mexico, 40 miles south of Farmington, has amazing rock formations that will make you believe you are on another planet! Google Bisti Badlands for the most spectacular photos. The formations are made of sandstone and shale, creating unique and mystifying top heavy shape. The area is very remote, there is no water available, no amenities, no snacks, and especially no toilet paper! Be sure to have reliable GPS as there is no cell phone receptions anywhere out there! It would be easy to get lost from the parking area. Take plenty of water and snacks, and toilet paper in your backpack~don’t leave in a car you can’t find!
If all this traveling around makes you thirsty or hungry, or searching for something out of the ordinary, well here are a few special places to check out!