Road Trip - Snow on the Organs - A Hermit's Cave and Seasonal Waterfall - A walk back in time to Petrogylph Canyon

 

My friend Mary and I had planned a road trip down to Las Cruces, New Mexico for some warmer weather hiking. After she had finished pet sitting for her "favorite" pet, Wiley, we headed south after a weekend storm had blown through dumping some snow in Southern Colorado and lots of rain in Southern New Mexico. So much for the "warmer" weather, though it was way warmer than here in the Wet Mountain Valley. 

We arrived late in the afternoon at a very nice rental home with good access to both US-70 and I-25. I was surprised to see that the Organ Mtns had lots of snow on them from the weekends storm. I've been coming to LC off and on since 1972 and it was probably only the 3rd or 4th sime that I'd seen snow up there. The high peaks reach up to nearly 9000 ft.

We did some shopping for coffee for Mary. Since the sun was just getting ready to set, we headed downtown to take a little walk around the central plaza and business district. We thought maybe we could possibly get a drink but the one pub that we came across seemed to be out of business.

The next morning we gassed up and headed to the Eastern side of the Organs to hike the Lone Pine trail. It's a 4.5 mile loop that starts in the Aguirre Springs Campground and rises 1,000 ft. to an elevation of 6900 ft.

 

Mary on the trail before the snow really started.

We continued up and were rewarded with great views to the east of White Sands Missile Range and beyond.

 

 

 

The snow was getting gradually deeper when we came upon this left a day or so earlier.

 

 

And it was an amazing view.

 

 On the way down.

It took us around 2 and a half hours to complete the loop. Slow going for me when the snow deepened, but it was a fun fun hike.

When we got down we headed over to White Sands National Park since Mary hadn't been there in many years. As we got nearer we could see that White Sands had not escaped the snow either. It's rare but not unheard of as the temperature does drop below freezing during the winter.

 

 A muddy drive end after the pavement ended but worth it. We got out and climbed one of the dunes.

 

 

 

 

The following day we decided to stay on the western side of the Organs. I had told Mary about the La Cueva (the cave) that was located near Dripping Springs and we doubled up on the hike to go to the seasonal waterfall in Filmore Canyon.

La Cueva was home to Giovani Maria de Agostini, "The Hermit Monk of New Mexico" for some time. He lit a fire every Friday evening to let his friends in Las Cruces know that he still lived. When the fire didn't appear one night his murdered body was found. Locals thought it was Apaches. Look him up, this was the end of an unbelievable life.

 

 

 Mary at the mouth of La Cueva. 

With all the snow up high, I figured that the falls in Filmore Canyon might be running so we headed back to the main trail and worked our way to the canyon. When we reached the falls we found just a trickle of water making it's way down the face.

 

  We got back to the truck and headed south on I-25 to the Mesquite exit where headed east on dirt roads in search of Pena Blanca, I had hiked in this area many times in the past. The road that we went in on is intersected by the Sierra Vista trail which runs North to South from just outside of Las Cruces to Anthony, Texas. 

 

 

Pena Blanca is a interesting formation with lots of different strata. It's mainly a bouldering area for local climbers.

On Thursday we headed for one of my favorite spots. Petrogylph Canyon. Located in the Tonuco Mountains about 20 miles north of Las Cruces and 10 miles or so south of Hatch.

On a windy and cooler day and we got off to a rough start when I parked the truck at where I thought I had previous parked on another trip there, but we just bushwhacked down a dry arroyo to Tonuco Draw and then headed north to the canyon opening.

 It's a little hit or miss finding the main drainage from the canyon, but we meandered about and got to the mouth of the canyon.Up we went to the first dry falls. Scrabbling up the side we eventually came to the first of many rocks covered with Petrogylphs. 

 

 After a snack and some water, we made our way back down the canyon into the draw and eventually back to the truck. Mary later told me it was her favorite hike of the trip.

 Our last day, Friday, was for visiting. Mary met her friend Rene who had moved to LC from Silver City. I drove over to Deming to visit my friend Peggy and her huge dog, Pacino. 

 Great fun. 

