On day 23, we explored a place in New Mexico called “Fire and Ice”. It’s a volcano and an ice cave. The trail to the volcano was numbered with information along the way for a self-guided tour. The trail started at a trading post built in the 1930s that was once also used as a saloon and a dance hall. The hike was tough because it was on lava rock, uphill, in the heat. The views on the way up were amazing, and it was very interesting to see and learn about the different types of lava. The trail to the top of the volcano was just over 1/2 mile.

Once we got to the top, you could see down into a giant crater left behind by the volcanic explosion. We were at 8,036 feet in elevation. It’s hard to capture the depth of the hole in a picture.

It was 1/2 mile back to the ice cave trail, but it wasn’t the same trail we went up on. This one had even more lava rock. It was a rugged trail and a difficult walk. I was sliding all over the place!🤪

The ice cave trail was shorter and ended with 72 steps down to a cave.

The cave is 31 degrees year round and felt incredible after the hike in the heat. The ice down in the cave is 20 feet thick. Native Americans and early settlers mined the ice, and that continued until 1946 when the cave and volcano became tourist attractions. The cave was very pretty, and the water covering the ice has a green hue from an Arctic algae.

We stayed down in the cool for awhile before heading back up the 72 stairs to the heat. We hiked back to the trading post, and the whole trip took us about 2 hours.

After our hike, we decided to explore Grants, New Mexico which is another town on the historic Route 66. Grants is about 30 minutes from the Volcano and the Cave.

We had dinner at El Cafecito, which is a highly recommended restaurant in Grants.

It’s New Mexican food, and I enjoyed that flair on my favorite Mexican dishes- tamales and chiles rellenos. I got one of each. They were different and even spicier than I’m used to, but delicious!

Their sopapillas were impressive and delicious!

If you’ve never had sopapillas, they are a light fluffy bread. They can be used in desserts (often rolled in cinnamon and sugar) or main dishes (stuffed with beef or beans and cheese). They served them as a side dish at Cafecito. We put honey on ours for dessert.

The Route 66 town of Grants was filled with old abandoned buildings, but they were neat to see and felt like going back in time. Some were even still in business like the Sands Motel. It has been open since the 1950s.

After this sightseeing, we returned to our beautiful landscape at the campground for the evening.

We check out tomorrow, and we will see where the road takes us!😁