Tent Rocks

Fark the plan, I got up and went to Tent Rocks this morning. Beautiful! But the 5 miles of gravel road sure sucked.

Anyway, I left about 7 and got to the trailhead by 8. Decided to do the Canyon Trail, which is 1.5 miles in and out and goes thru Slot Canyon then up to the top of the mesa. I was the only person around and it was so quiet - really just amazing. You walk along the canyon floor and the sides go up above your head and there are trees growing out of the rock. The sky was blue and the sun was low enough that a lot of the trail was still in shade. Then the view from the top was 360 degrees. There was a hawk or something soaring above the canyon catching the thermals. They've had a fire, but not too recently - there were a lot of burned trees in fantastic shapes but a lot of green, too. The signs warned about rattlesnakes, but all I saw were birds, lizards, and a couple of chipmunks. I also saw jack rabbits, but that was on the gravel road on the way in...

When I went back down I passed a few people, but mostly I was alone. I hit the Cave Loop Trail at the junction and basically took the long way back. I'm so glad I went and I'm super-glad I went first thing in the morning!

Pics to be posted soon!