The Authentic Guide to Santa Fe

SITE Santa Fe: Time-Lapse

March 6th, 2012 Santa Fe Red

Time-Lapse at SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta (505)989-1199

Exhibit runs from February 18-May 20, 2012

In addition to satisfying a taste for the the artistic permutations brought to us by our Museum of New Mexico system, with its panoply of offerings from folk art to photography, a hunger for the cutting-edge can be sated without a trip to the East or West Coast. How? SITE Santa Fe, of course!

SITE Santa Fe in the Railyard Arts District

Since its inception in 1995, SITE has become a valuable resource in the Santa Fe art world. The ample layout allows for installations and large-scale works, and the curatorial staff understands their mission well. February brought the opening of the newest offering from SITE, Time-Lapse 2012.

With an aim of demonstrating the mutability of art, Time-Lapse brings together four artists whose work are specifically intended to change over the course of the exhibition. And an opening event on February 17 also gave Santa Fe art-lovers the chance to enjoy the artistic antics of the Meow Wolf collective, a loose and exuberant confederation of multi-media artists who staged a happening (for lack of a better term) in the Time Capsule Lounge. They did not disappoint!

Meow Wolf: An Old-Fashioned Overhead Projector

Flash Theater by Meow Wolf

Curated by Irene Hofmann, Director and Chief Curator of the Phillips Collection, along with Assistant Curator, Janet Dees, and thanks to much-appreciated support by our local Barker Realty, this examination of change over time features work by artists Byron Kim, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Eve Sussman/Rufus Corporation and Mary Temple.

Ms. Temple engages the viewer immediately with her Currency Series, begun in 2007, and continued with a drawing every day, inspired by the current news and headlines. She creates a portrait of a news-worthy political figure and accompanies it with text that elucidates its relevance. Laid out in a timeline, the drawings challenge us to remember what happened yesterday, a week ago, a month ago, and in so doing, remind us how quickly we consume the happenings of the day and move on. The drawings are proficient, and threads of content re-emerge as events wax or wane. A great concept, well-executed and well worth visiting, as the artist has committed to adding images throughout the run of the show!

A Familiar Face in the News

Byron Kim’s Sunday Paintings, have a similar intent, although his skyscapes have a weekly format, with a painting of the sky every Sunday in whatever locale he finds himself. The work was begun 25 weeks before the opening, and each week during the exhibition, he will send a new painting after it is completed. The skyscapes include a textual diary of his musings, and it will be interesting to see how the sky changes and to wonder where he has been.

Artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is represented by two works from a body of tech-savvy pieces he calls Recorders, which invite viewer participation. While these artworks originated in the artist’s mind, the completed pieces depend on interaction from the viewers for their final content. An apt reflection of the digital world, his work asks for a commitment to engage and leave a ghost of oneself behind. Probably not for those already discomfited by the encroachment of social media!

Eve Sussman is repsented by whiteoinwhite: algorithmicnoir, the most recent of her films in collaboration with the Rufus Corporation. Highly experimental, the work runs continuously with a changing narrative that never presents the same juxtaposition of image and words. Edited in real time by a computer algorithm drawing on over 3000 film clips and assorted voice-overs and music, the film revolves around a protagonist named Mr. Holz, placed in an evocation of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal film of 1956, Alphaville. Having seen a tantalizing tidbit from this work in NYC, I welcomed the opportunity to actually sit down and contemplate it more thoroughly. Advice: Sit in the front row of seats, in case someone tall plops down in front of you!

Look Into the Time Capsule!

The Time Capsule Lounge, comfortably outfitted with floor and stool seating and futuristic lighting, will be welcoming other public events: Musician Brian Mayhall will present a performance on March 30 at 5pm; Brendan Carn and Colin Woodford will perform a live/Skyped internet piece on May 4 at 5pm; and on May 12 at 11am, Axle Comtemporary Art celebrates a book launch for E Pluribus Unum, a composite portrait of Santa Fe. The Lounge also features a four “timely” films from the past, A Trip to the Moon (1902), La Jetee (1962), Powers of Ten (1977), and Primer (2004), organized by Jason Silverman of the CCA Cinematheque and screened continuously on a loop (thank you, Mr. Silverman, most enjoyable!).

