Leev No Trase Now, Yuh He'ar!

There's a stretch of BLM land on the east side of the Rio Grande that runs north and south alongside Socorro. It's called the Quebradas National Backcountry Byway

and there're a few spots where a nimble vehicle can camp. Mostly creosote, it's so over-grazed it'll evolve before it'll recover.

On the morning of 9, November, 2019, I took these photos to document the management of our public lands. And THIS...a NATIONAL Backcountry BYway!


Watch yer step!

Glazed (with frost) Cow Shit in Morning

Fire Ring with Mountains

Old Pipe with Tabasco Bottle

The bottle is upended in the smaller piece of pipe.

"Grazing" livestock out here is cruel & inhumane; there's nothing to eat.

At the north end cattle guard they added this sign. 

Somebody chewed the upper left corner; the lower right has the agglomeration of small holes from a shotgun.

I have to laugh. The area is almost exclusively Hispanic. The syntax is unique and you can almost hear the final word they left off...Pendejo!

Los Ocotillos de las Quebradas (Backcountry Byway)

Here at N34.11855, W106.81048, we're at the northern most range of the ocotillo. And this is the fuzziest (see last photo) I've ever seen...evidence, along with signs of recent grading where the arroyos cross the road, of the wet summer. 

They claim we're in a drought, but the truth is it's a desert and the years they tho't (they call that thinking?!!) were normal were actually a period of unusual wetness.

Now that they've documented the (still unpredictable) weather for 40 years there are a few iconoclasts who're hinting that maybe *this* is normal. Of course, those who've grown accustomed to their entitlements don't want to hear it. 

Oh, and while yer at it, how about bailing out all us other "artisans?" Whaddya mean you only do banks & S & Ls?


Fuzzy! (probly my cataracts)

Spring on The Quebradas Backcountry Byway

The Quebradas is 80 miles south of Albuquerque -- to the East of the town of Socorro. Spring is happening...the creosote are starting to leaf out and the cactus are blooming.

This is perhaps the farthest north I've seen ocotillo. You can find them in The City (Albert's Turkey), but they look out of place. I suspect they're immigrants. That's them in the middle-left of the photo below.

Here on the Quebradas they (ocotillo) seem a bit shy, as if they're pleased with having made it this far, but unsure of their welcome. I, for one, am delighted to see them, but hey, it's troo, I'm into diversity. Their spindly demeanor's give no hint of their (yet-to-come) splendid efflorescence.

Breakfast (kale & bell pepper)


                 &


                       Sunset -- colorfests.

Quebradas Backcountry Byway - New Mexico

Desert Solitude At Its Finest

To the West - The (snowcapped) Magdalena Mountains

It's a little-known area about an hour and a half south of Albuquerque. Solitude and slightly warmer temperatures make the 24-mile-long Quebradas Backcountry Byway a great Fall and Winter destination. Getting on the Byway is a bit tricky; it's worth a look at Google Maps.

A link to a free pdf with geologic information and directions...

http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/fieldguides/quebradas/


DIRECTIONS

The 24-mile-long dirt road can be accessed from the north via I-25 or from the south via Highway 380. It is most often accessed from the north end, via Exit 152 (the Escondida exit) off I-25, just a couple of miles north of Socorro. After exiting the freeway, turn right (east) about 1,000 feet to the "T." Turn left (north) toward Escondida Lake. In just over a mile, turn right (East) again at the Escondida Lake sign. Continue East past Escondida Lake (anywhere else on the planet this would be called a puddle) across the Rio Grande. At the village of Pueblito (a T-intersection with no stop sign) turn right (south) and proceed about a mile to the junction of the Bosquecito Road with the Back Country Byway (A-152). This is mile 0.0. Follow the road to the left at this junction.

From the south: The turnoff from 380 is 11 miles east of the village of San Antonio (380 is accessible from Exit 139 off I-25). Turn north onto A-129 and drive 3 miles to the junction with A-152. Turn left here; Stop 10, the last "information stop" in A Geologic Guide to the Quebradas Back Country Bywayat the southern end, is just west of this junction. You may notice the cautionary bit in the Geologic Guide about the need for four-wheel-drive and/or high clearance. The image below shows what it's like. I doubt if yer cadillac will even wince.

Former winter R.V. -- when a mudroom was a desirable amenity