10-5 El Morro National Monument

Flo started her day out a lot better than yesterday but she was still having a little pain in her right hip. At least she’s climbing in and out of the Minnie a lot better. I had a slow start this morning, I just couldn’t get started. I climbed out of bed at 8:45, which was pretty late for me. I made biscuits for breakfast. It took me awhile but we finally got on the road at 10. This was the latest we ever left a campground. Before leaving El Malpais National Monument we finished our drive through. It has a magnificent arch called La Ventana Natural Arch which is the second largest arch in New Mexico. We drove to the Narrows where you can hike the rim trail and see sandstone cliffs and the lava fields. We decided to pass on the hike. The drive was very nice and there were a lot of beautiful sandstone cliffs. We had a marvelous time at El Malpais National Monument.

El Malpais National Monument

La Ventana Natural Arch

After leaving El Malpais we drove 80 miles to El Morro National Monument, this monument is run by the National Parks and is free. The camping in the campground is also free. Before going to the campground we stopped at the visitor center to get information about the monument and to see what there is to do. The ranger was very helpful and told us the history of the monument. She recommended the hiking trails. There were two self-guided trails, the visitor center loans you a booklet that gives you information about each point of interest to see on the trails. Inscription Rock Trail is a paved .5 miles loop that has carvings on the sandstone cliff. The carvings are from the Ancient people who had visited this area, Atsinna Pueblo, Spaniards and Americans. The carvings were light color in the sandstone and hard to see but the ones you see were amazing. The people back in the 1700s and 1800s had elegant handwriting. The Mesa Top Trail is a two mile loop that goes up 200 feet to the top of the mesa. There are stairs that are made in the sandstone, at times the trail is challenging but when you get to the top you see understanding views and ancient pueblo ruins. The ranger suggested when we hiked the Mesa Top Trail to start at the back because it was easier. We were glad she suggested that because of the climb. There were switchbacks on the trail which were very steep but it made the descent back down easier. We had a super time hiking at El Morro. 

The mesa we hiked during the Mesa Top Trail

Larry on top of the mesa after climbing a few stairs in the sandstone

Ancient Pueblo Ruins

Larry getting ready to walk the switchbacks

One of the many carving from the Spaniards explorers 

The water hole that attracted people to this area

Camping out in El Morro National Monument

After our hikes we went to the campground. We didn’t have any problems finding a campsite but they weren’t that leveled. Larry had to block the front end real high and it still wasn’t level. After setting up the Minnie Larry and I took a nap. That hike really wore me out. I slept for a couple of hours and when I woke up Larry was reading. Once I got out of bed I made dinner, we had bow tie noodles and chili. After dinner we took Flo for a walk and then we called it a night. El Morro has a very pretty campground. We had a super time at El Morro National Monument.