近距离内射合集

CIBOLA COUNTY 鈥� El Malpais, the 鈥渂adlands,鈥� is a sea of volcanic events frozen in time: lava flows, cinder cones, dune-like islands of rock once surrounded by molten flows, leaving peculiar and beautiful structures around which life continues to bloom and graze.

Twenty-five miles south of Grants, on a long scenic route down Highway 117 into El Malpais, one of the easiest hikes 鈥� nay, it鈥檚 a quarter-mile stroll 鈥� conveys the traveler to one of El Malpais National Conservation Area鈥檚 unique wonders, La Ventana Natural Arch.

There are more demanding hikes and rewards here, as well as in the adjacent El Malpais National Monument, but La Ventana (the window) is unique. I sat on the ground and looked through the archway at the sandstone, marveling at a structure 125 feet high, 165 feet wide, representing 160 million years of action and reaction.

Very little effort or preparation is required for the experience other than sunscreen and hydration. There is clear signage within the conservation area, a paved parking lot, even benches and a picnic site. A gentle path leads the way through cholla cactus, pi帽on, juniper and flora that will strike people unaccustomed to the desert as surprisingly lush. There is wildlife in the vicinity as well, but I have had no visits to report, as they keep their distance from tourists.

The sandstone archway towering overhead was formed by relentless cycles of erosion, rain working its way into cracks, freezing, expanding, thawing and gradually chewing into the sandstone, breaking hunks off and whittling a distinct gateway before the cliff, a portico over a canyon that is fenced off to visitors.

There is no artifice telling you this is a sacred space. The arch, the cliffsides, the trees let you know. The people I observed, from children to adults who climbed out of minivans to take a gander, picked up on it immediately.

Looking up at the rock to contemplate the surface and the striping indicating layers of older Jurassic Zuni entangled with newer Dakota sandstone, now imagining the cliffs underwater long ago, envisioning the peoples who hunted and gathered, prayed and looked for water and shelter here, I could not help reflecting on human time versus geologic time as I sat and observed families approach, gaze and then arrange themselves for a picture capturing an even thinner slice of time.

Yet even when fooling around with mobile phone cameras, conversation was hushed and reverent.

The El Malpais National Conservation Area was established in 1987, the same year that President Ronald Reagan designated the 114,000-acre national monument over the objections of the neighboring Acoma Pueblo.

The conservation area encompasses geological resources and wilderness areas for research and education 鈥� La Ventana sits in the Cebolla Wilderness Area 鈥� with amenities for camping and hiking.

The national monument is also open for caving through lava tubes, watching bats leave a popular cave near El Calderon, stargazing and back country camping.

There are a variety of experiences, some of which require more preparation and effort than others. La Ventana offers the lowest barrier to participation, perhaps, yet it still commands awe in all but the absolute phone-besotted dullard.

Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.