NM Highway 63: Dalton Canyon, Holy Ghost, and Cowles

Today Thomas and I took a road trip up to Pecos for a chance to get out of the house and meet up with a friend. One of our friends was camping out by Dalton Canyon and had invited us to come up for the day and hang out. So we left Santa Fe and drove to Pecos and then turned onto NM 63. From NM 50 in Pecos we drove north on NM 63. I have been on this road before but only a short distance. I have visited Monastery Lake and the Lisboa Springs Fish Hatchery on a couple of drives out there. But that is as far along the road as I had been. Today would be different - we were going to drive the entire road up to Cowles.

We arrived at Dalton Canyon around noon and hung out with our friend and his buddies for a couple of hours. Before you arrive at Dalton Canyon you pass Dalton Picnic Area and Dalton Fishing Access Site. We didn't stop here, we just continued to meet our friend. He and his buddies were camping just off NM 63 on Forest Road 123 (Dalton Canyon Road) next to a small creek. We walked around the area for a while and I took some pictures. Then we left Dalton Canyon and continued up NM 63. Our next stop was at Holy Ghost Campground. We parked and walked for a bit along the creek here. It would have been nice to do a hike but we weren't prepared to do that so we just enjoyed our short walk. From the campground we returned to NM 63 and continued our drive. We passed the Terrero General Store and made our way to Cowles. Here we walked along the Pecos River for a while and then spent a little time walking around Cowles Pond.

We left Cowles and headed back down NM 63 and made our way home. It was a great afternoon driving in a beautiful area. I think we will have to make another trip to the area and do some hiking.

Burning Fires!

New Mexico is in its third year of drought and we are experiencing it first hand here in the northern part of the state. On Thursday a fire started just north of Pecos. They are calling this one the Tres Lagunas Fire. It started from a downed power line. At first we weren't seeing the smoke but this afternoon it started moving toward Santa Fe. The fire has burned about 2500 acres so far and is 0% contained. Then this afternoon a new fire started near the town of Jemez Springs. This is called the Thompson Ridge Fire and started when a tree hit a power line. The smoke from this fire is also moving toward Santa Fe. As of this evening 700 acres have been burned and the fire is 0% contained. As Thomas and I were eating dinner we could smell the smoke so we went outside to check what was going on. The smoke from one or both of the fires had moved into Santa Fe and the mountains were blocked from view. I decided to grab my camera and get a picture of all the smoke. You can read updates on both these fires at New Mexico Fire Information.

You can barely see the Sangre de Cristos through the smoke.

Thompson Fire Sunset looking towards Jemez Springs.