I’ve a big fan of the idea of exploring things close to home. Reading Marisa’s recent travel post on places close to home inspired me to want to post a few of my recent pictures. I have been on quite a few trips around NM lately but just haven’t had a chance to post anything about them. I thought I would start with the Magdalena Mountains. Depending on the particular destination in the Magdalena Mountains, I can get there with about a 20-40 minute drive. Despite that, I haven’t explored them much in the many years I’ve been living in Socorro until recently.
Copper Canyon
I did an overnight at the Copper Canyon Trailhead in my van at the beginning of May. While I was there, I hiked most of the way up the Copper Canyon trail. One of the things I love about hiking is just finding cool little things. Plants that look cool with rain drops on them, cactus growing out of rocks that seem to exemplify the miracle of life, mushrooms or mines or wild flowers or wildlife. There is always something cool to look at and it makes it feel like a bit of a treasure hunt. Here’s a few of my favorite pictures from my exploration around Copper Canyon.
Timber Ridge
Here’s a couple of pictures from an early morning hike up the Timber Ridge Trail. One of the amazing things about my new habit of getting up early is that I get to see the sunrise on a regular basis. This is neat when I’m in Socorro, but downright magical when I am out in nature somewhere.
Hop Canyon Trail
Recently, I also did a 10 mile hike up the Hop Canyon Trail. There was no way that I could not bring Hoppy with me up Hop canyon. The photo of me looking down at Hop in my pack was kind of an accident. I had forgotten that I had left my camera in ‘Dual shot’ mode which imposes a little selfie on the rest of the scene.
Kelly Ghost Town/Mine
Here’s a few pictures of a cool old mine thingy that I climbed up on a recent visit to the Kelly ghost town. The structure seemed to be very solid, but the climb was still a bit scary.
It really has been a lot of fun exploring the Magdalena Mountains. I feel so fortunate to live in such a beautiful area. The truth is that I think there is good stuff to go explore anywhere, it’s just a matter of getting out and doing the exploring. 🙂
