Holbrook, AZ

Sink hole.
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We pulled out of Albuquerque about 9:30 after having a nice breakfast at the RV park.  It took about an hour to get the the turnoff for the Bandera Ice Cave.  The drive to the cave was really cool with a big change of scenery as we got closer to the caves.  Pine trees began to appear and the landscape had a black color to it due to volcanic ash.

The hike to the ice cave took about 15 minutes. Along the route, we saw a Douglas Fir that is thought to be over 700 years old and sink holes created when lava tubes collapsed.  The ice cave was created when the rain water and snow melt and seep into this cave. The floor of the ice is approximately 20 feet thick. The deepest ice is the oldest and dates back 3400 years.  It has a green tint caused by Arctic algae.  The cause of the original ice formation 3400 years ago is unknown but its existence is due to 20 feet of ice in a well insulated cave shaped to trap frigid air.

Inside the ice cave. The green color is from Arctic algae. When we got about 5 steps from the bottom, the temperature dropped 20 degrees.
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After hiking this trail, we took off on the volcano trail.  As soon as we left, it began to thunder and dark clouds appeared.  Hannah was a bit nervous because I read in the brochure that lightening is drawn to this area because of the high iron content in the soil.  We saw a volcanic formation called a spatter cone that is formed when vents of air accumulate in molten lava.  When the air breaks through the surface, lava will splash out forming a type of blow hole.  About halfway up the trail, it began to rain.  We kept going though and finally reached the end of the trail.  We got a really good view of the crater. Bandera Crater is the largest volcano in this area.  It erupted 10,000 years ago.  The crater is 1400 feet wide at the top and roughly 800 feet deep with the elevation being 8367 feet.  On the way back down the trail, the rain picked up and it actually began to hail on us!!

This Douglas Fir is estimated to be over 700 years old. Think about what has happened in 700 years!!
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After lunch, we took off for Holbrook, AZ.  About 70 miles out of town, we blew a tire on the trailer.  Don changed it quickly without trouble. When we got into Holbrook, we passed a Goodyear tire center so we will get a new tire tomorrow so that we have a spare.

We will stay here for two days. Tomorrow, we are going to the Petrified National Forest and the Painted Desert (and then to the Goodyear tire center 8-).