Images of Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument – Northern New Mexico, taken in October 2017.

The formations in Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument are the product of wind and rain erosion on pumice, ash and tuff deposits from a volcano that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago. The cone shaped formations occur when a harder upper layer of rock caps the softer layers below which over time wear away and eventually topple the cap rock.

Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument has two main sections with trails. The night before I went to the park the road to the first section, the Veterans Memorial Scenic Overlook and Loop Trail, was washed out by passing thunderstorms but I was able to get to my primary objective, the Slot Canyon Trail. This steep trail weaves its way directly through the interesting tent rock formations via a narrow slot canyon cut by wind and water. As the trail narrows through the tight canyon there were stretches where both climbing and twisting skills were needed to advance and more than once I had to help people through a difficult spot on the trail. Luckily I arrived early which not only got me a place to park but also meant the trail was relatively clear on the way up the mountain. Later on my way down things grew more crowded which produced “traffic jams” in some of the more challenging spots on the trail.

The tent rock formations were the stars of the area but I also ran into a couple of interesting desert denizens on the trail that, although they were in two completely different areas, have an interesting tie to each other. The first was a Tarantula on the Slot Canyon Trail in the narrows. Normally you wouldn’t find a four inch long spider among these smooth rocks where there is no place to hide so it’s possible that it was washed here by the same thunderstorm that washed out the road the night before. But there it was, large and hairy. Then there was the Spider or Tarantula Wasp I ran into later in the day along the Cave Loop Trail. This wasp is known for hunting Tarantulas to lay their eggs in them so that the larva has food throughout its development. Curious to see both of these creatures on the same day…