Bridget led us on a short hike of 4.5 miles (however some of us have determined it to be a bit longer[5.5 miles at least]) from the Cienega Picnic grounds down the Armijo trail. We turned north on the Faulty Trail. We took a side trip up and west to the Torro Springs where we had our snack. We retraced our steps back to Faulty and continued north until we reached Cienega Canyon where we climbed down into the canyon and took the side trail along the road back to the cars.
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| The Hoofers: Front row: Meegan, Mary B., Judi P. Back Row: Jan, Rita, Linda, (Rita's guest from MN) Pat, Bridget (our leader) Judy A. Jennise, Jean, Kathleen, Jane, and... |
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| Rose |
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| Heading out on a beautiful day |
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| Fall colors getting ready to show themselves |
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| We saw some of the tallest Woolly Mullein I have ever seen |
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| A Purple (Fremont) Geranium one of the few wildflowers we saw |
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| On the Faulty Trail where the Armijo Trail joins Faulty, we revisited the Santa Fe Trail Medallion Tree Gestation Date 1821 |
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| Hoofers Standing in front of the Medallion Tree |
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| There were many downed trees in this canyon area |
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| Climbing up heading to Torro Springs |
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| There was a grouping of Velvet Umbrellawort (Mountain Four o'clock) |
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| What appears to be Showy Goldeneye |
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| At the springs we pause for a snack. Fortunately the springs were dry as Mary and Meegan sit in the middle of the Springs |
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| A view of the dried springs |
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| The Ladies sitting on a log Left to Right: Jennise, Kathleen, Jan, Jane, Judi P, and Rita | |
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| The Stream Ladies: Linda, Bridget, Mary and Meegan |
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| and below them Pat and Judy A. |
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| Moi |
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| And Jean, posing in the what would have been a five foot deep pond...if only there was water! |
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| Another view of the springs |
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| Heading back to the Faulty Trail |
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| Meegan shows us a Geocache at the junction of the Torro Springs Trail and the Faulty Trail |
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| Inside there are many trinkets |
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| By far the most favorite items were the spaceman and the frog |
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| The geocache reburied once again |
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| Along the trail we noticed the large amount of fallen pine needles due to a recent storm |
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| Alligator Juniper Trunk |
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| Reaching the top of Cienega Canyon we stop to take in the views |
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| In the canyon |
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| Someone had carved a nice log sofa |
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| Linda, Rita and Jane take advantage of a great photo op |
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| Globemallow |
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| Purple Geraniums |
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| Did not take the time to stop and work out an identification of the huge bush of what appears to be a type of aster (always a safe bet ) |
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| I did take three pictures of it though |
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| Another beautiful Alligator Juniper |
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| Instead of walking down the road to our cars, we took a small side trail and enjoyed the many sites along the way |
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| There was a whole field of those white asters |
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| Water from the Cienega Spring |
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| Soon we were back at the cars another great hike for the Hoofers |
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