Arrowhead Ranch: The Fort Stanton Waterfall Trail Ride

Well we sure do need rain here in New Mexico. But humidity is something we New Mexicans are just not used to.

When we woke in the morning, the ground had already sucked up every last drop of moisture from the gully washer storm from the night before, leaving behind slightly muddy ground and a lot of humidity.

I climbed out of my tent at sunrise and made sure Apache mare was none the worse for wear after such a dramatic storm with her being stuck in a portable corral in the middle of an open field.

She was fine and seemed to enjoy all my petting and attention, like always, and was then happy to devour her breakfast, while I got dressed.

After tacking up, our entire group of 10 cowgirls lined up for a photo at the campground. We were also joined by a cowboy and his girlfriend, who had never been to Ft. Stanton and asked if they could ride with us. (That’s them way in the background of the photo below)

(Left to Right: Donna, Barb, Kendra, Paula, Me, Karen, Annette, Marsha, Janet, and Cheryl)

And then down the trail we went. Capitan Mountains in the distance.

We rode past an old Merchant Marine Cemetery.

My friend Kendra was having a bad day. She and her Bailey Boy were not seeing eye-to-eye and he was giving her a lot of trouble, so about halfway down the trail, she turned around and headed back. She wasn’t alone, though. My friend Karen joined her, too. Karen and her horse Rio were also not having a good day. And they were joined by my friend Annette, whose horse Luke injured his back foot by a sharp rock.

Kendra took this photo of Apache and I, as we rode through the BLM gate. Annette and her boy Luke were behind us.

We rode alongside the road through the little village of Fort Stanton.

The entire Fort is unoccupied, so it was interesting to wander around and explore the empty roads and old abandoned homes.

We crossed the Rio Bonito and all our horses enjoyed a good long drink of the cool refreshing water.

Some areas of Ft. Stanton have buildings that have not been restored or renovated. But it was interesting to get up close and explore these old buildings with stories to tell.

I liked the adobe mud brick walls of this old building.

I enjoyed imagining these old corrals filled with cattle and horses.

The ride itself was only 6-7 miles long, and the trail was mostly flat and very relaxing.

And soon we arrived at our destination, where there were some wonderful, large cottonwood trees to provide a place to tie our horses with some blessed shade, so they could enjoy a rest and a nap, while we ladies played in the waterfall.

Apache is such a good girl when tied.

All our equines, 5 horses and 2 mules enjoyed their rest under the shade of the big cottonwood trees.

I took this photo with my little Canon PowerShot and I don’t know why it looks like I used a special lens, but I like the affect.

We left our equines in the shade of the cottonwoods and hiked down the hill to the Rio Bonito and an enchanting waterfall. The sound of the water was like music!

Some of my friends had already stripped down and were enjoying the cool, refreshing water. (Barb and Marsha thought it was freezing cold at first)

It didn’t take me long to put on my bathing suit bottoms and climb down there, too. The water was pretty darn cold, but on that hot humid day, it was appreciated!

Ahhhhhh! It felt so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Two of the ladies in our group, Janet and Cheryl, didn’t want to get into the water, and so they just sat up on the wall above the waterfall and watched while eating their lunch. They really had no idea what they were missing!

I didn’t bother putting on my bathing suit top, because I was wearing a light cotton shirt, and I knew it would dry quickly on the way back to camp after we played in the water. The benefit of a cold, wet cotton shirt was it provided a wonderful evaporative cooler affect, too!

I seriously could have sat beside that waterfall and played in that water all day. I just loved it!

My friend Marsha brought us down a couple of cold beers to enjoy under the waterfall, too. We were acting very silly for the camera as you can see. hah!

Barb’s friend Donna climbed down to join us in the waterfall, along with Marsha’s Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rhoda.

I’m glad Barb was up there taking some photos of us. It’s great to see the photos that show what an awesome fun time we were having.

Cowgirl Fun on a Hot Summer Day!

Some dark afternoon clouds started rolling in, so we reluctantly left the waterfall behind and checked in with our equines, who were all relaxed and resting beneath the cottonwood trees.

Apache: “Where ya been?” “Why didn’t you take me, too?”

We all climbed back in our saddles and headed back down the trail.

My buddy Paula and her awesome mule Tecumseh.

We rode past the old corral again.

And back down the hill towards Rio Bonito.

All our equines were happy to enjoy another refreshing drink from the little river.

(From Left to Right: Janet, Barb, Donna, and Cheryl)

We rode back through the restored area of Ft. Stanton.

My Apache Mare and I stopped and got a good look at the old Ft. Stanton that has been turned into a museum.

Fort Stanton was built in 1855 and was a U.S Military Fort. It was established to protect settlements along the Rio Bonito in the Apache Wars. Kit Carson, John “Black Jack” Pershing, Billy the Kid, and The Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th Cavalry all lived here. Confederate forces occupied the outpost in the beginning of the American Civil War after the post was abandoned with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in the region. The Fort was originally established in part as the Mescalero Apache reservation. In 1873 the Apache Reservation was moved 30 miles southwest and that location remains the current reservation. Fort Stanton property became America's first federal tuberculosis hospital. In World War II it interned both German and Japanese.

In 2008, New Mexico established Fort Stanton as a living history venue, Fort Stanton State Monument, and funds to renovate headquarters, officers quarters, and stables.

In 2009, the area around Fort Stanton and Fort Stanton Cave was designated by the U.S. Congress as a National Conservation Area, with more than 25,000 acres. The NCA has over 90 miles of multi-use trails for horseback riding, mountain bike riding and hiking. It is the venue of an annual Endurance Riding Event that has grown to be 6 days long. The NCA is joined on its south and northeast boundaries by the Smokey Bear Ranger District of the Lincoln National Forest.

As the storms clouds rolled in we made our way back to camp. Apache can be such a slowpoke and loves to look at everything. I had to keep asking her to keep moving and tried to keep her at a trot as I kept hearing thunder rolling in behind us.

Two of my friends, Janet and Cheryl wanted to do some cantering, so they took the right side trail that looped around. You can see the two of them to the right in this photo below.

The rest of our group you can’t see in this photo because the straight trail to the left that we stayed on, dips down farther ahead, and that’s where they were when I shot this photo. The Capitan Mountains are in the distance.

As we got closer to camp, Apache got even slower, as did my friend Cheryl’s horse. I think they wanted to stay out and explore the trails a little longer.

My friend Cheryl and her handsome gaited horse, Koda, bringing up the rear.