Staycation Volcano Style

Have you ever wanted to walk into a volcano? Well, Capulin Volcano is one of the few places in the world where you can do just that.

    While heading home one year from Red River, NM, we decided to take a different route home.  That's when we stumbled upon one of my favorite places on Earth.  (So far!)  We were driving on one of the most desolate roads I had ever been on.  And then, out of nowhere, there it was!  An entire volcano field.  This was my first time to ever see a volcano up close.  Sure, I had seen them from a distance in Albuquerque, but to be this close was a first for me! As we got closer we started seeing signs for Capulin Volcano National Monument, and of course we had to check it out!  From the photo you can see a road that spirals around the volcano.  That road is two miles long and as you can see does not have any guard rails!!!!  So as we drove (white knuckled) up to its altitude of 8,182 feet, we start to realize this was the coolest thing we could of ever happened upon.  Once to the top you can park your car and then hike into the crater!!  Now that's pretty cool! Visit the website for more info: Capulin Volcano National Monument

Also if you're in the area you might want to visit Folsom.  Folsom is famous as the site of the most significant archaeological discovery in the US, when following a large flash flood in the Wild Horse Arroyo, a local resident (George Mcjunkin) discovered a large number of bison bones, some with embedded stone spear heads.  The bones were later dated at 10,000 BC,  which doubled the length of time man was known to have inhabited this continent.  The town has a small museum, not always open, with exhibits about the discovery of 'Folsom Man'.  The Capulin Volcano is six miles south of Folsom but clearly visible for many more miles across the surrounding grasslands.