Santa Fe hike day two and trains

We had hiked the southern portion of the Dale Ball trails on Sunday.  Since the trails were well marked and offered such amazing views, we decided to try the northern section on Monday.

The Dale Ball Trail system is a 22 mile network of trails in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Located a short distance from downtown Santa Fe, it is the quickest way to get from the city into the mountains. It offers great opportunities for beginners and advanced hikers alike, along with amazing views of both the surrounding wilderness and back towards the city. The trail features a unique numbered sign system at each trail junction to provide easy navigation, as well as connecting to other local trails, including the Nature Conservancy, Dorothy Stewart and Atalaya Trails.

We had a bit of a lazy morning.  We had coffee, newspapers, computers and sleepy pups.  We wanted to the sun to be well into the sky before going out.  It is chilly here with some wind so the sun really makes a difference.

We got ready and drove to Sierra del Norte range.  The Dale Ball trails northern and central section trailhead is located just off the road.

As usual, Penny was rearing to go.  She got her stick and she was ready.

HAVE STICK WILL HIKE

Annie Belle had good intentions but the hills and the cold were just too much.  She ended up in the pack for most of the hike but she looked good.

HIKING DOG IN PINK CARDIGAN

Today's trails were a bit longer but not as strenuous.  The steeps were shorter and were mixed.  Our Sunday hike was a long uphill and then a long downhill.  Today's northern trails offered loops so we had very little repeat and a mix of up and down.  We did get another beautiful look at the distant snow covered mountains.

My guess is that the Santa Fe area has had a dry season.  We have seen very little snow and many of the small creeks are dry.  The creeks look like they only run when fed by snowmelt or rain.

ANOTHER GREAT TRAIL MAP

NICE INFO ON LOCAL WILDLIFE AND PLANTS

I am sure these trails look quite different in spring and sumer.  We did not see any ground dwelling wildlife but it is still fairly cold.  The birds were there but not in great numbers.  There must be some nocturnal inhabitants of the area because they seemed to enjoy using the trail as a toilet.  

After a few good hours of trails, we decided we'd had enough and made our way back to the hotel.  We rested for a bit, got cleaned up and drove to the Santa Fe Railyard Arts District.  

The old Santa Fe train depot area has recently been redeveloped and it now hosts shops, restaurants, an outdoor performance area and an area for a farmer's market. 

www.santafe.org/railyard/

 My guess is that this area is hopping during the warmer months but February appeared to be a low season. We walked around a bit and watched the trains arrive and depart.  

I love trains.

THE NEW MEXICO RAIL RUNNER

We also had dinner at the Second Street Brewery At The Railyard.  The food was excellent and they had three craft beers described as "gluten removed."  The one I tried, was, by far, the best gluten free beer I have ever tasted.  I also had an amazing meal of trout, green chile grits and green beans.  

We finished dinner, did a bit more walking and decided to call it a night.  We spent the rest of our evening in our warm room with our happy dogs.

Another great day in this thing we call life.