Chris, his roommate Evan, and I took a trip into the Jemez Mountains. It was a long way up. I was glad to be driving an automatic. My poor car would've hated me for driving 40 miles in 3rd gear. After we went up on switchbacks for 30 minutes, I got a headache and was dizzy. We stopped at an ancient volcano, the Caldera. The volcano exploded thousands of years ago and blew so hard that the entire mountain collapsed and what remains is a field with hills of dried magma. The blast is believed to be the most powerful volcanic eruption of all time. Ash traveled as far as China. Maybe it killed the dinosaurs too. The field looked very out of place in an otherwise grass-less mesa landscape.
We stopped at a hot springs. The hike was short but steep. There were lots of people swimming already so we had lunch and went in the pools once everyone else had left. I was surprised by how much litter people left behind. Sad.
It was 90F and soaking wasn't as enjoyable as it would be if it was cooler. The heat dried my skin and swimsuit almost immediately.
We continued down the road to Jemez Springs. The town had an ice cream shop. AC + ice cream= much needed oasis. It looked like the stereotypical southwest town, adobe houses and bright yellow colored paint on everything. We perused the quirky shops, taking refuge in their AC buildings. All the salespeople were willing to tell stories about their pottery or jewelry. Maybe people buy more if they know a personal story about it, maybe they were just bored. The temp hit a blistering 97F at the hottest part of our walk. It was fun to watch the temperature go up and down as we drove higher and then lower in elevation on the way back to Los Alamos, at 7300ft. Finally back at the apartment, it felt cold. Only 91F.
The air is TOO DRY. My throat constantly hurts. Scratch the desert off my list of dream places to live.
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