The Valles Caldera was opened to free access to the public for one day, Sat 8/26/2006.
They had set up a couple of loops you could drive around the Caldera, but the roads
were too muddy with monsoon rains, and so really all you could do was drive in about
10 miles, turn around and head back. I am guessing there were more than 500 cars trying
to get in. The wait to enter was considerably longer than an hour. The gates opened
at 8:30 AM, we got there at 9:30 AM and did not get to the entrance station until 10:30AM.
We turned around about 1:30PM and exited the preserve at 2:30PM. Bumper to bumper traffic the whole way.

The Caldera is a beautiful expanse of grassy meadows bordered by lava domes
in the sunken volcanic crater that forms the preserve. The rim of the caldera
is generally forested. The pictures here are only a small hint at the beauty of this place.