  

 

 

 

Rome - A pleasant drive back to Florence - Weekend Trains - You Wanted Heat, You Got It - So much history, So little time.

 We left fairly early from the Cinque Terre headed towards Florence to catch our train to Rome. The drive was fairly fast since we had opted not to stop at Pisa or Lucca. Beautiful coast country until you turn east to Florence. Mary napped part of the time so I just enjoyed the views.

 Arriving at the airport where we returned the call we had to wait for a shuttle that took us down to the train station. 10 or 15 other folks waited with us and Mary realized that she had left something in the car. I hustled back and got to the car just before they moved it to another location. Hustled back and got there just before the shuttle.

 I thought I was being smart when I booked a weekend train since it was 2 for 1 tickets and found the first class cabins were nearly as packed as second class. 

Arriving at  Roma Termini we headed out for the two bedroom apartment that we had rented. It was very nice though sparsely furnished. The building had a, again, sparsely furnished roof as well, but provided nice views of the eternal city.

 We walked down to the Coliseum, then on to Roman Forum, the Circus Maximus, a walk along the River Tiber and finally a lunch on the west bank.

 

 Our second day, June 2nd, is Italy's Republic Day. The day before we had seen bleachers erected along the Via dei Fiori Imperiali in preparation for a huge parade on the 2nd. Loads of folks out enjoying the holiday.

 As we walked on this very warm day (in the 90's), we found a line of at least a hundred people standing at we found out to be a open house at the Quirinal Palace (President of Italy's home). Being a Sunday there were lots of elderly ladies dressed in black in line. 

We moved on to the Pantheon where the line was so long we passed and moved on to the Piazza Novona. It dates from the 1st century AD and has lots of restaurants, shops and some of the most impressive statues and fountains.

 The most impressive is  Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers from 1651 by Bernini. 

 

 In the background is the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone from the 17th Century. We had a glass of wine and a snack and then moved on towards the Trevi Fountain.

 There were so many people there that there was absolutely no way to work down to toss a coin in the fountain to guarantee a return trip. 

 We retraced our steps back to the  Quirinal Palace where there were now ambulances and several EMT's attending to folks that had fainted due to the long wait and heat of the day. Very scary for those folks.

On Monday the 3rd we headed towards the Vatican passing by the Castel Sant'Angelo on the Tiber. Mary didn't feel like going through the Vatican museum to see the Sistine Chapel but we did join a long, slow line to go into Saint Peter's. I got up to the metal screening machines and had to go through like three times before I got all of my metal out of my pockets. It was a bit embarrassing.

On the 4th, which was our last day in Italy, we visited the Capitoline Museum in a building designed by Michaelangelo. Many beautiful statues and the plaza overlooks the Roman Forum. Then took a tour of  the "wedding cake", better known as the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II.

 The next morning we walked over to the train station and caught our train to the airport ending a great month touring Italy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cinque Terre - FORBIDDEN - Back Roads - A seemingly deserted village

 On May 25th we headed out from San Vito di Caldore towards the Cinque Terre. Another overcast day and as we approached the Autostrada near Brixen, the rains came. Maybe a downpour would be more descriptive. Made for a fun drive south.

 Rain continued all the way south past Verona, finally clearing as we turned west in the direction on Milan. This part of Italy is more industrialize than the south. We passed Reggio Emilia and Parma before once again heading south. 

On the outskirts of La Spezia, our directions took us into the hill country where (we weren't using GPS but rather road by road directions that I had written down) we got a little lost. We hit one little town where we executed the old right turn, right turn, right turn manuever. Fortunately it didn't last long as we decided to pick a road and go for it. 

 Holiday House Il Sole di Valletona (yes, that's how it's listed) is situated on a hillside over looking the Mediterranean Sea a couple of kilometers from Corniglia a small (150 Pop.) town built on a bluff.

We arrived in the late afternoon, hauled our bags up the steep steps to the house and settled in. Nice place, but the upstairs bathroom had a shower that was a challenge for me with a wicked step up that was tough to navigate at night. 

We had a bottle of wine and snacks watching the sun set.

