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Sunday, June 20, 2010
Ice Cave, Lava Flows Show Off Cool and Unusual N.M.
By Amanda Schoenberg
Journal Staff Writer
There aren't many places you can peer over the edge of a 10,000-year-old volcano, then climb down into an ice cave that stays a cool 31 degrees in the middle of summer.
"Fire and ice — that unusual mix draws a lot of people in," says Terry O'Connor, assistant manager and jack-of-all-trades at the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano.
Tucked away on N.M. 53, about 25 miles south of Grants, the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano is a privately owned and family-operated site with a trading post and self-guided trails.
The ice cave formed from a lava tube created by the volcano's eruption. As lava flowed out, it left a hollow space where rain and snow built up an ice floor of more than 20 feet, O'Connor says. Bright green algae grows on the surface.
Based on pottery found nearby, the cave was used between A.D. 800 and 1200 during the late Anasazi and early Pueblo periods. Early settlers also mined ice from the cave, O'Connor says. The land containing the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano was purchased by rancher and sheep man Sylvestre Mirabal in the early 1900s. Four generations of his descendants still operate the site.
A 1-mile trail leads from the trading post to the volcano and back. A hike to the cave takes about 20 minutes, he says.
Admission to the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano is $10 for adults. The site is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., but visitors should arrive by 5 p.m. For information, see icecaves.com or call 505-783-4303.
Sandstone bluffs
From the Ice Cave, visitors can continue south on N.M. 53 toward El Malpais and El Morro National Monuments to experience dramatic sandstones bluffs, jagged black lava flows and more than 200 caves, says Leslie DeLong, chief of visitor services at El Malpais and El Morro National Monuments.
"It's definitely a place where you can meet nature on its own terms," she says.
El Calderon Area trail, 20 miles south of Grants on N.M. 53, offers an introduction to area terrain with a 3-mile hike through lava flows and even a climb up a 115,000-year-old cinder cone, says DeLong.
Visitors can meet some of the smallest residents — Mexican free-tailed bats — during a bat flight program June 26 at 7:30 p.m. Visitors should bring water, a flashlight and light jacket.
While in the area, travelers also can stop at El Morro National Monument, where more than 2,000 inscriptions, dates and petroglyphs carved in sandstone chronicle New Mexico's history. A 2-mile trail leads past the inscriptions to the top of the bluff, where visitors can see the Zuni Mountains and rugged formations of El Malpais.
For information about El Malpais, see www.nps.gov/elma or call the information center at 505-783-4774 about outdoor activities. For general information, call the Northwest New Mexico Visitor Center in Grants at 505-876-2783. For information about El Morro, see www.nps.gov/elmo or call 505-783-4226.
Bike rally
Heading north again on N.M. 53, visitors can stop at Grants, about 40 miles west from Albuquerque at exit 85. Summer events include the 85th annual July Fourth weekend celebration at the Grants Rodeo Arena and a July 4 parade starting at 9 a.m. on Santa Fe Avenue. The Fire and Ice Bike Rally kicks off July 15-18 with entertainment from the bands Molly Hatchet and John Kay & Steppenwolf. See www.fireandicebikerally.com for information.
In Grants, visitors can see a replica of "Section 26" of the Kerr-McGee mine at the New Mexico Mining Museum, says Star Gonzales, Grants/Cibola County Chamber of Commerce director. The museum, which includes ore-hauling cars, drilling mechanisms and a mine lunchroom, commemorates the uranium mining industry in the area.
The museum is open Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for people over 60 and students under 17. For information, see www.grants.org.
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