Category Archives: daytrips

Cibola National Forest Waives Recreation, Overnight Camping Fees Saturday 9/25/10

ABQNews: Cibola National Forest Waives Recreation, Overnight Camping Fees Saturday

The fees are being waived in celebration of National Public Lands Day

Recreation fees and overnight camping fees are being waived Saturday (Sept. 25) on the Cibola National Forest and the Black Kettle and McClellan Creek National Grasslands for National Public Lands Day.

The Cibola National Forest made the announcement Tuesday in a news release.

The news release said, however, that any reservations made and paid for through the national reservation system will not be waived.

The Cibola National Forest offers mountain ranges scattered east and south of Albuquerque and west to New Mexico’s border with Arizona, according to the news release. The Cibola includes four wilderness areas — Sandia Mountain, Manzano Mountain, Apache Kid and Withington Wilderness.

For more information, contact Mark Chavez or Nancy Brunswick at the Cibola National Forest Supervisor’s Office at 505-346-3900.

ABQNews: Cibola National Forest Waives Recreation, Overnight Camping Fees Saturday

Happy National Wilderness Month!

We started National Wilderness Month (September 2010) with a nice hike on the Tree Spring Trail in the Sandias, although we didn’t reach the wilderness boundary.

SummitPost – Tree Springs Trail — Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering

» President Obama Proclaims September “National Wilderness Month” — New Mexico Wilderness Alliance »

A copy of the White House press release follows.

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release

August 31, 2010
Presidential Proclamation–National Wilderness Month

A PROCLAMATION
For centuries, the American spirit of exploration and discovery has led us to experience the majesty of our Nation’s wilderness.  From raging rivers to serene prairies, from mountain peaks slicing the skyline to forests teeming with life, our Nation’s landscapes have provided wonder, inspiration, and strength to all Americans.  Many sites continue to hold historical, cultural, and religious significance for Indian tribes, the original stewards of this continent.  We must continue to preserve and protect these scenic places and the life that inhabits them so they may be rediscovered and appreciated by generations to come.

As we celebrate America’s abundance of diverse lands, remarkable wildlife, and untamed beauty during National Wilderness Month, we also look back on our rich history of conservation.  It was over 100 years ago that President Theodore Roosevelt marveled at the stark grandeur of the Grand Canyon and declared, “the ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.”  Since that time, administrations have worked across party lines to defend America’s breathtaking natural sites.  President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act in 1964, and many Presidents have since added new places to this great network of protected lands so that millions of acres of forests, monuments, and parks will be preserved for our children and grandchildren.

Following in the footsteps of my predecessors, I signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act last year to restore and protect more of our cherished wild spaces.  In April of this year, I established the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to develop a community-based 21st century conservation agenda that can also spur job creation in the tourism and recreation industries.  My Administration will continue to work closely with our State, local, and tribal partners to connect Americans with the great outdoors.

This month, we renew our pledge to build upon the legacy of our forebears.  Together, we must ensure that future generations can experience the tranquility and grandeur of America’s natural places.  As we resolve to meet this responsibility, let us also reflect on the ways in which our lives have been enriched by the gift of the American wilderness.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 2010 as National Wilderness Month.  I invite all Americans to visit and enjoy our wilderness areas, to learn about their vast history, and to aid in the protection of our precious national treasures.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

» President Obama Proclaims September “National Wilderness Month” — New Mexico Wilderness Alliance »

Cedro Creek Nature Trail – Duke City Fix

Cedro Creek Nature Trail – Duke City Fix

When it’s warm in Albuquerque, it’s always a little bit cooler in the mountains. There are plenty of hard core hiking spots to go around, but there are also some easy going gems that deliver the visual goods without a knock down workout. These trails are family affairs. Pack up the kids. Take the dog. Carry plenty of liquids.
Getting There
1. Take I-40 (or even better, Route 66) east into the Sandia mountains. Go until you hit Tijeras. Take 337 going south.
2. Stop at the Sandia Ranger Station if it is open. It will be on your left. Pick up a trail map for the Cedro Creek Nature Trail. The trail has a series of numbered markers. This map will give the corresponding details.
3. Head on down 337. Pass Tunnel Canyon and keep going. Look for the Otero Canyon sign. Pull off and park.
4. Walk down the short hill and look for the Cedro Creek trail sign just to your left. Get hiking!

Cedro Creek Nature Trail – Duke City Fix

UNM Today: Maxwell Museum Sponsoring Excursion to South Chaco Canyon Outliers

UNM Today: Maxwell Museum Sponsoring Excursion to South Chaco Canyon Outliers 

Maxwell Museum Sponsoring Excursion to South Chaco Canyon Outliers

Tom WindesTom Windes will lead a Maxwell Museum sponsored two-day excursion to Chacoan outlying sites found in the general area of Grants, New Mexico on Saturday-Sunday, April 17-18. These early communities span the Pueblo I, II, III and IV periods (CE 900-1400’s) and provide a visible impression of architectural and ceramic change through the centuries during the Chacoan period and beyond.

