Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, NM and Cochiti Recreation Area, NM

I find it amazing how many national monuments (like Bandelier) I've never heard of... So now we're leaving Bandelier to head to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.

We were going to pass on this one, but my friend, Karen, told me it was worth staying an extra day to visit... Tent Rocks is almost directly south of Bandelier, but to get there, we have to make an almost complete circle back through Santa Fe.

Tent Rocks does not have a campground, but we are lucky to find the Buffalo Grove Loop in the Cochiti Recreation Area nearby. It's an Army Corps of Engineers campground. The lower campground is on a hill overlooking the reservoir. The campsites there are paved and very spacious with a really nice shelter over the picnic table. They also have water and electric and the cell tower is just on the other side of the hill. They don't take reservations, so we were lucky that at this time of year there's plenty of  space available.

We arrive on Oct. 31 and plan to visit Tent Rocks on Nov. 1. On the 1st, we drive to the Monument and find it is closed for a native ceremonial celebration.

So I console myself by making Tom take me to dinner in Santa Fe at the Paper Dosa. This is another restaurant that I saw on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Once again, I'm excited to go and hopeful that the food will be amazing...

We decide to do their tasting menu. Starters are Chile and Onion Pakora (hot chiles and red onions battered in spiced rice flour, flash fried, and served with eggplant chutney) and Chennai Chicken (fried chicken marinated in yogurt and spices served with raitha--spiced yogurt).


The second course were dosas also served with sambar and coconut and tomato chutneys. The menu description of a dosa is: A thin South Indian crepe made from a fermented rice and lentil batter. I gotta admit, I don't remember what kind I had. Tom may have even had an Uttapam: A South Indian “pancake” made from a fermented rice and lentil dosa batter—thicker and smaller than dosas with the ingredients cooked into the batter.

The last course is a curry. I have the Chettinad Lamb Curry, lamb slow cooked with dry-roasted garam masala and finished with freshly ground peppercorns. Tom had the Karaikudi Chicken Curry, Chettinad-style curry with plenty of flavor from garam masala, red chile, fennel and cumin.

All in all, dinner was an interesting experience. We'd probably need to go back and explore other dishes, as this go round did not provide any outstanding dishes.

The next day when we head out to Tent Rocks is another beautiful fall day. It's Saturday, and we head out moderately early. We don't expect to see any crowds, but the day will probably be hot enough that we don't want to be out late in the afternoon. We do have to wait a little while at the entrance. The Monument is small and has limited parking, so one car has to come out of the park for each car that goes in.

There are two trails, we start out on the slot canyon trail that takes you to the mesa above the formations. It starts out as an easy trail with some narrow spots and becomes more moderately difficult--especially if you've got old, sore knees. However, Karen was right, the trail is just challenging enough and makes the scenery seem even more special.

The beginning of the trail

More wildlife

Wildlife along the way

Yes, this is the trail

Tom at his usual photography spot (the edge of a precipice)

Once you wind your way up through the slot canyons, you'll find yourself up on top of the mesa with a commanding view of the surroundings.

 Then its time to head back down to the valley below.

A tough hike for me, but oh so satisfying. Certainly worth the extra couple of days...thanks Karen!