Tent Rocks-- Albuquerque, NM

This weekend I visited my godmother in her new home, Albuquerque, NM. We share a passion for hiking and the outdoors, so she was super excited to take me on one of her favorite hikes. I had never been to New Mexico before this weekend and was blown away by the beautiful skyline! We went on a hike at a place called “Tent Rocks Canyon,” where striated rock formations stretch for miles and visitors can climb on and through the formations. There are two short hikes with great views, so we chose to do both of them to fully experience the canyon. I was so impressed by these formations I could not put my camera down! I learned that these formations were created over many years from a combination of wind, water, and volcanic eruptions. The array of colors striping the formations looked as though an artist had taken a paintbrush to the rocks and added stripes and spots in an artistic pattern. The rocks were tall and slender and came to a tent-like point at the top, hence the park’s name. Erosion has left some of the formations shorter than others, so we attempted to climb on and throughout some of the less impressive formations. This left a white dusty residue all over my pants, but it was worth it!

Growing up right outside of Seattle, WA with both the mountains and water at my disposal, I tend to be a bit biased when it comes to natural beauty. I was raised with great Seattle pride and consider Washington to be one of the most beautiful states in the country. I did not know much about New Mexico before this visit, however the movies and TV shows I have seen set in New Mexico portrayed it as a dry wasteland. I had no idea there was such great beauty in this state. This hike really put things into perspective for me and made me realize how beautiful other landscapes can be. While nature in New Mexico is very different from that in Washington or Texas, it is all beautiful in its own way.

After we finished our day of hiking, we drove back to my godmother's house. I could not help but notice the array of warm colors reflected in the leaves on the trees lining the road and the scenic rolling hills that loomed ahead of us. My godmother told me that the hills looked more like dirt piles when you got closer and that were really nothing like the mountains I was used to at home, however from my viewpoint in the passenger's seat of her car, they were incredible. We occasionally passed horses on the side of the road, grazing and standing still as the soft glow of sunset reflected off of them, making them look like statues in a famous painting. I went to bed that night feeling tired from hiking and amazed by the beauty of this state I had never experienced before this day and grateful for the time I got to spend exploring a new place with someone so important to me. This trip was a wonderful reminder of all the natural beauty I have yet to see, and I hope I have more opportunities like this one to visit new places and experience even more natural beauty like there is in New Mexico.