Day 7

After having a superb breakfast where the locals go we set out for Bandelier National Monument, some 50 miles away. More wonderful scenery - lots of snow still.. We did the loop in the park which was about 1.4 miles, a lot of it climbing narrow stone steps to get up to the cave houses where the indians lived. There were ladders up to some where you could climb and look inside. Needless to say I did not. The air was very thin and at times I felt very breathless. We went on to the Valles Caldera National Preserve which was a 14 mile wide circular depression in the earth caused by a volcanic eruption some 1.2 million years ago.. Very impressive. it was also where we found the groundhogs. it is known as a city where they live, spending a lot of time sitting on mounds watching out for trouble. Back to Santa Fe and getting hotter.

On to Albuquerque tomorrow.