 The next day with still fair weather we walked about a quarter mile down the narrow road to a driveway that took us to the Sentiero Azzurro, the Blue Trail. 

It's 7.5 mile trail that connects the villages on the Cinque Terre from Monterosso to Riomaggiore. Portions are often closed due to landslides especially between Manarola to Riomaggiore, which happened during our stay. Steep in some sections with uneven stairs and (during our time) often muddy portions, the Blue Trail is why most tourists visit the Cinque Terre. 

 At the end of the driveway was a cluster of "apartments" that folks could stay at as well as a nifty little bar,  Bar Il Gabbiano. Heading south towards Corniglia was a pleasant downhill walk. The trail was muddy in places but not particularly crowded. 

  

 At Corniglia was a little kiosk that had a employee who sold and checked day passes on the trail. It was around noon when we got to town and the narrow little streets were packed with tourists. We had planned to have a glass and lunch but every thing was packed. Instead we opted for gelato. Mine was my usual Coconut and Mary had Basil, which was suprisingly good. On the way back we stopped at Bar Il Gabbiano snagged a little table by the window with a view of Corniglia.

 The next day, as we headed to La Spezia for groceries we saw a little hilltop town that was up the hill from where we were staying that led to San Bernardino. We pulled over and took a walk through the mostly deserted town with a view of hillside vineyards and the sea. We'd come back for that.

 On May 28th, we headed North on the Blue Trail destined to Vernazza. On this nice trail, though muddy again, we met a woman on the trail who stopped us, pointed at Mary's Chaco sandals and said in a big voice "FORBIDDEN". Guess she didn't like Mary's choice of footwear. I think Mary might have said something about hiking in Chaco's for years, but since she didn't flash a badge, we kept going.  

  

 Mary and her forbidden footwear.

 

 Vernazza has a small port that was crowded not only with fishing boats, one of which was painted like a Jack Daniels bottle. Lots of tourists again but we walked thru the small streets checking out the views before starting back.

 At the kiosk where a gentleman was checking passes, I skillfully avoided paying the fee since it's only about two miles or so to where we get off the trail and pointed uphill and said "San Bernadino casa". My way of saying we weren't going to Corniglia. He looked at us for a moment, then waved us on.

 On the 30th we walked down the trail to Corniglia and headed towards the train station to go to Manarola. Since Corniglia is on a hilltop bluff you have to go down a a steep 400 step staircase called the Scalinata Lardarina. We purchased our tickets and got on the crowded train.

 Manarola's population is only about 350 but when it's swollen with tourists it's very crowded, not only at the train station but also the cafes, bars and streets. Very picturesque.

 We noticed folks coming out of a shop with paper cones of fried fish, so we picked two of them up. It had some calamari, little fishes with heads on and a couple other varieties. Neither of us finished them.

 We headed uphill through the back streets and got away from the masses and found a great view of the town.

 

 On our last day in the Cinque Terre, we headed back up hill to San Bernadino to hike a trail that I had found on the internet. It headed North towards Vernazza but stayed in the valley. It crossed a couple farms where we weren't sure about trespassing but figured it was okay. 

 

 A pleasant hike that rewarded us with views down toward Vernazza and the sea.

     

 We got up early the next morning to leave and when passing San Bernadino, we came upon15 or 20 men with either rifles or shotguns. Don't think it was a posse but have no idea what they were hunting. I was glad we weren't walking on the trails around there. Off to Florence and Roma.

 

San Vito di Cadore. Way too much snow for May. Cortina d'Ampezzo. Meeting the locals. Still some good hikes.

 May 18th and we're on our way to the Dolomites. This time I took the Autostrada (A27) to San Vito di Caldore where we had rented a two bedroom apartment.

 Cute little town with about 1700 people, it sits just 6 miles south of Cortina d"Ampezzo, one of the host cities for the 2026 Olympics. Surrounded by mountains on the East and West sides, it's very scenic (when the clouds aren't obscuring the peaks).

We arrived around noon and our host gave us a slightly bigger apartment, which was nice. We were just off the SS51 which gave us easy access. Our first order of business was a walk around town to see what was what. 