Movies from Times Past

A final touch is added by our beloved Collected Works Books, which supplied a selection of science fiction books, curated by Cynthia Melchert, in the Time Capsule for visitors to read and ruminate on. If you don’t finish before you leave, some titles will be on sale at the SITE bookstore, so you can continue your time travel at home.

SITE Santa Fe consistently presents work that invites contemplation of modern issues that confront not just artists but all of us. I welcome these opportunities for consideration and am grateful for the free Fridays that let me return repeatedly to see such interesting work!

Free Fridays: a Great Time to Bring the Kids to SITE

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The Tyuonyi Overlook Trail

February 27th, 2012 The Santa Fe Naturalist

The Frey Trail descending into Frijoles Canyon, seen from the Overlook

Even after years of visiting the park, I’ve discovered that Bandelier National Monument still has pleasant surprises concealed within its boundaries. Bandelier is one of the most popular day trips out of Santa Fe, just about an hour’s drive west of town, and most visitors feel amply rewarded with an excursion to the cliff dwellings in Frijoles Canyon, and the pleasant walks along the little Rito de Frijoles, burbling in the shade of the singing Ponderosa pines and the warm glowing walls of the Bandelier Tuff. But the park has an extensive network of trails throughout its bounds, and some of these are easy walks that give a different perspective on the way the Ancient Ones lived – and which will reward you with some wonderful views of Frijoles Canyon and the archeological sites it shelters.

This Sunday’s adventure started near the old Amphitheater not far from the entrance to the Park. On my last visit to Bandelier I walked down the Frey Trail, which is the pre-1939 way of getting down into Frijoles Canyon, and at the brink of the descent, admired a precipice of Bandelier Tuff off to the west:

Descending into Frijoles Canyon on the Frey Trail

A closer look at the map showed another trail not far from this one, that actually leads to the top of this cliff. It’s called the Tyuonyi Overlook Trail, and of course I immediately made a mental file to have a walk on it on my next visit to the Park. This past Sunday was a perfect opportunity for a winter hike on the sunny flanks of the Jemez Mountains, and after throwing a few things in the day pack, made the short drive west to Bandelier and the Juniper Campground just inside, where the trail begins.

The sign at the trailhead

Your walk begins in a grove of fragrant Ponderosa:

Off on our adventure

Much of the walk winds across the dry, sparsely wooded top of the plateau just north of Frijoles Canyon, which still shows signs of stress from our drought around 2005. There are a surprising number of archeological sites up here, with small interpretive signs to enhance your stops:

Partially excavated ruins just off the Tyuonyi Trail, up on the mesa

There are more modern cultural features up here too, like this rustic corral:

A corral near the old CCC Amphitheater

Distant views of the volcanic mountains that surround Bandelier lie off to the south and west:

The San Miguel Mountains and sharp Boundary Peak southwest of Bandelier

In only 45 minutes of easy walking you reach the Overlook, perched high above the ruins of Tyuonyi Pueblo:

Looking down from the Overlook at Tyuonyi and the Visitor Center

This is a perfect place to sit and contemplate the vast history, cultural and natural, of old New Mexico.

