The second day of our vacation dh awoke us at 530am…y-a-w-n. Excitedly we headed for Colorado Springs. Rain bid us goodbye as we left Texas and sunshine greeted us in New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment.

Every time we drive through this northeast corner of New Mexico, I AM enchanted. Velvety green fields, unlike any I’ve seen in Texas, are intermittently filled with unusual mountains. No farming, but occasional herds of cows, goats or sheep can be seen. It was funny, in the one field, we saw a cow running to catch up with the others at the top of the rise who were calmly eating grass. It reminded me of those happy cow in California commericals! Nestled at the foot of some of the mountains are beautiful ranch homes. Roadside signs explain the scenery. These are extinct volcanoes! In fact, 1000 square miles of Northeastern New Mexico and Southeastern Colorado to Oklahoma are full of them.

We usually stop for lunch at a roadside rest stop at Sierra Grande, the largest volcano in Northeastern New Mexico, with an elevation of 8720 feet. Always we are delightfully chilled when we open the car door. Thrilled to be cooling off in the middle of the summer we grab our jackets and stretch our legs to check the view.

Further on we drove by Capulin Volcano.

This is a National Park, one we have not yet been able to visit. You can see the road on the side of the volcano leading to the crater. These web sites have great photos from the top to show you the inside of the volcano.  http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/cavo/

http://www.sangres.com/np/capulin/index.htm

After a brief stop to enjoy the scenery, we push west, until eventually we catch sight of the Rocky Mountains! Excitment thrills our souls at this point! This is where we head north and as we cross into Colorado, we keep rising in elevation and ears are popping! Surrounded by pine trees, we drive through a mountain pass with signs of "Beware of falling rocks". After the pass we are rise higher on the side of a steep cliff and we look down into those pine trees. We've waited an entire year to see these beautifully exciting views again. Colorado Springs here we come!