  

  San Vito has great access to hiking trails on both sides of town. The east side trails go up to the ski area and refugio's further up on Monte Antelao. On the west side, trails go up towards Cima D'Ambrizzola. It also has a Rail to Trail path that runs all the way to Cortina from Zuel about 9 miles total.

  

 One of the former train stations on the path.

 It being off season most of the restaurants were closed so we drove up to Cortina, found a "pub" named Hacker Pschorr Haus and had beers and food. 

 The next day being a Sunday, we walked up from the village to the Refugio Senes, a hotel, which was closed. A quarter mile or so further we found the Capitello Madonna degli Alpini. It's a small shrine for climbers heading further up into the mountains. The paved road turned to dirt through a forest of pines and meadows. 

 

 On Monday we headed north through Cortina up to go hiking on a trail that I had found only to be blocked by a little snow.

 

 That's the trail behind us. It was a harbinger of things to come.

We did a road trip towards Canazei, a little town that I had spent a couple nights in before. Lots of snow on the passes but the sun had come out and we finally saw more of the Dolomite peaks.

 

We even caught sight of either an avalanche or a waterfall from the road.

Later that evening we were walking around town when we saw some ladies harvesting a plant. Mary went up to them and talked a bit and they explained, well maybe communicated via gestures that you could put it on a lot of things. They were kind enough to give her some and she made a wonder dish with farro for dinner that night. She researched it and found the Italian name is strigoli o carletti

 

 She was also partial to the Beet Ravoli's that we found at the bakery in town. Personally I'm not a beet fan, but these were really good.

 Our last road trip was towards the Tre Cime di Lavardo which I had visited on a previous trip. You can hike a circuit around them that takes you through some amazing World War I trenches and tunnels. But unfortunately the road was closed way short of the parking area. We debated going on up, as we'd seen other cars doing, but being tourists we weren't sure about it.

 We left and headed towards Misurina, where I had found some other trails that might afford us a view of the Tre Cima. The lake was still partly ice covered but it was a beautiful day and we walked around the lake.

 

  

 From the it was on to Auronzo where we walked around it's lake and found a picnic area with nice views.

 

 The weather was still nice on our last day in San Vito. Mary decided to take a hike up past Refugio Senes and I decided to walk around town. After a while I changed my mind and drove the car up to the Refugio and headed uphill as well. I met up with Mary at Taula Regoietes, which is just a wood hut that would serve as a shelter if the weather got bad. Not much too it, just a stove and wooden bunks.

 We continued on up the road to where it turned into a single track that led up to the next Taula. I'd had enough so I headed down while Mary headed up.

 

 

 I waited for Mary to come down and we drove back into town. We then walked over to our favorite little outside bar, "Bar Antelao" for a snack and Dolomiti beer. 

  

 For our last night we revisited La Stua. I remember that they had great Spaetzle. And they had a nice waiter, Stefoni, who spoke good English and took good care of us. That evening, while we were dining, a bus load of Chinese tourists pulled up in front and came into the restaurant. Stefoni came by to check on us and informed us that they spoke no Italian or English and explaining the menu was a lot of fun.

 Now we're off to the Cinque Terre.    

 

 

Venice. A late arrival (so sorry). Crowded parking. Water taxi's. Spots away from the crowds.

 On May 16th, we got up early, caught a taxi to the airport and picked up our rental car for mostly the rest of the trip and headed to Venice.

 I wanted to take some back roads to Venice rather than jumping on the Autostrada (think Interstate). We drove through the Tuscan hill country and ultimately arrived at Forli, where we got a bit lost but soon back on the way towards Ravenna and Venice. 

I thought this would be much quicker than the roundabout way the autostrada went, but figured wrong. Lots of little coastal towns with both auto and truck traffic. I also later got a speeding ticket from one of the little towns. Oh well. 

 On the drive we got several calls from our Venice host wondering when we would arrive. I tried telling her where we were at various times, guess my Italian pronunciation wasn't great because she had no idea what I was saying. 

