While the Garden is in transition between summer and fall, I thought it would be fun to feature some posts about my travels over the summer.  Several dear friends from high school and I spent a week in Colorado and Santa Fe in August.  I had visited Santa Fe previously and fell in love with the culture, the arts, the food and the land.  One quickly learns that the air, the sky, the light are different in New Mexico.  It is no wonder artists like Georgia O'Keeffe were drawn there and called it home after experiencing the seduction of New Mexico.  Georgia O'Keeffe said, "It's something that's in the air - it's different.  The sky is different, the wind is different."  Georgia O'Keefe is without a doubt my favorite artist; her work has deeply influenced my photography.  It is no wonder I would be awestruck by the place she called home for the later years in her life.  One of my favorite places near Santa Fe to hike - one of my favorite places in the world - is Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.  Kasha-Katuwe means "white cliffs" in the traditional Pueblo language Keresan. Tent Rocks is located about 40 miles south of Santa Fe.  To get there you drive through tribal land that is still occupied by the ancestors of the Pueblo de Cochiti. It was designated a national monument in 2001 and up until then it was relatively unknown.  The first time I hiked at Tent Rocks we saw only a few other people on the trails. This time it was much more crowded but it did not detract from our experience of this magnificent place.  The Canyon trail is a 1.5 mile trek into a narrow canyon with a steep 630 foot climb to the mesa top for breathtaking views of the Sangre de Cristo, Jemez and Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande Valley.  It is not a difficult hike at all but one does have to take into account the heat in the summer as well as the altitude and prepare with plenty of water.  It is best to hike Tent Rocks in the morning before it is too hot and the possibility of afternoon storms might hamper your plans.  Flash floods in the slot canyons are not uncommon, as well as lightning strikes on the canyon walls.  I limited my camera gear to a small backpack and used my 24-105mm lens exclusively.  A tripod would have been nice for doing some HDR shots but I did not want the extra weight because of the heat and climb.

As you begin the trail you are greeted by the cone-shaped tent rock formations that are the result of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago. Perched on many of the "hoodoos" are boulder caps that protect the softer pumice and tuff below.  The sky is an unbelievable shade of intense blue and the clouds on this particular day were the very typical New Mexico clouds I have come to love.

The layering of volcanic material resulted in the bands of gray, beige and pink-colored rock formations. Wind and water have eroded these deposits over time creating the canyons, arroyos and unique formations that make Tent Rocks an interesting outdoor laboratory for the study of geologic processes.

Narrow slot canyons are part of the trek through Tent Rocks and offer a respite from the hot sun and a nice cool breeze.

As you climb to the top of the mesa you are greeted by this magnificent view looking down into the canyon.

At the mesa top, which is 6,800 feet above sea level, you can see the beautiful views of the Sangre de Cristo, Jemez and Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande Valley.  It's nice to sit on a rock and take it all in before you begin the descent back down.  You go back down the same trail you come up on, so you get to enjoy it all again in reverse. 

This photo of my friend Joan pretty much sums up the exhiliration of the views, the climb, being under that glorious New Mexican sky!