Day 3 of NM vacation - Catwalk and VLR Antennas

Today we drove up to Glenwood, NM and then went for a hike on the Catwalk National Trail which is in the Whitewater Canyon. Back in 1893, minors build a pipeline to get water from the canyon to the mill downstream. The maintenance workers named it the “Catwalk” because of it’s need for constant maintenance. The mill eventually closed and the pipeline was dismantled in 1908. In the mid-30’s, the Civilian Conservation Corp rebuilt the Catwalk as a recreation area. It has been rebuilt several times since then due to severe flooding. The trail climbs 300 feet in elevation during the 1 mile trail. The first ½ mile is fairly easy and criss-crosses the stream several times. In places, the catwalk is right above the water flowing in the canyon below it. The last ½ mile is considered “difficult” and that it is. At the 3/4 mile marker is what is called the "helicopter bridge". It is an iron bridge that crosses the canyon and river. The bridge was brought in in 2 pieces by helicopter which was the only way to get it in place. The pilot had to have been very skilled since the canyon is not very wide. Definitely the hardest trail we have ever been on but we made it. For us desert rats, the constant sound of flowing water and water falls was very refreshing.

It seemed like we drove forever through the Gila Wilderness and over passes. The road was a good 2-lane road but couldn’t get a lot of speed and we drove for miles and miles without seeing another vehicle. There wasn’t even anyplace to stop and eat. About 60 miles west of Socorro, NM we finally got to the Very Large Array (VLA) of radio astronomy telescopes. I had never even heard of this before running across it in a AAA tour book. There are 27 antennas in the array. Each one is 82 ft in diameter and weighs 230 tons. The antennas are arranged in a Y pattern and are set on rails so they can be moved. Each arm of the Y is 13 miles long. Regular optical telescopes record a photographic image of an object in outer space. VLA’s make an image using the radio waves that are emitted by that object. There was numerous antelope roaming on the grounds where the antennas are which has an elevation of 7000 feet out in the middle of nowhere.

We were so glad to see hour hotel when we finally got here. Tomorrow we head on up to Santa Fe.