NM4 Part 2

A few meandering miles north of Jemez Pueblo lies the little town of Jemez Springs. Passing through this little burg provides ample opportunity for stopping and diving into local culture. However, the road onward beckons and this time of year (early spring) daylight is still in somewhat short supply so that exploration must wait for another day.

The road continues northward and ascends slowly through the deeply red rocks of Jemez National Monument. There is ample parking, picnic facilities and hiking in the pullout area amid the bright red rocks.







Jemez Springs National Recreational Area

The clue to the next interesting attraction is olfactory rather than visual. Traveling through a deep canyon the river is revealed through a natural waterfall appearing through a twisted mass of frozen fluid rock, obviously volcanic. Called Soda Dam, it is a popular place for people to hang out during the warm hours of the day.

Soda Dam

Passing Soda Dam the road continues upward and begins to gradually bend to the east. The riding continues to be excellent and mostly solitary until coming upon Battle Ship Rock. With ones riding head on the looking through the corners it would be extremely easy to slam on the brakes because when it first appears one has the illusion it lies directly in the path ahead.

Battleship Rock

After navigating up, over and around a couple of very technical hairpins Valles Caldera comes into view.

Also known as Jemez Caldera this 95,000 acre natural wonder is also one of the newest national preserves, passing from private to public ownership in 2000.

Note the height of the snow at 11,000 feet even in early April.  The coyote fencing is almost completely covered. 


















After passing beyond Valles Caldera NM 4 meanders pleasantly west toward the general vicinity of Los Alamos.  After negotiating another set of technical hairpins the there is a fork in the road that offers the choice of heading north into Los Alamos on NM 501 or continuing west on NM 4 toward White Rock.  On this particular journey the choice was to continue heading west.  Even passing rather far south of Los Alamos proper things can get pretty weird.  All manner of official warnings, gated-off areas and, and mysterious gadgetry punctuates the landscape.

After passing through White Rock turn south on US 84 at Pojuaque (steering clear of the tribal police) and slab it back to homebase.

  This is a ride that could easily take a couple of days if one stopped and gave justice to every worthy attraction.  Keep your eyes on these pages for more to come this summer.

Wonders along NM4

March madness has a new meaning in northern New Mexico these days. A long, hard winter is finally releasing its grip and the two wheel monsters that have been caged up inside the riders looking for any excuse to roll. In this riders case a long, free afternoon presented itself and a quick study of the map and a few calls local riders made NM4 look like a promising candidate for, finally, an afternoon's adventure.

From Santa Fe, head south on I25 towards Albuquerque, toward US 550. No matter what time of day or night the ride on I-25 down La Pajada hill is always a race. The posted speed limit is already a generous 75MPH, however the reality of the situation is that ride anything less than 90 and be mowed down like so much motor meat.

Turning west on US 550 N, go figure, proves to be a moderately frustrating experience. Skirting the northern outskirts fo the community of Rio Rancho the strip mall traffic is dangerous and annoying. Fortunately, it does not continue for too long.

The real fun begins when turning north on NM 4 at the little village of San Ysidro. Just as a side note by now the ride from Santa Fe will have covered 60 miles of slab and, depending on the range of your motorcycle, it might be a good idea to to take the opportunity to fuel up at this juncture as at least 50 miles of of motorcycling heaven stretches ahead, but the opportunities to get gas along the rest of the route are sketchy at best.

50 Miles of sweet carving lie ahead on NM4

Just a couple miles up the road lies Jemez Pueblo and it is a study in contrasts. Upon first entering from the south there is a group of modern government buildings which at first blush can give a mistaken impression of Pueblo life. Once past the official complex the road continues to ascend, but the ground falls away to the west of the road giving a good overall view of the actual working Pueblo.

Small dirt roads lead off down and to the left and large signs both invite the visitor in and also give dire warnings about the consequences of breaking tribal rules. Because pueblo life is relatively secretive this ride along the high ground gives a rare glimpse into actual conditions inside these tiny little sovereign nations.

Upon leaving Jemez Pueblo the road becomes lonely again twisting the throttle again becomes almost imperative. At this altitude the road has not been ravaged by severe winter conditions and the quality of the road and the almost perfect symmetry of the twisties remind those emerging from long winter layoff just exactly what motorcycling is about in the first place.

Next up on our little road beaded with wonders is the community of Jemez Springs. This first impression one gets upon entering the area is that of yet another impoverished New Mexico community. Small, dusty, run-down trailer park communities lie along the edges of town. Yet despite their overall dilapidated nature, many of them boast amazing artwork of various genres either attached to the dwellings themselves or on diplay in their sad little yards.

This little adobe church pictured below is a good example. Although it sports a sad looking and sagging tin roof which is painted in an unsuccessful attempt to make it look like what it is not, these features are offset by intricately designed stained glass windows and hand carved wooden doors.







The above photos illustrate the dichotomy of life on the outskirts of Jemez Sprngs