Hoodoos and oodles of time

Our Santa Fe friend Sheri said “go to Tent Rocks National Monument.” So we did. Today we drove 45 minutes to the monument gate where we were summarily rejected. It ends up that since 2024, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Cochita tribe .. although really, the tribe does all the work. We only had a BLM reservation. Sometimes you need to actually read the instructions, darn it.

Cochita visitor center below a large dam blocking the Rio Grande river

So we turned around and drove the 10 minutes back to the Cochiti visitor center to buy a tribal pass. Then, we were escorted by a tribal truck back to the park entrance who were now very friendly in welcoming us. We have no idea what the escort was for or why we couldn’t just buy both passes at the entrance.

Tent Rocks has exactly one trail but it is a hell of a trail through a narrow slot canyon, among the hoodoos, and up to a 360 viewpoint.

Steve making his way through slot canyon. Yes, that’s the trail.

Only two miles to the top (although Dinah might note that the trail includes about 500 feet of often nearly vertical bouldering and is not a stroll in the park) but every step of the journey warms the soul. You can thank 20 volcanos from millions of years ago that deposited layers and layers of multi-colored rocks and one million years of erosion. The Cochiti believe this place to be sacred and who are we to disagree?

Dinah says that places like this are a reminder of  how recent of a phenomena we humans are…and how nature deserves so much more respect than we are currently giving it. The Native Americans we encounter are, of course, incredible teachers in this way of thinking.    

Oh, a way too simple explanation is that hoodoos form because hard rock on top shields softer rock below from erosion.

Ponderosa pines, sandy trail, and hoodoos.