A great outdoor excursion to do as the temperatures cool this time of year is the 1.5 mile walk along the mesa of Tsankawi Ruin. Located on Hwy 4 just past the “Y” where the highway forks off to Los Alamos, Tsankawi Ruin is part of the Bandelier National Monument.
The trail requires climbing ladders and the mesa is exposed to the elements, making autumn an ideal time to visit because monsoon season is typically over, as is the intense heat of summer, and climbing icy ladders in the winter requires extra caution.
The trail allows for viewing of cavates (man-made caves), petroglyphs, the Ancestral Pueblo village of Tsankawi, and incredible vistas to the east of the Pojoaque Valley and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
