In my most recent post on this blog Bosque Bill and I had just finished our lovely picnic lunch at Fenton Lake, and we were planning to return to Corrales and Albuquerque’s North Valley. We returned along a different route along the Rio Cebolla via Forest Road 376.
There were brilliant golden swaths of Quaking Aspen all along the way.
Golden Quaking Aspen.
Another colony of Quaking Aspen.
Quaking Aspen cascade down a hillside.
We saw one area where the aspen were so beautiful that we decided to walk into the trees for a number of photos. Here are a few of them:
Aspen grove
Aspen grove, anther view.
Another aspen grove.
Looking up through the aspen canopy.
As we drove down the forest road along the Rio Cebolla we left the aspen behind. The river which merged with the Rio de las Vacas to become the Guadalupe River, descended into Guadalupe Canyon, and the vegetation became primarily Gambel Oak.
Gambel Oak
Gambel Oak, Rio Cebolla.
Another view of the Rio Cebolla from the road.
We descended farther down the logging road that wound through the Guadalupe Canyon along the river. Although he walls of the canyon became steeper there was still fall foliage along the road.
Rock canyon, Rio Cebolla.
A glimpse of the Rio Cebolla at the bottom of the canyon.
The Gilman Tunnels are at the narrowest part of Guadalupe Canyon, near the bottom of the canyon and close to the junction of the forest road with the State Highway. These tunnels were originally blasted out of the rock in the 1920’s for a logging railroad. They are not long tunnels, but they are an attractive feature of the drive.
One of the Gilman Tunnels.
After we drove through the Gilman Tunnels, the landscape opened up and we could see the beautiful red rock formations of the Jemez Valley.
Spectacular red rock cliffs.
It was a lovely day with spectacular scenery, fine weather, good food and great company. Happy birthday Bosque Bill!
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