From Grants we head towards Malpais National Monument however we have only one brief stop planned at El Calderon Trailhead we want to see the trailhead that we used some time ago, use the facilities and understand if they really closed the caves. And yes they did, unfortunately, which certainly seems to have reduced the number of visitors.
Nearby is the major attraction for today in this old lava flow, Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave. It abuts the National Monument but it is private so we have to pay for the entrance before using the trails.
Before starting on the trails we visit the shop and the small museum. It is quite interesting with finds on the ranch including Indian and Cowboy artifacts like pots and guns.
There is also an exhibit with photos about the ice caves and how they were advertised throughout the years, we were not aware that this is such an old attraction across multiple generations.
Outside we watch the birds that are enjoying the ranch structures including Acorn Woodpeckers and quite common, here, red-breasted nuthatches.
The trail is a loop trail with two spur trails and it starts quite easy and level passing throuh the ponderosa pine forest and old fumaroles as we make our way to the Volcano.
Reaching the base of the volcano it is time to climb towards the entrance into the crater. It takes our breath away both literally and figuratively as it is quite a sustained climb with nice views.
We enjoy the flowers and the incipient fall colors along the way. The air is also cooler here, the temperature difference between night and day is quite impressive actually with the night being below freezing and during the day being in the 60s.
As we reach the highest point the colors are more pronounced and we enjoy the colorful views while we catch our breath.
From here the trail is level as we take the spur towards the interior of the caldera. We have received a folder with information to look for at each stop marked by some wooden pillars and it is game finding them, we likely found about two-thirds with the other missing in action or just not noticed.
As we get closer to the caldera proper we can see the old lava flow which has broken through the volcano cone in this direction allowing us entrance.
The crater is breathtaking, figuratively this time, the colors are contrasting nicely against the green of the trees and the yellow of the fall colors. We spend some time enjoying the overlook at the end of the trail especially because due to a stroke of luck we are alone here even though there are quite a few other visitors.
Returning on the spur trail we keep an alert eye to find the other section of the loop trail and start descending through the lava flow towards the Ice Caves.
We continue to keep an eye open for birds along the way and we find a Townsend Solitaire who enjoy the warmer weather and sings to his heart content.
We are afraid we are going to miss the turnoff towards the Ice Caves but it is marked from the main trail and then it is time for a long descent via stairs into the much colder Ice Cave.
The lowest we can go is an overlook point from where we can see the frozen waterfall and pond. The colors are beautiful and we enjoy the much colder temperatures. At some point you could go on the ice as evidenced by the photos in the visitor center, that is certainly not possible anymore.
From the Ice Caves it is a short jaunt back to the Visitor Center and the car. Even on this short stretch we have a surprise, in the lava field we see a skeleton, likely it is here due to Halloween but who knows. And then it is time to hurry to El Morro National Monument our last attraction on this stretch of road.
