My final stop before reaching the Gila Wilderness was at Capulin Volcano National Monument, a large extinct cinder cone volcano that you can drive up to in Capulin, New Mexico. My only mistake was stopping at the entrance sign to get these two photos. Trucks for scale.
See that red truck in the first image? I was parked there and that yahoo came outta nowhere and cut right in front of me, nearly taking off my door. He & his two kids then sprinted to climb all over the sign as I was taking photos (quite rude but meh whatever). Not a big deal, however I missed being able to enter the actual volcano drive loop by 2 minutes because I waited patiently for them to fuck off. They did not, I missed my chance, and alas no volcano for me today. Someday volcano, someday…
Not all was lost though – the extra time gave me a chance to see more of the Gila and I definitely needed that time to make the long drive I was about to set out on. Stay tuned.
Lat = 36.7811127 , Long = -103.9849091 -- Show at Google MapsAuthor’s Note: Due to my lazy nature and/or busy schedule, I’m posting this from the future in July 2021. Original visit date September 2, 2020 which is during the time that the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. I was travelling solo and always masked up when not outdoors and socially distanced. Sadly my trip got derailed due to close contact with infected parties and I had to bail out early (luckily I tested negative upon return). Needless to say this wasn’t my favorite trip and I’ve been putting off posting it. Anyways, enjoy it now, travel safely, and get vaccinated.