Tetilla Peak Recreation Area, Peña Blanca, New Mexico; May 15-28, 2013

About to get into Albuquerque from the East

The drive from Santa Rosa to Tetilla Peak was the best yet, except for the rain. The land changed once more and we saw several large mountain ranges in the distance. As we approached Albuquerque, we drove down a 12 mile grade from Moriarity to Albuquerque - the highest peak in that range is over 12,000 feet.  The mountains are mostly rock with some juniper bushes scattered over them. Albuquerque overpasses are painted in salmon with earth tone trim, which actually is quite a nice change from the norm.

North of Albuquerque on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert

Albuquerque lies within the northern, upper edges of the Chihuahuan Desert ecoregion, and on its north side, it is obvious. There are miles and miles of huge sand dunes, dotted with juniper. I nearly made myself carsick, looking from one side of the truck to the other, mesmerized with the huge mountains in the distance and the desert-like landscape close in. 

The farther north we traveled the more mountains we saw. As we made the turn from the interstate toward Cochiti Lake, we were completely encircled with mountains and absolutely no buildings in sight. The remoteness of the campground was emphasized when, with 10 miles to go, we made the final turn and the iPad map app voice told us “turn impossible”. Hmm.

Headed toward TetillaPeak Campground - Mountains in the background, desert like landscape by the road

More desert and mountains

Tetilla Peak campground tucked between the Sandia, Jemez, Ortiz, and San Pedro mountains, is on the banks of the Cochiti Lake, just downstream from the Rio Grande, across the lake from Pueblo de Cochiti, and in the middle of the Santa Domingo Indian Reservation. The afternoon we arrived, we heard drums and once in a while the wind carried chanting across to us. Altogether a cool time! The normal surface of the lake is more than 6,000 above sea level. 

Broad-Tailed or Black-Chinned Hummingbirds, don't know which

The entire time we’ve been here (two weeks) the wind has blown – sometime just a brisk breeze and other times with gusts over 50 mph. We saw ravens (don’t know if they are the Common or Chihuahua) gliding on the winds, black-chinned or perhaps broad-tailed hummingbirds (as you can see in our photos), and house finches.

The yucca/shish-kabob

Dickens has enjoyed the warm sun and all the new scents he smells, but he still hasn’t learned about cactus and yucca. When I was taking him for his “constitutional” he stopped to do his business on top of a cactus that was lying on the ground – my fingers were sore for days from trying to clean that one up. Last night on his walk, he stopped over a yucca plant – picture green bamboo skewers in a bouquet – and made his deposit there. Shish-kabobs?? I’m going to have to pay closer attention when we walk, I think.

The roof of the cover over the picnic table in our site was of corrugated metal and housed at least five nests of house finches tucked in the ends. We were able to watch papa finch feed his two babies by the end of our stay.

The nearest place to get ice is at the Pueblo across the lake, where we saw the mobile grocery store. You can almost see it
from our camp but it is  a trip of more than 15 miles one way – no wonder there is a mobile grocery store, since the next closest spot to shop for food is Santa Fe, about 30 miles from here.

Papa House Finch feeding his babies

I loved Santa Fe with its pueblo-style buildings, the old historic part of town, and the wonderful New Mexican food. As with the other restaurants we’ve visited in New Mexico that serve New Mexican food, they do not put chips and salsa on the table upon your arrival but bring sopapilla (fry bread served with honey) along with your order. They have all been good, but La Choza had some that were so light and delicious I nearly ordered a plateful.

Since we were here for two weeks, I broke down and ordered a field guide to the Southwestern states and I was so excited to get it. The trees and shrubs here are completely foreign to me and I’ve been trying to learn what they all are. I know, I’m a dork 

We managed to get to three different historic sites and monuments during our stay here: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, Petroglyphs, and Pecos, all of which were very well worth doing and I have done separate entries on all three.

There is so much history here in New Mexico and with such spectacular surroundings – I can’t wait to get back when we can spend a month or two in New Mexico. We’ll get a NM State Park Pass up front, then pay $4/night for electricity.