This past Monday was a beautiful day and, wonder of wonders, we didn’t have anything scheduled on our calendars.

So, we packed up some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips, put Jessie into the Highlander and headed for the Jemez Mountains. Jemez is pronounced “hay-mous” and is the home of the Jemez Pueblo.

We drove through the beautiful Jemez valley where the Pueblo Indians live and through Jemez Springs, the home of some hot springs. We stopped at the ‘Soda Dam’ above Jemez Springs.

The Soda Dam is a large, dam caused by hot springs in the area that deposited minerals over thousands of years and created a large dam over Jemez Creek. There is one area where the creek broke through and is now a cascade that has created a neat swimming pool during the summer.

We arrived at our picnic site – Battleship Rock Picnic Area. The name comes from a prominent rock which looks like a battleship.

The picnic site is along the Jemez Creek. We walked Jessie along the creek so she could get into the water. Later, on our way out of the valley, we stopped at the creek at a lower level. The water at the picnic site is at a higher elevation and is very clear. At the lower level, you’ll notice the water is red. That comes from the creek running through the Jemez Pueblo that is in the middle of a red rock area.

Here’a short video of our very good day.