I swear by The Lonely Planet’s guides for finding out the best places to see, stay and eat when we travel.  So for our family vacation last fall, I dog-eared the pages, used post-it flags and marked-up the the print version of the guide to New Mexico as we planned our trip. I wanted to experience everything from what we expected, Sandia Peak, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, etc. The one place I had not heard of but was determined to travel to was Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Park.

Any geographic feature described as bizarre and beautiful appeals to me. The park was also off the beaten path which appeals to my dislike of crowded tourist traps and going on what my family has called “Adventures with Lisa.”  These adventures started with a trip in the early 1990’s into the back roads of Southern Indiana to an old stone quarry where we sat on the top edge to watch a graduate student’s master’s project – a live Japanese Noh theater performance in the quarry which she had converted into a beautiful Japanese-styled rock garden. I hadn’t lost the taste for adventure and my family has gotten accustomed to being open to these somewhat crazy journeys.

We figured we would go for an hour or two and ended up staying for five. From our initial hike along the shorter Cave Loop Trail to the ever changing slots and spectacular vistas from the plateau at the top of the Canyon Loop, we were constantly awed by the beauty and uniqueness of these volcanic structures. My son even got to engage in some non-urban parkour through the slots.  The pictures below should illustrate why we stayed and why we will be back.