Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [124]
After devouring a big and delicious Cimarron Rose breakfast, it’s time to explore the volcanic badlands. Privately owned Bandera Ice Cave, known to Pueblo Indians as Winter Lake, is a chunk of green-tinted ice (the color comes from Arctic algae) frozen inside part of a collapsed lava tube. The subterranean cave stays frozen year round – the ice on the cave floor is 20ft thick and temps never rise above 31°F! Reach the volcanic crater where the cave sits on one of several easy walking trails from the concession visitors center.
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ALL ABOUT LAVA
All told, five major flows have been identified in El Malpais National Monument, with the most recent one pegged at just 2000 to 3000 years old. Prehistoric Native Americans may have witnessed the final eruptions since local Indian legends refer to “rivers of fire.” Scenic Hwy 117 leads modern-day explorers past cinder cones and spatter cones, smooth pahoehoe lava and jagged lava lava, ice caves and a 17-mile-long lava-tube system.
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Haven’t had enough lava? Good. El Malpais National Monument is your next destination. Pronounced el mahl-pie-ees, which means “bad land” in Spanish, the monument consists of almost 200 sq miles of lava flows abutting adjacent sandstone with a number of hiking trails departing from access points along Hwy 117. Keep an eye out for the impressive La Ventana Natural Arch, visible from Hwy 117 about 17 miles south of I-40. Stop by the national monument’s information center in Grants, or ask at the ranger station at the park entrance for backcountry camping permits and park maps.
Your trip ends in Grants. Once a booming railway town, and then a booming mining town, today it is simply a trucker’s stop on Route 66 with one interesting museum. Located at the town’s now defunct uranium mine, kids love the hands-on exhibits at the New Mexico Mining Museum. Although a lack of demand has ceased mine operations, this remains America’s largest uranium reserve.
Becca Blond
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TRIP INFORMATION
GETTING THERE
From Gallup, 140 miles west of Albuquerque on I-40 (Route 66), take Hwy 602 south to Hwy 53 east.
DO
Bandera Ice Cave
Look for this private tourist concession 25 miles southwest of Grants. 505-783-4303; www.icecaves.com; adult/child 5-12 yr $8/4; 8am-4:30pm;
Ellis Tanner Trading Company
One of the Southwest’s largest functional, traditional Indian trading posts, it’s been run by the same family for four generations. 505-863-4434; www.etanner.com; cnr Nizhoni & Hwy 602; call for hr
El Malpais Information Center
Stop by the Grants Visitors Center for free backcountry camping permits. 505-285-4641; www.nps.gov/elma; 123 E Roosevelt Ave, Grants; 8am-4:30pm Mon-Fri
El Malpais National Monument
The ranger station at the entrance to this volcanic badland has maps and info on hiking in the national monument. 505-783-4774; www.nps.gov/elma; Hwy 53; 8:30am-4:30pm
El Morro National Monument
A nationally protected 200ft sandstone outcrop covered with thousands of years of graffiti; located about 52 miles southeast of Gallup. 505-783-4226; www.nps.gov/elmo; adult/child $3/free; 9am-5pm, to 7pm in Jun-Aug
New Mexico Mining Museum
Kids can’t get enough of the “world’s only uranium museum.” It’s a hands-on place with metal-cage descents into the ‘Section 26’ mine shaft. 505-287-4802; adult/child 7-18 yr $3/2; 9am-4pm Mon-Sat; .
Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary
Walk with the wolves at this sanctuary that gives abused and injured wolves and wolf-dog mixes a new lease on life; tours of the animals’ homes last around one hour. 505-775-3304; www.wildwolfsanctuary.org; Forest Rd 120; adult/child $5/3; 11am-3.30pm Tue-Sun
EAT & SLEEP
Cimarron Rose
Two Southwestern-style suites with tiles, pine walls and hardwood floors are offered at this eco-friendly B&B off Hwy 53 between El Morro and