Contemplating the past

The Tyuonyi Overlook Trail loops back to the trailhead across the mesa so you don’t have to retrace your steps back to the Amphitheater. There are beautiful views up Frijoles Canyon:

Looking west up Frijoles Canyon

And dizzying ones down:

Just above the ladders to Alcove House, looking down

Bandelier, like all National Parks and Monuments, is a wild place at heart, and evidence of the more brutal side of Nature isn’t hard to find:

A murder site along the trail, thoroughly picked over

Past and present mingle to thoughtful eyes. Modern pine cones holding new life lie over a bed of the Cajete Pumice that showered over the mesa perhaps only 40,000 years ago:

Pine cones and pumice littering the mesa

The return trail winds through an airy forest of Ponderosa before returning you to your car:

Fire and drought-thinned forest typical of the Pajarito Plateau

This was a very rewarding walk, and a perfect one for a late winter day in New Mexico when you need to get out for some sunshine and exercise, but don’t feel like facing the icy and somewhat muddy trails in Sangre de Cristo Mountains nearer Santa Fe. So be sure and put the Tyuonyi Overlook Trail on your mental list of things to do when you come visit us!

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On the Santa Fe Chocolate Trail

February 20th, 2012 Santa Fe Red

You probably have your favorite secret vice, and if you’re like us, it might just be….CHOCOLATE! We know that this Old World substance has garnered new respect and resonance today, when it is actually considered healtly, albeit in smaller doses than we might desire!

We are inviting all chocolate-lovers, chocolatiers, and plain old contest fans to enter our Chocolate Photo Contest on Facebook to possibly win a two night Check-in to Chocolate stay here in Santa Fe, NM, with its culinary mix of both Old and New Worlds!

It’s really very simple, no gimmicks or tricks. Just post your most delicious photograph of a decadent chocolate delight on our Chocolate Contest page, and we’ll pick one winner who will savor the Santa Fe Chocolate Trail as our guest. Your picture can be anything chocolate, homemade or store-bought, simple or complex, melting or baked to a crisp, just make our mouths water when we look at it.

The contest ends on February 29, so get into the kitchen or the supermarket or the chocolate specialty store, and start snapping…we’re waiting to reward one Champion of Chocolate! And even if you don’t win, keep us in mind for a sweet stay in Santa Fe…we’d love to have you Check-in to Chocolate with us!

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Jaune Quick-to-See Smith at Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe

February 13th, 2012 Santa Fe Red

Jaune Quick-to-see-Smith at Georgia O’Keeffe Museum 217 Johnson Street Santa Fe NM

It’s actually hard to remember back before the O’Keeffe Museum was here. Of course, the Santa Fe lightbulb joke asks how many Santa Feans it takes to change a lightbulb (Answer: three, one to do it and two to reminisce about how it used to be!). But, truly, a trip to the O’Keeffe is so ingrained in a Santa Fe visit now, that it seems like the museum has always been here….and for that we are very grateful.

Georgia On My Mind, Oil 1986, Collection of Yellowstone Art Museum

We are also grateful that the O’Keeffe continues to highlight the work of contemporary women artists, a commitment that one imagines O’Keeffe herself would approve. On January 26, the fourth exhibition of the Living Artists of Distinction series, entitled “Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Landscapes of an American Modernist,” opened in the rear galleries of the museum. How perfect that exhibit shows that Smith had Georgia on her mind!

The Great Divide, Oil 1987; Collection of St. Paul Travelers

A Native American artist from the Salish band of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai nation of the Northwest, Ms. Smith was born in 1940, received an M.A. at the University of New Mexico, and is a familiar presence to art-going public of the Southwest. Her modernist impulse is played out in active brushwork and expressive imagery, vastly different from O’Keeffe’s technique, but still posssessing that same sense of place found in the still landscapes painted by O’Keeffe.

Like O’Keeffe, Smith works in a variety of media, and the pastels and oils on display present a compelling demonstration of her abilities. The artist says, “My work comes from a visceral place – deep, deep…,” and the work says so.

Trees are Burning, Pastel 1991; Courtesy LewAllen Contemporary

No doubt, viewers will have favorites. The pastels appear more restrained, both in palette and and activity, while the large oil paintings feel agitated and full of color. I found myself in reverie by the Wallowa Water Hole pastels, with their more limited palette and simple lines. And I enjoyed the contrast of colors between two large canvases, Playground, which is painted in the primary, clear colors to which children most easily respond, juxtaposed against the lively Great Divide, soaked in the rich pinks and turqouise associated with our desert landscape.

