Happy Birthday, Jenna! We celebrated this special event, by driving up to Tent Rocks for a hike into the canyon, which the kids loved! We also went to dinner and had a small cake at home.The Tent Rocks hike was the highlight of the day, though. It's about a 2 mile round trip hike and Jenna did really well on her own two feet until the end, when we took turns giving her horseback rides. Tent Rocks has always been one of my favorite places to hike for the fascinating formations, beautiful and unique scenery and interesting history of the area. One of our favorite things to find while hiking there are Navajo Tears, which are a type of black quartz formed from volcanic action.
Well, I can't believe that I forgot to pack my camera before goin on this hike....so alas...no awesome photos to share here.
More info:
In north-central New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, lies the unique geological area known as Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks. Kasha-Katuwe or *white cliffs* in Keresan*the traditional language for the Pueblo de Cochiti.This area features large, tent-shaped rocks that hug the steep cliffs of Peralta Canyon. These rocks were created by the powerful forces of vulcanism and erosion, which have built up and then torn down this landscape. During the last million years, a tremendous volcanic explosion northwest of Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks spewed rock and ash for hundreds of square miles, leaving volcanic debris up to 400 feet thick. Over time, water cut into these deposits, creating canyons, arroyos and other area features. The cone-shaped rock formations are wind- and water-eroded pumice and tuff deposits. Their hard, erosion-resistant caprocks protect the softer "tents" below. While uniform in shape, the tent rock formations vary in height from a few feet to 90 feet.
