On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
lee
Jemez Springs is a hidden gem in New Mexico. It is about 70 miles west of Santa Fe. It is located next to the Jemez Pueblo in the Jemez National Recreation Area which is part of the Santa Fe National Forest. There are hot springs up and down the valley and various establishments that offer relaxing soaks in the hot springs. It is difficult to get to and has very little cell reception (IMHO those are selling points).
The Jemez Valley offers red rock trails without having to go to Sedona. The local pueblo sells all sorts of items that really are from the surrounding pueblos.
Just a short trip up the valley you have the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Then a not so short trip (but still picturesque) further up and you get to Los Alamos.
The Cerro Grande Trail leads to an overlook from which you can see Los Alamos as well the nearby caldera. This is the caldera from the peak.
This is overlooking the Jemez Valley.
It was so quite that you could hear the chipmunk eating that blade of grass.
This is the mural on the pueblo’s visitor center. I was just recently unveiled. The hummingbird appears in a lot of their art work. I really love these renditions.
This is the Rio Grande that passes by the Gillman Tunnel. You can drive the tunnel but you really miss out on the views of the river as well as exploring the area.
Across from the Jemez Pueblo Visitor Center is this absolute beauty of a hike. The Walatowa Red Rock Slot Canyon. Even doing the inner loop the entire distance is about 1.5 miles. I’ve hiked in Sedona. This is just as picturesque but without the crowds and toxic commercialism.
This is what the view from the Inn & Spa we stayed at. Around the corner from the pool in the courtyard was a spring that bubbled out of the ground and into the nearby creek.
I have picture of that but this makes the 10th image.
eclare
So pretty! I had no idea part of NM was so green.
Mustang Bobby
I have fond memories of soaking in Gilman Hot Springs.
Helena Montana
I often think longingly about relocating from Florida to New Mexico.
Helena Montana
I often think longingly about relocating from Florida to New Mexico.
Steeplejack
@Helena Montana:
Welcome! Looks like your first comment needed to get vetted. You should be good to go for future comments now.
Wvng
This -“It was so quiet that you could hear the chipmunk eating that blade of grass.” was a very clever way to get people to focus on a nearly invisible chipmunk. Bravo! Beyond contented chipmunks, this region is now on my bucket list.
raven
Wowzer!
Dorothy A. Winsor
These pics make me want to go to NM
lee
I grew up in Midland, Texas (west Texas). I learned to snow ski in Ruidoso as well as did a lot of camping/hiking all over in New Mexico.
My wife and I absolutely love New Mexico. I’ve got enough pics for a couple of post.
lee
@eclare: There are parts of the Rocky Mountains in Southern New Mexico. The southern most ski resort with the highest zip line release in the world is in Ruidoso.
lee
@Dorothy A. Winsor: the hardest part of going to NM is getting there. NM has one major airport in Albuquerque. Thankfully from ABQ you can get to just about any part of NM within a 3 hour drive.
Jemez Springs is about an hour away.
eclare
@lee: Interesting!
Betty
Lovely little corner of the world. Thanks for sharing it.
WaterGirl
Stunning! I especially love the first and second, with the beautiful blue skies and the perfect greens on the land. And the red rocks!
WaterGirl
@lee:
I would love to see them all! Be sure to submit more posts!
But please wait at least a week because it’s easier to sort through the OTR mess at the moment with fewer to work with.
MazeDancer
Ah, New Mexico. Lovely photos.
Albatrossity
Gorgeous! I’ve driven past that part of NM, but never stopped. Now I know better!
lee
@WaterGirl:
Will do.
It will probably take me at least a week to find some of the older pictures.
Mike in Oly
These are wonderful!! I cannot get over how beautiful the shot of the slot canyon is. All those shades of red with the green spilling over. Stunning shot.
numfar
I’ve been here since 2003. It’s a striking contrast to Michigan where everything is so green.
The little spots of color are rare, but they are gorgeous when you find them.
Geminid
@lee: If one likes roadtrips and has the time, getting to New Mexico by car is fun. I went twice three years ago, using my Atlanta friend’s home to jump off from. The route was simple: take I-20 west 830 miles to Sweetwater, Texas and turn right towards Lubbock. The National WASP Museum is on the way out of Sweetwater. It honors the women of the Women’s Air Service Pilots who ferried airplanes from factories to bases all around the U.S.
After a stop at the WASP Museum, Santa Rosa New Mexico is just four and a half hours away. I like to stop there and camp a couple nights at Santa Rosa Lake State Park campground and unwind from the trip (the tent sites there are on a ridge next to a nice 8 mile horse trail).Then it’s time to drive further into the Land of Enchantment.