Playground, Oil 1987; Private Collection

When I viewed the show, I headed directly to the galleries, so as to see the work with fresh eyes, then wandered back through the O’Keeffe’s. One of the things that is so enjoyable about these exhibits is how they make one notice different O’Keeffe works that one my not have been pulled to previously. After spending time in the Smith exhibit, a deceptively simple O’Keeffe watercolor and graphite piece from 1918, House with Tree – Green, suddenly drew me to a halt. Fresh eyes are a good thing!

Go see the Jaune Quick-to-See Smith show…it’s up until April 29, so you can make more than one trip and discover for yourself the pleasures of this small museum and its big mission.

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Winter Adventures in Santa Fe

February 7th, 2012 The Santa Fe Naturalist

Fellow travelers above Aspen Vista

The mountains above Santa Fe have been getting just about as much snow as anyplace in the Rockies this winter, and if you’re in the mood for a winter adventure, New Mexico is the place to come! Ski Santa Fe is having a stellar season:

The top of the hike, at the Quad Lift of Ski Santa Fe

With yet another coating of fresh powder last Friday – and soft flurries all weekend – I decided to get out the snowshoes and make a trek up the mountain and see things for myself. I chose Aspen Vista as my starting point, and at the spur of the moment decided to take a route straight up the mountain, where a path had been broken in the fresh snow, leading in an inviting way through the spruce and aspen:

Into the woods

The great thing about snowshoeing is, first, you can wander through the forest almost any way you please, far above the tangle of fallen timber and other obstacles on the forest floor, and second, you have the traction to ascend steeper slopes without switchbacking along a trail. (Of course, you have to have the stamina to ascend – and I was beginning to have some second thoughts around 11,000 feet altitude!)

It’s always worth it. I passed through hypnotic groves of aspen with violet shadows on the snow:

Aspen and light

I came upon a completely unexpected meadow and had a chat with some fellow adventurers and their dog:

The unexpected meadow. A good place to break out the thermos!

Santa Feans have an obsession with spiral shapes – I don’t know how many stone spiral mazes I’ve come across hiking in our mountains – and there was a veritable Stonehenge of a spiral, built of snow, at the top of the meadow:

Snow circles

Persistence paid off with marvelous views into Big Tesuque and its cloud-shrouded ridge:

The view south into Big Tesuque at the top of my climb

The path ended at the boundaries of Ski Santa Fe near the Quad Lift, with many happy skiers:

Ski Santa Fe - the Quad lift and slopes beyond

After a little rest, it was time to head back down the mountain (at a far faster clip!)

The path back down the mountain, through the spruce

And then home, for a well-earned rest.

It looks like conditions are going to be favorable all winter here in Santa Fe, so make some plans to get out in the snow while you’re here. Unlike skis or snowboards and their accessories, snowshoes are inexpensive to rent, and you can pick up a pair or two right on your way up the mountain from town, at Cottam’s, in Hyde State Park, about half way up to the snowy places.

Even if you choose not to get on the path less traveled, don’t rule out a short hike along some of our high country trails while you’re here in the winter. A day or two after a snow, many trails, like Aspen Vista are compacted sufficiently for an enjoyable walk in regular hiking shoes.

This could be you!

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Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

January 29th, 2012 The Santa Fe Naturalist

The classic view: Seven Dwarfs Overlook

One of the most remarkable hikes you can make in the entire American Southwest is all of about 40 minutes drive southwest of Santa Fe, in one of our newest National Monuments, Kasha-Katuwe. This phrase means “white cliffs” in the Keresan language spoken by Cochiti Pueblo, which you will drive through on your way over to the Monument. For those of us around here it’s always been known as “Tent Rocks” – for obvious reasons, as you can see from the photograph above. It’s an amazing geological window into an apron of white volcanic tuff ejected from one of the older volcanic centers in the Jemez Mountains, and its display of bizarre “hoodoos”, or earth pillars, is about as perfect as any on the planet.

