Week 21: the one with the amazing shadow!
Continuing my residency at Capulin Volcano National Monument
Hello, and welcome back to another update. It’s the third week of my residency at Capulin Volcano National Monument and time is just flying by!
Here’s what I’ve been up to:
Hiking, hiking, hiking…
Lava Flow and Boca Trails
Wednesday we hiked the Lava flow and Boca trails again so that I could take photos for a painting to donate to the park. There were signs of fall everywhere — it’s just so beautiful here — and I love seeing volcanoes in every direction.
Last week’s storm brought snow to the peaks of the Sangre de Cristos and they seemed to glow.
The Boca Trail is one of my favorites since you get different views of Capulin Volcano, plus prairie.
It’s mostly sideoats and blue grama with there are patches of big bluestem, Indiangrass and little bluestem mixed in. The first time I saw big bluestem here it really blew my mind — totally wasn’t expecting it!
I also finally spotted green flowered hedgehog cacti — and then we started seeing them everywhere! Don’t know how we missed them when we hiked the trail before.
Crater Rim Trail — Twice in One Day!
Friday we did the Crater Rim Trail twice — once in the morning and then again in the late afternoon when we stayed for sunset.
11:00 am: Round 1
We drove the van up around 11 am in search of rose hips for a painting — happy to report that we found them!
The views from the Crater Rim Trail never disappoint! The white you see is snow on the peaks of the Sangre de Cristos.
4:00 pm: Round 2
Ranger Angie offered to drive us up when she went back to the top of the volcano to close the gate at 4:00, so we happily took her up on it! (Note: the road closes at 4:00, and foot traffic is only allowed on the road after it’s closed to vehicular traffic.)
We hiked the trail again looking for the best spot to watch the sunset. It was super cold and super windy but it was so worth it!
First we met some deer friends who were eating their dinner :)
Then we noticed the shadow of Capulin Volcano — so cool! We later learned that this only happens in late fall/winter when the sun is lower in the sky, so we felt pretty lucky to see it.
Shadow Time!
Here’s a series of photos showing the shadow stretching across the prairie:
Until it finally stretched up above the horizon:
The sunset was pretty amazing, too!
By this time we were super cold — and hungry! So we started the 2 mile trek down the road.
So thankful that we got to do this!
And to make it even more special, we saw the comet again as we were walking back down!
What an awesome day.
Public Outreach Program
Saturday was my third and final public outreach program — it was so much fun! Here’s a peek at my demo table where I shared my sketchbooks:
I made mini books out of a single sheet of watercolor paper to use as nature journals and put together a handout of ideas to try. The park has a well stocked art supply cabinet filled with watercolors, colored pencils and more, so I set up a second table with colorful supplies.
A total of 56 people stopped by my table, woo hoo! I wasn’t able to convince everyone to give nature journaling a try — but I was super impressed with all those who gave it a go! Just look some of my favorite pages:
I put together a quick video on Instagram if you’d like to see more of everyone’s work.
Amazing Sunsets
I’ll leave you with some amazing sunset photos — New Mexico sure knows how to put on a show!
I’ve been running out to see the sunset almost every evening since we’ve been here — never gets old!
Where Should We Go Next?
Saturday, November 2nd will be my last day here at Capulin Volcano — I’m really going to miss this special place — you can bet we’ll be back someday.
We’re not sure where we’ll be headed next and we’re working on a plan — if you have any recommendations we’d love to hear — just leave me a comment below or send an email.
Hope you have a great week, and thanks for following along on our adventures! — Lisa & Jason
Hi Lisa, The Sandhill Cranes will soon start arriving at Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. That might be a nice New Mexico venue for you.
Your photographs are beautiful! Oliver Lee State Park by White Sands is wonderful place to stay with great views. Happy travels.