The Capulin Volcano

The Capulin (pronounced “cap-oo-LEAN”) Volcano was apparently named after the Indian word for “chokecherry” - a connection that doesn't make a lick of sense to me, since I don’t remember seeing even one chokecherry on the climb to the rim (although the brochure says they do indeed grow there). Basalt, the black rock formed by volcanic eruption, was everywhere around the volcano. Back when Capulin was active, it blasted big blobs of basalt into the plains, a fiery shower of rock. Now cows, antelope and elk graze peacefully on the vegetation that surrounds these once red-hot boulders.

Kristy and I climbed the steep path to the rim of the volcano. Along the way, we were covered with tiny gnats hitching a ride, and butterflies flitted all around us. Well-placed signs strategically placed along the trail invite hikers to stop, catch their breath, and discover something else new. Kristy even saw a tiny lizard dart into a rock crevice, but try as she might, she couldn’t convince it to come out so I could see it.

Although the volcano looks rather insignificant from the plains, it actually rises quite a few feet from the valley floor. (“1,300 feet above the plains, to 8,182 feet above sea level” - I just looked at the National Park Service brochure). Once at the top, you can see forever - all the way into Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma.

Looking down into the bottom of the crater was a unique experience, as well. Although it is now covered with vegetation, it is obviously a volcano - and looking out into the plains from the top, the area is just covered with similar, smaller cones. I had no idea New Mexico was terra-formed by volcanic activity. The Dogmobile is in that parking lot. The bottom of the crater is still out of sight, to the left.

On our way back down the rim trail, we passed a red-faced, perspiring Ranger on his way up to the rim, clutching a water bottle in one sweaty fist. He paused to greet us, asking us “How y’all doing?” When I asked where he’d gotten that “ya’ll” from, he grinned and said he was from Oklahoma.

Nice place to end up!