Rocks and Walks–Stella’s favorite walks

Stella the dog is a bit over 14 years old. She has had a lifetime of great adventures all over the country. She loves road trips, hikes, town walks, swims, and making friends. Now that she is older, the walks and hikes have gotten much shorter. She can’t go as far or do much of the really difficult terrain anymore, but she still loves to get out almost every single day. 

Stella enjoys getting out to Box Canyon, and will start barking as soon as we turn onto the dirt road, sometimes before that even. She’ll do the same for many of the other places she knows: friends’ houses, other hiking areas, and drive-thrus. As much as she gets excited about these other places, I believe that her favorite is right in our town. She always wants to check out what’s been going on in the yard and around the neighborhood.

Stella does most of her walking on the ditch roads that we can walk just a block away from our house to get to. The ditch roads go on for miles and miles, so they could keep her entertained when she was younger by just going farther. Nowadays, she is happy with the shorter distances. The generally flat, easy terrain with the soft dirt and few rocks is perfect for her. She has lots of usual whiffs that she likes to check on to keep up-to-date on what’s going on. In the warmer months, when the ditches are flowing, she will drop in for a swim. It’s quite soothing for her, and despite the murky water she ends up with pretty soft fur because of the swims. 

The ditch roads may not sound like the most exciting walks, but I find them to be quite spectacular for an easy outing or occasionally a run. Traffic is minimal, and the one side of our nearby ditch road is pretty much all fields: pastures, hay or other livestock feed fields, and sometimes chiles. There are a few curious cows and some very friendly horses. 

There are amazing 360 degree views which are mostly unobstructed. To the east, the expanse of the Quebradas can be seen leading up to Los Pinos Mountains, the Manzanos and the Sandias (about 70 miles away) to the northeast. To the west of the interstate, M Mountain (Socorro Peak), Strawberry Peak, the Magdalenas, Polvadera Peak and the Sierra Ladrones are all clearly visible. The big views are great for morning walks to catch the sunrises and evening walks for sunsets. 

The wildlife viewing along the ditch roads is incredible as well. Mainly, it is just the birding that’s great out there, but some reptiles and wild mammals can be seen. There are all sorts of raptors that hang out in the trees along the ditches to watch the fields and hunt there. Various hawks, kestrels, and owls are the most common that I see, but at times eagles and falcons appear. The sandhill cranes have been busy in the morning at a few of the nearby fields recently and are frequently flying by. The local roadrunners, large quail families, doves, ravens, nighthawks, and many types of smaller songbirds all make regular appearances. 

Easy walking, great views, and good bird watching make the ditch roads very nice for relaxing walks for people and dogs.