The drive into Tent Rocks is well marked now, and since its induction into the Federal Park System, the road from Cochiti to the parking area has been completely paved. There is an entrance station where a $5 charge per vehicle will be taken, and once you get to the parking area, you’ll find plenty of paved spaces, some shelters, an interpretive kiosk, and a restroom. There are two trails in the park, one short loop that takes you to a small habitation carved into the soft tuff, similar to ones in Bandelier National Monument, and another, a little over a mile and a half long, that takes your into a beautiful slot canyon and then out again, and then up a mesa for some of the most expansive views in the Southwest.

The view as you start your walk

After crunching across a short distance of soft pumice underlying the typical juniper biota of this part of New Mexico, the trail will veer into a much more enclosed canyon:

Entering the canyon

There’s an unusual assemblage of vegetation here, highlighted by the white tuff. A few Ponderosa Pines thrive by virtue of water channeled by the canyon. An almost endemic species of manzanita grows here and nowhere else I’ve seen in the region. At the appropriate time of year, in May, you’ll see cholla cactuses blooming in every shade of magenta, prickly pear in festive yellow, with their rose-like extravagance of stamens, clusters of hedgehog cactus in scarlet bouquets, and sidebells penstemon flowering on short spikes growing out of impossibly arid slopes.

Soon the canyon literally closes over your head:

The Slot Canyon

It is extremely narrow in places and you might find yourself walking sideways. This is NOT a place to be caught during a summer thunderstorm. On this visit, a layer of icy snow, covered in wind-blown grit, actually smoothed the walk through this confined place.

Overhanging walls of volcanic tuff

This part of the walk has an almost cave-like feel. Eventually the slot opens again into a light-drenched Shangri-La of desert landforms:

A pyramid of tuff

Everywhere you turn there seems to be a photographic opportunity. You’ll start channeling your inner Ansel Adams before you know it:

A spire of tuff

The trail turns again, shortly, and you’ll begin your ascent onto the mesa that crown the Monument:

Ascending the mesa

In summer you’ll be reaching for your water bottle at this point. In winter, you’ll probably be wishing you’d put on crampons; this part of the hike faces north and there are some treacherous places, slippery with ice.

Once on top, however, the views are unsurpassed:

This could be you!

Every mountain range in Northern New Mexico is on display, in panoramic vistas.

Looking back toward Santa Fe

Looking into the Jemez Mountains, with the canyon below.

If you have any interest in geology, Kasha-Katuwe is an imperative stop. Almost every way that volcanic pyroclastics can be deposited is displayed here, from air falls of tephra, to pyroclastic flows, to volcaniclastic aprons laid down by floods. If you’re interested in landforms, well, the place speaks for itself. Be sure and get a copy of the High Desert Field Guides for Kasha-Katuwe before you go!

Whatever you do, bring the camera:

Light

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Super Bowl XLVI? SOUPER Bowl XVIII Santa Fe!

January 26th, 2012 Santa Fe Red

Santa Fe Souper Bowl XVIII

Santa Fe Community Convention Center 201 West Marcy Street

Saturday, January 28, 2012 11:00 am – 1:30 pm

Once a year, Santa Fe addresses the issue of hunger, because we know it exists in our community just as it does in others. How to make it fun? A Souper Bowl! For the 18th year, Santa Fe welcomes sippers and slurpers to taste the concoctions of the City Different’s best chefs, all to benefit the Food Depot, New Mexico’s food bank.

Participating restaurants are invited to compete in one the following categories: Best Cream Soup, Best Savory Soup, Best Seafood Soup, and Best Vegetarian Soup, and all of the chefs ultimately compete for the overall title of Best Soup. The list of food mavens is long and includes everything from the high end to caterers and pizza joints, and even a retirement home, all intent on keeping our fellow New Mexicans from going to bed hungry.

AAAAHHHHH.....soup!

