After an uneventful four-day drive across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, we reach our first destination of the 2013-2014 trailer travel year in northern New Mexico at the Capulin Volcano National Monument. This area of New Mexico is littered with extinct volcano cones dating back millions of years. The Capulin Volcano erupted most recently, about 60,000 years ago. At an elevation of over 8,000 feet, the 360 degree views from the Rim Trail are stunning. Unfortunately, it isn't clear enough to see the Rocky Mountains to the north in Colorado very clearly.
| Brad on the Crater Trail, heading down into the crater |
| Brad on the Rim Trail looking into the crater |
| Marilyn on the Rim Trail with Baby Capulin in the background
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We also visit nearby Clayton Lake State Park where an excellent field of dinosaur trackways exist. Unearthed by natural erosion following the building of the dam that created Clayton Lake, paleontologists study these tracks to learn more about dinosaur behaviour. All of the dinosaurs prints discovered here are from bipedal animals (walking on two feet); some were plant-eaters and others were meat-eating predators. Even a footprint from a baby dinosaur can be seen here.
| A large cluster of trackways at Clayton Lake State Park |
| Brad providing scale to one of the best impressions made by a carnivore - note the claw marks! |
| One of many White-lined Sphinx Moths that feed off the honeysuckle bush near our trailer. It's huge - about 2 to 3 inches in length! Grady loves watching them. |
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