Windes will show sites on BLM land that are normally closed to the public. There are Greathouses, kivas and spectacular settings at Las Ventanas, Cebolla Canyon, Andrews Greathouse and Casamero Ruin.

There is a $75 per day charge, and UNM Tuition Remission is accepted. For two-day registrants there is $20 van transportation available. Each of the areas to be visited has had some research conducted by archeologists, such as inventory surveys and interested tour members can get a more in-depth look at the sites.

For more information, please contact Mary Beth Hermans at (505) 277-1400 or

mhermans@unm.edu.

Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu

UNM Today: Maxwell Museum Sponsoring Excursion to South Chaco Canyon Outliers

Bosque del Apache, New Mexico

Bosque del Apache is a magical spot not quite 100 miles to the south from our door. Bosque is located close to the Rio Grande but is a largely artificial wetlands, capably managed to attract tens of thousands of bird in the winter, including massive flocks of snow geese and sandhill cranes. The cranes and geese, in particular, fly out at dawn and in at sunset in wave after wave of birds. Even without the birds, the bosque is beautiful, surrounded by mountains in every direction.

Merri and I went to the bosque at the beginning of December, 2009, with our neighbors, Joe and Sally. We didn’t take our annual expedition and moveable feast with other friends at the end of December. We did return to the bosque on a perfect day, February 1st, 2010. For the very first time in 25 years of trips several times per year, we walked one of the 6+ mile loops, which offered us even more birding opportunities than the bosque does on a slow drive. Of the 300 plus pictures I took, here are 35.

Bosque del Apache
click for 35 pix
& fullscreen slideshow

UNM Today: Field Guide to Middle Rio Grande Bosque Released by UNM Press and UNM Biology Researchers

Extending from the spillway below Cochiti Dam, about 50 miles north of Albuquerque, to the headwaters of Elephant Butte Reservoir, near Truth or Consequences in the southern portion of New Mexico, the Middle Rio Grande Bosque is more than a cottonwood woodland or forest. It is a complete riverside ecosystem, among the more important in the world’s arid regions.

“A Field Guide to the Plants and Animals of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque” [Penned by biology researchers at the University of New Mexico including Jean-Luc E. Cartron, David C. Lightfoot, Jane E. Mygatt, Sandra L. Brantley, and Timothy K. Lowrey] provides nearly 400 pages of information, features 800 color photographs and descriptions of more than 700 plants and animals in the Middle Rio Grande Bosque.

This authoritative guide reveals the important role of a unique riverside ecosystem. As the first of its kind for the Middle Rio Grande Bosque, the guide provides an invaluable resource for land managers, teachers, students, eco-buffs and nature enthusiasts. …

The next event will be held Friday, Dec. 5 in conjunction with Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day at the UNM Bookstore. The book-signing at the UNM Bookstore, located at Central and Cornell N.E., will be held from 12 to 2 p.m.

Other signings include the Rio Grande Nature Center on Jan. 10 and Bookworks on Jan. 11. Bookworks is located in the Flying Star Plaza at 4022 Rio Grande N.W., while the Rio Grande Nature Center is located at 2901 Candelaria Rd., N.W. Those book-signings begin at 5:30 p.m. at each location.

For more information visit UNM Press at: http://unmpress.unm.edu/.

Gutierrez Canyon Open Space

New Mexico, Gutierrez Canyon Open Space Expanded to Over 800 Acres (NM): The Trust for Public Land

The property is accessed by a small strip of land just south of the Cedar Springs post office. It is surrounded on the north and east sides by residential development, and abuts Gutierrez Canyon Open Space on the south. Its protection brings the total acreage of Gutierrez Canyon Open Space to 700 acres, and creates the first public access from N.M. 14, the Turquoise Trail.

The property offers hikers and equestrians impressive views from its high ground, and includes oak filled side canyons. Residential development was a very real threat in this scenic part of Cedar Springs, but decisive action from community activists and local and state government ensured its conservation as open space.

New Mexico: The Trust for Public Land

Sandia Mountain Hiking Guide

Hiking in the Sandia Mountains
by Mike Coltrin

This web site is a hiking guide to the Sandia Mountains. I give trail descriptions and advice on about 40 separate day hikes in the Sandia Mountains, covering more than 50 separate trails, and 250 miles. If you follow the rough outline shared here, all of the major (and many very seldom-traveled) trails can be covered within a year.

Sandia Mountain Hiking Guide

ABQNews – Another Top 10 for Albuquerque

peace, mjh

ABQNews – Another Top 10 for Albuquerque

Written by Dan McKay

Monday, 21 April 2008

Albuquerque’s Biological Park landed on the Top 10 list for best urban parks in the West, according to Sunset magazine.

Tingley Beach, the Rio Grande Zoo’s African exhibit and the Sasebo Japanese Garden are mentioned as reasons for the No. 8 ranking.

The magazine compiled a list of 10 great urban parks for its April edition. Topping the list is Balboa Park in San Diego.

ABQNews – Another Top 10 for Albuquerque