 We eventually got on the long causeway out to Venice and found a parking garage that was packed. Got on a water taxi to the stop that the host had provided and arrived at our cute little 2 floor condo. She was a bit miffed since she had taken time away from work and waited for us, but after a few apologies, she seemed to understand what had taken so long.

 One of the fun things about Venice (at least for me) was finding little piazza's where there weren't a lot of tourists. That afternoon we found one and had a glass of wine and a small appetizer in the sunshine.

 

 The next day was our "Grand Tour" of Venice. We walked along the Grand Canal, visited the Basilica Santa Maria della Saulete, found that the Piazza San Marco was way too crowded to be believed and went off grid to a little piazza on the less visited North side of Venice.

 

 The Grand Canal

 

 

 The Basilica

 

 

 

 A view of San Marco from the Basilica and Mary at the Piazza San Marco

 

 After fleeing San Marco we made our way to the less visited part of Venice and found another little Piazza where we had a glass of wine and rested my weary legs.

 

 One of the many back streets.

 

 A short visit to Venice, but long enough to tire of the crowds. The next morning we boarded a water taxi to the garage and spent an uncomfortable 45 or so minutes while the attendants tried to locate our rental car. I was a bit panicked for a bit there.

  

 

 Mary waiting for the water taxi.

 

We heard the mountains calling and we knew we must go. Off to the Dolomites.

 

  

Florence. The result of so many travel shows. A word about Italian trains.

On May 9th we had a long travel day from Piano di Sorrento to Florence. After a final quick cleaning of our rental in Piano, we walked the quarter of a mile to the train station to catch the local to Naples where we'd switch over to the national train line (Trenitalia) to go to Florence.

 Not a terrible wait at the Naples station, though as I remember the train was a little late in arriving. Several trips ago to Italy I purchased a ticket from a broker from Tropea to Naples and she booked me 2nd Class. It was a cattle call in boarding, with little baggage storage space. Being new to traveling on their trains I didn't realize there were assigned seats but a really nice couple traveling with their 2 children realized that I had no clue and let me stay in my aisle seat to hold on to my luggage. Lesson learned, plus I found that traveling from Naples to Rome via 1st class wasn't that much more than 2nd class. So from Naples to Florence (direct with a short stop in Rome) we went 1st class. Lots of room, mostly empty with plenty of storage space.

 We arrived mid afternoon, found a very nice taxi driver who spoke English and  heading to our apartment on the South bank of the Arno. We were located on the Via dei Bastoni just outside the city walls. Our landlady, Rossana Ciapetti, was a teacher also spoke great English, she was very sweet. When we left later that week, she gave Mary a cute little painting of the Tuscan countryside.

 That evening we followed the hordes of people walking up the lane to the Piazzale Michelangelo to catch the sunset. 

 

 One of the fun things was that a couple were having wedding pictures taken on the step and the crowd was very kind to them in letting them have center stage with out too many photobombers.

 Here's the sunset overlooking Florence.

 

  

 Our days were filled with lots to see, except the David, which required reservations months in advance. Some of the highlights were the Piazza della Signoria with its crowds of tourist and a visit to a sandwich shop that Mary's niece told her about. I had a sandwich with cold cuts and black truffles. I already took a bite.

 

It was a busy place, but not a long wait from ordering to getting our sandwiches which we took back to the Piazza and ate and watched the other tourists. 

 

 

 We also visited the Uffizi Museum which was marvelous. We saw a painting Mary ( and I really didn't know about) wanted to see as well as the Birth of Venus by Botticelli.

 Here's the Medusa by Caravaggio. Very cool. 

 

 

 

 We also visited the Iris garden which had hundreds of Irises from around the world.    

 We caught a sunset from the Ponte Vecchio.

  

 And we had walks along the River Arno, climbed Giotto's Bell Tower at the Cathedral and visited the Baptistery of St. John.

 Mary on top of the Bell Tower.

 

 The view towards the river and the Tuscan hills.

  The gold fresco of the Baptistery.

 

Lastly, our neighborhood bar,  I Bastioni di San Niccolo Trattoria. Great pizza and cold beer.

 Next Stop Venice.