Soup lovers will find the following Santa Fe kitchens in attendance: Anasazi Restaurant; Blue Corn Café & Brewery Southside; Bon Appetit; Café Pasqual’s; Café Café; Chef Nuevo Caliente Catering; Dinner for Two; Jambo Café; Kingston Residence of Santa Fe; La Casa Sena; La Plazuela at La Fonda on the Plaza; Nath’s Speciality Catering; Palacio Café; The Pantry Restaurant; Pizza Etc.; Plaza Café Southside; Pueblo Deli; Real Food Nation and Supper Club; Red Sage at Hilton Santa Fe Resort & Spa at Buffalo Thunder; Rio Chama; Santa Fe Bar & Grill; Santa Fe Capitol Grill; Sup; Tune-Up Café; Turquoise Trail Bar & Grill at Buffalo Thunder; Whole Foods Market; Whole Hog Café; and the Zia Diner.

The bar is set high, since last year’s 2011 winner also won in the previous year, 2010, and is rated #1 on TripAdvisor for Santa Fe restaurants. That’s Jambo Cafe, where owner Ahmed Obo says that his winning soups, Black Bean and Sweet Potato from 2011 and Chicken Peanut from 2010, fly out of the restaurant as fast as they are prepared. So not only is this a benefit for the Food Depot, Santa Fe diners also score by discovering new culinary adventures, and restaurant chefs have the chance to create new devotees.

Attendees can taste 4 oz. of soup at as many stations as the belly can handle, and the Boy Scouts will be on hand as runners to collect the ballots from each table. A scoreboard will keep a running tally, so that the fans can keep tabs on who’s ahead. Hmmmm, wonder what are the odds that someone will have created a betting pool? There will also be a silent auction with some tasty items, soup recipes to try at home, cookbooks for sale, and even a cooking demonstration by chef Megan Tucker of Amavi.

Advanced tickets are available online at $25 for adults and $10 for children from 6-12 years of age. Tickets will also be available at the door for adults,$30, and children, $10. Sponsors santafe.com and Hutton Broadcasting will also be giving out Santa Fe Winter Fiesta passes to those who help meet the food-scarcity challenge by attending.

Does this sound tasty? All you have to do is put your money AND your mouth together at the Santa Fe Community Convention this Saturday to indulge in this great cause!

Posted in Annual Events of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, What To Do in Santa Fe, new mexico food, santa fe dining, santa fe food, santa fe travel | No Comments »

Only ONE Santa Fe Performance!

January 23rd, 2012 Santa Fe Red

Our Aspen Santa Fe Ballet continues to deliver, this month bringing the celebrated Momix troupe – and Santa Fe favorite – to perform at the Lensic Center for the Performing Arts.

Momix Botanica

Not content with simply demonstrating their extremely complex dance steps, this talented group also brings illusion and magic to the stage. Founded by Moses Pendleton, one of the pioneers from the early outsider dance troupe, Pilobolus, the Momix company is known for their exceptional prowess and stunning physiques. Each dancer is in tip-top condition, no doubt from the excessive demands of the work. The unique costumes and lighting are always tailored to enhance both the bodies and the choreography, which never fails to amaze.

Moses Pendleton is known for his innovative choreography and left the ground-breaking Pilobolus Dance Theater to form his own company in 1980. More than a master of one trade, Mr. Pendleton has also worked in both film and TV, as well as opera, and has created works for other ballet companies and special events.

The Magic of Momix

Appearing in Santa Fe for one night only, January 24 at 7:30pm, the troupe will be performing Botanica, a visually organic tour through nature and the seasons. This energetic and inventive performance will feature the costumes, projections and custom-made props that the company is famed for. And there will be puppetry to add an extra dose of fantasy to the mix!

A Memorably Momix Moment

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The Coyote Call Trail

January 15th, 2012 The Santa Fe Naturalist

Looking north into the Valle Grande from the Coyote Call Trail

The winter light is so beautiful here in northern New Mexico that every weekend calls out for a walk somewhere in the country. This weekend was no exception, and that intriguing volcanic range on Santa Fe’s western skyline, the Jemez Mountains, was particularly seductive – the range catches snow as if to cool down its hot and turbulent past, and the great caldera in its heart, with its vast meadows, simply radiates light on a clear winter day.

