One beautiful day, we took the Jemez Mountain Trail Scenic Byway. We picked up New Mexico State Road 4 out of San Ysidro. This scenic road climbs up into the Jemez Mountains passing through Jemez Springs and on to Los Alamos. However, the scenic byway branches off onto State Road 126 and proceeds over the Jemez Mountains to Cuba, New Mexico.
Gillman Tunnels
These two tunnels were built by the Sante Fe Northwestern Railroad who no longer use them. They are located along Forest Road 376 about six miles west of NM 4.
The road was temporarily closed just prior to the tunnels to all motor vehicles, so it made a great hiking trail.
The railroad tunnels were blasted out of the rock in the 1920's.
The tunnels ceased to be used by the railroad in the 1940's after continued flooding and were later converted into a narrow-paved mountain road.
We discovered a cascading waterfall after we emerged from the second tunnel.
The Guadalupe River drops down through this box canyon.
The road continues 11 miles beyond the tunnels, but we returned to the truck.
Jemez State Historical Site
The State Historic Site is located in the town of Jemez Springs. This Gisewa Village was built in the 14th century.
Restored Kiva
Access through the roof.
The San Jose de los Jemez Mission was built in the 1620's by the Spanish on top of some of the ancient foundations.
The Franciscans abandoned the mission in 1640 after only 20 years.
Fenton State Park
The paved portion of NM 126 ended at a fish hatchery, three miles past the state park. After all the recent monsoon rains, we chose to return to San Ysidro instead of completing the loop over the mountains on the unimproved mountain road.
Fenton State Park is 8 miles west on NM 126.
Soda Dam Hot Springs
This interesting formation along the Jemez River is made up of calcium carbonate and travertine. This is the result of a grouping of fifteen hot springs. The deposit has built up over 7,000 years.
The river flows through the dome-like bridge created by the deposition of these minerals.
The hot spring water is heated by volcanic magma of the Valles Caldera.
3 comments:
We’re always happy to find roads that are not open to traffic. They usually make great birding spots.
This looks like a beautiful area.
We loved this area. The beautiful scenery and weather and lack of crowds makes it great. We started heading south toward Texas.
Lack of crowds makes most places great!
We were wondering when you were heading back to Santa Ana.
We've enjoyed the blog. We have spent a lot of time in NM.
Safe travels back home.
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