Tent Rocks

Fourth of July, headed out to Tent Rocks National Monument, after sending Kelly, Julie, Jodie, and John on their way to Colorado Springs. It's on Cochiti Pueblo, about a 45-minute drive from our place, the last few miles on dirt, washboard roads.

The beginning of the trail takes you through a slot canyon that requires some climbing and scrambling. Audrey pretty much handled them with a sense of adventure as we all worked our way, single file, through.



This part of the trail is just incredible. The walls curve in and out, hang over and move away. The effect reminds us of Richard Serra's Torqued Ellipses, where the walls move around you in ways they shouldn't.



Plenty of places to hide.



The trail up to and through the slot canyon is probably just over a mile. The last stretch takes you up the mesa for about a 400' elevation change in about a quarter mile. Audrey had kind of hit her limit at that point, especially since we were back out into the sun after the canyon. So Paul, Trish, and I headed up to the top of the mesa after a break, while Mon and Tess backtracked a bit and found a shady spot to stop with Audrey.

On the way, you start at the base and eventually work your way above the eponymous tent rocks. The layers of sediment on top are a bit harder than those below, which keeps them from completely eroding away, and gives them their shape. We were told at Keshi that this area is still used for coming-of-age ceremonies by the residents of Cochiti Pueblo.



At the top, we met up with a couple of locals who (in addition to taking our picture) shared with us some stories about growing up in the area, hunting on the land, and exploring the surrounding caves.



So, from the top of the mesa, this is our view (with the start point indicated):



and from the trail, looking up at our end point on the mesa:



Dinner at Cowgirl. We earned it.