User:(WT-en) Una Smith/scratch

Caja del Rio (the Caja to locals) is a large mesa in north central New Mexico, a few miles west of Santa Fe. There are no services, no paved roads, and no houses on the Caja. Instead, there are numerous volcanic peaks, thousands of cattle (periodically), a small herd of wild horses, scenic views, and numerous recreational visitors, primarily mountain bike and equestrian trail riders.

The name Caja del Rio is an apparent play on words. In Spanish, one sense of caja is casket and another is box (as in box canyon); the Rio Grande passes between the Caja del Rio and the Pajarito Plateau through a long, narrow box canyon, and on maps the Caja del Rio resembles a casket.

Get around
You'll want a map. There are several options.

Caja del Rio trails map
Full citation: Caja del Rio, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Equestrian, Riding and Hiking Trails, Santa Fe National Forest, Deirdre C. Monroe (2006) Otowi Crossing Press. The map is hard to obtain except from the following sources:
 * Santa Fe merchants:
 * Desert Wind Saddlery
 * The Feed Bin (under the counter; ask for it)
 * Travel Bug


 * Albuquerque merchants:
 * REI
 * Los Alamos merchants:
 * Otowi Station
 * By mail from the publisher
 * E-mail the name of the map, how many copies, and your mailing address to bcolin@earthlink.net. If you request a single copy you will be mailed the map and an invoice ($15 in 2008) for you to pay by mail.
 * Mail the same information as above, plus $15 per copy, to Otowi Crossing Press, 1964 Juniper Street, Los Alamos, NM 87544, 505-661-4273, bcolin@earthlink.net

Be advised: this map covers only the northeast half of the Caja del Rio. Although the map shows the location of the main access point to the southwest half of the Caja, in the vicinity of Santa Fe Horse Park off Airport Road, in the vicinity of this access point the map is not current.

USGS topographic quadrangles
Complete coverage of the Caja del Rio requires eight USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles, including Cochiti Dam, Montoso Peak, Santo Domingo Pueblo, and Tetilla Peak. An alternative to buying all of these is to have a custom map printed for you by a map shop, showing exactly your area of interest. In Santa Fe, Travel Bug can do this.

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isin: Jemez_Mountains Una_Smith

Caja del Rio