November 12, 2020
I've been through the Las Vegas Wildlife Refuge before, but, this time I wanted to go beyond the marked Gallinas Nature Trail loop and continue down the canyon to the Gallinas River.
New Mexico
Las Vegas National Wildlife
Refuge
The refuge is next to the Gallinas River not far east from Las Vegas, New Mexico. Many migrating birds depend on this area, but it's the lower canyon that I'm interested on this visit.
The arrow (below) shows a short side-creek that drops into the larger Gallinas River. The marked trail doesn't extend much beyond the upper limits; I'll be walking most of the way down to the river.
The view looking to the west. It's a spectacular area where the Great Plains meets the Rocky Mountains.
This is the view at the top of the drainage that extends to the river. If there's a name for this small creek, I've not seen it. Perhaps "Gallinas Creek" covers all of them.
They must have been hardy people to try to scratch out a living in this rocky land. The arrows (below) show the remains of a building (is it a house? a barn?) as well as the remains a stone corral.
Another structure; this one clearly was once a house.
Now, descending into the canyon, next to some amazing rocks.
The trail is easily followed.
There's just enough water running, to get your feet thoroughly wet if you take a wrong step. I've left the marked trail at this point.
I stayed on the right side of the creek at first, but it became clear that it would be easier if I crossed over to the left side.
Somebody (or some group) has marked out a pretty good trail--I was not expecting to find anything. Look to the right and you'll see a couple of stacked rocks on the larger flat rock. You'll need to keep a sharp eye for these little cairns, but mostly, you're heading down hill while avoiding the steep drop-off if you get too near the water's edge.
Looking across the canyon. I'm glad to be here and not over there. That side gets pretty steep, so I'm not sure you could easily make it.
Every once in a while, some big rocks have tumbled down--but, not today.
I'm here, and the Gallinas River valley opens up. The creek I've followed enters from the right. This is the view looking north, so the water is flowing behind me towards the Pecos (and then the Rio Grande). If I followed the river in this direction, I'd enter the town of Las Vegas.
As before, I'm staying at the historic Castaņeda Hotel. This was the first track-side Harvey House to be built by the Santa Fe Railroad, and largely set the standard for all the ones to come later. You'll notice that the grand front of the hotel faces the tracks, not the road on the back side. It's a hotel I feel comfortable staying during these Covid times. Management takes precautions seriously (the key-drop is a bowl of disinfectant)
In 1900, my room would have been two separate rooms. One is now the bedroom, and the other is a separate sitting room.
I'm eating rather early, but the dining room will never be anything but sparse--by design. There is another restaurant with the hotel (where historically, the vast numbers of Santa Fe train passengers would have been fed), but only the bar dining room is open during these unusual times.
Order anything from the menu; it will be excellent. Tomorrow, the menu will change.
It isn't easy (or even recommended) to travel these days, but the Castaņeda Hotel is well-managed, and it's pretty certain that you'll not meet a soul walking to the Gallinas River.