Saturday, June 3, 2023 Quemado Lake, El Malpais, El Morro NM

 Saturday, June 3, 2023

A brisk 37 degrees this morning at 6:45.  We continue northward, taking 32 and a short drive to look at Quemado Lake which is at 7800'.  Lots of people fishing from the banks, kayaks and small boats.  A sign says that muskelunge have to be 40" to keep, so there must be some big fish here, but it is mostly rainbow trout folks are looking for.  

We pass by this rocky place dubbed "the narrows".

And then we stop to take a look at La Ventana, a natural arch in a sandstone cliff of a small canyon. Nice, short walk.  Surprisingly there are several other folks here, but I guess we are getting close to civilization and route I40 which is a main US east-west highway. 

lots of new growth on the pinion pines

 Nice picnic area too.  Farther along, there is quite a lot of black lava rock.

and everpresent cacti.

We go into Gallup to get gas and visit the El Malpais Visitors Center and learn about volcanic activity in this area.   Unfortunately, the El Calderon Trail which goes by caves, a lava tube, cinder cone and other interesting features is CLOSED. 

So, we continue on to El Morro National Monument to the west.  

Here, a reliable waterhole at the base of a sandstone bluff made this a popular stop for travelers. There are over 2,000 signatures, dates, messages and petroglyphs on the sandstone cliffs. We are given a handout that identifies some of the people and their stories.  The oldest, in Spanish, is from 1690.

single flower amongst the sand and rock.

Over the years they've tried different ways of preserving and protecting the writings.  Here they used a graphite mixture to fill in.

These pictographs are hundreds of years old.

Cattails sprout along the pool hidden at the base of the cliffs.

We avail ourselves of their nearby campground, site #3, and enjoy a salad and leftover spaghetti casserole from Anne.  It has been a windy day and temperature drops quickly once the sun has set.