Hiking with Graywolf: Ojito Wilderness, NM

Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011. I had the day off work so I decided to hike in one of my favorite areas, the Ojito Wilderness of New Mexico. It is pure desert with lots of sand, rocks and cactus. Millions of years ago it was actually the bottom of a great sea and if you look closely you can find petrified sea shells and sharks teeth. The drive to the trailhead took me through the Jemez Mountains and Valley which I think is one of the most scenic routes in the whole country. On the way I pass beneath Battleship Rock.

A little further down the road the Cottonwoods along the banks of the Jemez River display their fall color.

Here's a picture of Guadalupe Mesa. Suzanne and I once backpacked up there and camped for three days. Up on top is the remains of an entire Native American village.

Suzanne and I also hiked to the top of the mesa on the right of the picture below.

I couldn't resit taking the next picture because of all the cool contrasts.

After leaving the Jemez Valley the terrain changes drastically as I enter the Ojito Wilderness.

I park my truck near one of the many mesas that rise up out of the desert.

Who takes a picture of a rock? I do when it has lichen on it like this one.

This picture may not look like much but its the spot where Seismosaurus, the largest dinosaur ever discovered in North America was dug up.

About 30 feet away is this rock with lots of petroglyphs on it. These were carved into the rock hundreds of years ago. The elongated foot and crescent moon mean that a female shaman made a long journey to get to that spot. The bow and arrow pointing at a snake means she was asking for good hunting for her people.

Hazel Doggie enjoys the view.

Another of the many mesas.

Way off in the distance rising 1,000 feet above the desert floor is Cabezon. It's a volcanic plug which is the magma that filled up the inside of a volcano. Over many millions of years the outside of the volcano eroded away leaving only the inside remaining.