It was the second day in the city of different, Santa Fe, and the plan was to make an early trip to the Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, be back by lunch and explore the city. Located about 40 miles southwest of Santa Fe near Cochiti Pueblo, Kasha Katuwe means 'white cliffs'. The layers at the monument were formed because of volcanic eruptions spewing gas, broken rock, lava and ash skyward. At times this mixture would be so dense that it would rush down the sides of the volcanoes in a flow of hot chaos, obliterating everything in its path (pyroclastic flow). In between volcanic eruptions, wind and water moved the debris downslope. As layer upon layer was deposited, the material hardened to form the rock type called tuff. In the last million years, uplifting, faulting and weathering has revealed the tuff and its layers. A fracture may have initially weakened the area of the slot canyon, but water excavated and sculpted its walls. Water is also the primary carver of the tent formations.
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| On the way to the Tent Rocks monument |
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| A view on entering the slot canyon |
The trail to the view point passes through a slot canyon which means as the day progresses and the crowd increases, it takes longer to complete the trail. We wanted to finish this by noon so that we could explore around Santa Fe for the rest of the day. We started from the hotel by around 8 am and were at the monument trail by 9 am. The park opens at 8 am and there is a charge per vehicle. Also depending on the season visiting it would be wise to carry a few bottles of water and some nuts. The length of the trail was 1.5 miles one way. The trail passes through an amazing slot canyon and then you see a cluster of the tent rocks! You slowly pass the tent rocks and reach to a view point where you can see all of the surrounding area. The view was absolutely gorgeous! We were back at the trail start by around 11:30 am and reached the hotel by 12:30 pm.
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| A narrow pathway in the slot canyon |
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| One of the beautiful views that one can get from a slot canyon |
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| Words fall short picture |
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| The beautiful tent rocks on the way to the top of the trail |
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| Tent rocks from the top of the trail |
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| Slot canyon trail view from the top of the trail |
Once at the hotel, we took the hotel shuttle to a vegan food truck called Root 66. A lot of blogs had mentioned about Root 66 and we wanted to try it out because this would have been our first ever food truck visit in the USA! They are available at the parking of the Santa Fe Brewing Co.'s Brakeroom location which is off the Galisteo Street and also it would be wise to check their status on Facebook since they close in the winter. Coming back to the food truck experience, we tried Impossible Mushroom Cheeseburger, Eggplant Marinara Panini and Tempeh Crabcake Sandwich all with a side of potato salad. The food was really good, I loved the crabcake sandwich and the best part was it was all 100% vegan! They also made up a dish of rice, eggplant and marinara for my daughter and didn't even charge for it! If you are a vegan/vegetarian wondering what to eat in Santa Fe, just head to this food truck and your taste buds will thank you for it!
After a hearty meal, we took a walk to the Georgia O'Keeffe museum. Georgia O'Keeffe was an American artist also known as the 'Mother of American modernism'. Her paintings reflect flowers, New York skyscrapers, bones against the stark desert sky and New Mexican landscapes. The museum has many of her paintings and two videos featuring Georgia herself.
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| A painting from the Georgia O'Keeffe museum |
Continued
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