Guadalupe Ruin 2019

South of NM Hwy 550 between San Ysidro and Cuba, atop a narrow sandstone pedestal 200 feet high, lies the Guadalupe Ruin, the one eastern pueblo outlier of Chaco Canyon, occupied between AD 900 and 1000, and later occupied by Mesa Verde migrants.

A dozen or so NMVFO volunteers, joined by BLM staff Jackie Leyba, placed sandstone blocks on the narrow steep trail to the summit, for better footing.

At the summit are remains of several ruins, and two excavated kivas now covered with metal roofs. Several others kivas, still buried, are visible from the top, and pottery shards and matates and other remains are easy to find.

Cabezon Peak from a window opening at Guadalupe Ruin

Socorro Bosque Spring 2019

Socorro’s Save Our Bosque Task Force (SOBTF) had a trash cleanup morning along the bosque trail and levee road, starting at Otero parking area. Over a dozen citizens were joined by several Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) staff and two buses of students from Cottonwood School.

The MRGCD (AFAIK) provided a dump truck, backhoe, and dumpster.

This was my first project with the SOBTF. This stretch of trail may be included in the Rio Grande Trail that is being designed, and is part of the Socorro Alternate section of the Grand Enchantment Trail.

Foothills Open Space at Copper 2019

The NMVFO re-routed trail in the Sandia Mountain foothills in Albuquerque, at the Copper trailhead (near the I40 Tramway exit) this Saturday. On Thursday new members took a class on trail building, and today new (and old) members put these new skills into practice, starting with a safety briefing.

We were joined by Albuquerque Open Space staff Jim, Bill, Jonathan, and Tricia– several recognized from previous projects. They had already flagged the new routes, and we split into three teams to build trail or do rock-work.

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