Rio Grande Gorge

Wild Rivers Recreation Area

Well That Hardly Seems Fair

We were hiking the Little Arsenic Trail when we crossed paths with this wonderful little tarantula. I think it might be a desert tarantula since they are supposed to be common in New Mexico, and possibly a female.

While researching tarantulas, I was stunned to learn of their longevity. Species like this one don't reach sexual maturity for nearly a decade and the females often live another decade after that. The poor males, however, survive only months after mating for the first time, one and done.

Not exactly fair, is it?

A desert tarantula tries to hide under a rock on the Little Arsenic Trail in the Wild Rivers Recreation Area in New Mexico's Rio Grande Gorge

A Tight Squeeze

After crossing the trail, the tarantula tried to hunker down under this rock but despite its best efforts it didn't quite fit. I decided to continue up the trail and leave it be, either to stay there or find a more accommodating hiding spot.

Bark patterns in Rio Grande Gorge National Recreation Area

Barking Up The Right Tree

While in Taos, my wife and I drove out to the Wild Rivers Recreation Area for a little hiking and sight seeing. My wife wanted to touch the Rio Grande so after waiting for some thunderstorms to pass through, we hiked the Little Arsenic Trail down into the Rio Grande Gorge.

Following a long and seemingly endless series of switchbacks down into the canyon, we were tired but happy when we finally reached the riverbank. The trees by the water had a beautiful red color and I loved the patterns in their bark.

The hike back up was even more punishing, but I was excited to find a tarantula sharing the trail with us, the first one I’ve seen in the wild.

Rio Grande Gorge State Park

The Height of Fears

Both my wife and I are afraid of heights — especially me. So we were pretty proud of ourselves, after having climbed the wooden ladders to the kivas at Bandelier National Monument, for walking out into the middle of the bridge over the Gorge.

I had a pretty good grip on the railing at all times and never really felt comfortable, but I did it. Someone apparently thought it was a beautiful bridge (at least back in 1966), but I can verify that it’s a tall one and, more importantly, that I walked across it.

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