JanieM
Thanks — as @Wvng: says, another bucket list place. Beautiful pictures — the colors are stunning.
Ella in New Mexico
Most beautiful land in the world, IMHO.
We rough camp near Jemez Springs, way up the road, deep in the woods at 9000 feet elevation. No cell phone service unless you climb a nearby mountain peak. Two biggest fears are bears and running out of ice 😄
Amazing to live somewhere we can still spend quite time in nature, in places not completely overrun with people.
susanna
Fantastic landscape! Love having my eyes opened to sights of nature in its grandeur previously unknown.
MelissaM
That mural is gorgeous! All lovely, thanks for sharing. And Lee, I look forward to more NM.
lee
@Ella in New Mexico:
The weird thing was the peak of the Cerro Grande Trail had great cell reception.
I looked around for a cell tower but didn’t see one. With that being the highest peak around they have one hidden away somewhere close.
dexwood
@lee: Did you visit the Los Ojos bar for a burger and beer in Jemez Springs? I know the area well and have spent quite a bit of time there since 1974 hiking, camping, fishing, or just leisurely drives. Half my wife’s family is from Jemez Pueblo, the other half is from Laguna Pueblo (she’s a distant cousin to Deb Haaland). Thanks for the nice wake up spotlighting one of my favorite parts of New Mexico. Might have to take a ride north this morning.
lee
@Geminid: We normally drive from DFW to whatever location we are going to in New Mexico.
Sometimes we drive straight thru other times we overnight in Amarillo.
We stop in Tucumcari (Route 66) or Roswell for a bite to eat and gas. If we are headed to north NM it is Tucumcari, south NM then Roswell.
lee
@dexwood: Oh yeah. Had 2 meals and several beers at Los Ojos.
Also tried out the Jemez Mountain Brewhouse. My wife had the best cider she ever had there. The local brews were solid. They kept the place incredibly clean.
Also if your wife still has any connections to the Jemez Pueblo, have her make a suggestion to market the ever living shit out of those stylized hummingbirds. I got one of the stickers![]()
but really like the new style better.
Geminid
@lee: I like Roswell. The Bitter Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is on the city’s northeast edge and Bottomless Lakes State Park is a nice place to camp just 10 miles away.
I also like the pecan groves on the outskirts, and downtown there’s a green 15 foot-tall alien holding up a Dunkin’ Donuts sign!
lee
@Geminid: One of the first times we drove through Roswell, I mentioned to my wife all the pecan groves (I grew up around pecan trees so I immediately recognized them). We’ve stopped at the ‘alien’ McDonald’s in Roswell for a treat.
We’ve flown into Roswell and rented a car to go to Ruidoso (only saved at most 3 hours). Next time we might stay a night and I’ll check out those parks.
MinuteMan
The area is also home to Hummingbird Music Camp and if you drop in on Sundays they have rather nice free concerts.
Geminid
@lee: There is a aquifer in eastern New Mexico that is charged by rain that falls on the mountains to the west. Farmers grow the pecans with water pumped from the aquifer and it also feeds artesian lakes like the ones at the wildlife refuge and the state park. Santa Rosa’s Blue Hole is part of this system I think.
In the 19th century cattleman John Chisum used these lakes as watering stations on the “Chisum Trail” that carried cattle from Texas to the states north.
lee
@MinuteMan: We drove past that camp multiple times. Next time we head to Jemez we’ll have to stop by there on Sunday.
Miss Bianca
Wow, this is awesome. I’m not familiar with Jemez Springs or the Jemez Pueblo, although I’ve spent a fair bit of time in and around the Santa Fe area. My late sister lived in Pecos for many years and taught at the Santa Fe Indian School and the Santo Domingo Pueblo. Through her I got to explore a lot of wonderful sights – but you’ve just added more to my list of “must see’s”. Thank you!
KrackenJack
NM is one of the few states I haven’t at least passed through. A co-worker was raving about Sedona yesterday, but crowds and toxic commercialism doesn’t sound attractive. This looks much more attractive.
Congratulations on getting post up while the pixels are still warm.
way2blue
Gorgeous landscape! And I can’t get over how green things are in July. As I sit here in central California and look out at parched golden brown hills… Must be at a fairly high elevation?
pluky
Hmm. According to Wikipedia, the volcanic system that produced the caldera is dormant, not extinct. Hence the hot springs. While the big eruption that created the caldera was ~1.3MYA, the last volcanism was “only” ~68KYA.