Much of this range is protected now by the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Under the terms of its establishment with the Federal Government, the preserve must attempt to pay for itself through a variety of services to the public. There’s no charge to drive though it, but it is not a National Park – yet – and you generally can’t go hiking just anywhere you like without making arrangements and paying a small fee. There are, however, some short and delightful trails on its perimeter that are free, and a friend and I decided to check out one we’d driven past many time before – the Coyote Call Trail.

This is a popular trail for viewing elk, of which the preserve has an enormous population, and in the winter it makes a wonderful loop for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. Openings in the forest give views north of the Valle Grande and its crown of volcanic domes:

At one time this vast meadow held a crater lake, and today, its dense lake-bed soil and the fact that the basin traps cold air inhibits the encroachment of the forests on the surrounding mountains. Small creeks wind their way across the Valles, meandering in a lazy way until they find exit through the rugged lavas to the southwest. These are buried in ice and snow now, although we did see one ponded spring, apparently fed by volcanically-heated water, covered in happy waterfowl.

This trail just cries out for a saucer sled, to speed you back to your car:

Views through the trees on the east end of the trail (where we were stopped by uncompacted snow) show the Sierras de los Valles that cradle the Valle on its east side, and form the western backdrop to Los Alamos on the other side:

As you can see, this ridge has been severely burned by the Las Conchas Fire, the largest of all the fires that ravished New Mexico this spring. There’s very little of this loop that hasn’t been scorched, so if you are wanting to visit a verdant forest this summer, this walk isn’t for you. It’s still beautiful in the winter, and the animals haven’t forsaken it:

Sketching odd animal tracks on the snow

There are plenty of untouched groves that will seed future growth:

A pristine aspen grove

And the views are marvelous. Look how small the Valle Preserve Staging Area – the visitor’s center just right of the La Jara dome – looks, swallowed up by the snowy meadow:

The smallest lava dome in the Preserve, with the Staging Area to its right

Oh – we did see a coyote. He wasn’t on the trail – he was out in the Valle Grande hunting rodents under the snow – but I wanted to mention it. These mountains never fail to hand you a wildlife encounter.

View through a clearing

A natural sculpture of fire and ice

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A New Year’s Story

January 8th, 2012 The Santa Fe Naturalist

Can you see them?

“When the world was very young, a beautiful tree began to grow in the forest. With every day that passed, the tree grew taller and taller. From its lofty place, the tree could look down on all the life of the forest, both the very small and the very large. It could see how difficult life was for the smallest animals: the mice, the rabbits, and the squirrels. The tree watched hawks and owls swoop through the forest every day, hunting the small animals and making them run for cover. Each day, the hawks and owls got better and better at hunting. This made the tree sad because it liked all the animals of the forest, even the hawks and owls. One day, the tree watched a tiny mouse run from a hawk until it had run out of places to hide. The tree could see the mouse cowering amidst the cones that lay on the forest floor, bravely awaiting its fate. “Quick”, said the tree, “make yourself as small as you can so that you can hide between the scales of one of my cones.” The mouse did as it was told, squeezing its body under one of the cone’s woody scales, with its tiny hind legs and tail just peeking out from beneath the scale. Frustrated, the hawk flew off and the mouse was safe, its life spared by the kindness of its tall friend. To this day, Douglas-fir cones have an unmistakable three-pointed bract between each cone scale, one that looks just like a little mouse in hiding and reminds us that we must always look out for others”.

Variations of this simple tale are many. This particular version is related by Audrey DeLella Benedict at the beginning of her chapter “The Raven’s Forest: Douglas-fir forests” in “The Naturalist’s Guide to the Southern Rockies” – a book I highly recommend if you are making a visit out our way.

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