San Lorenzo Canyon, NM

Dale loves to go hiking, and I don't usually accompany him, though I'm never sorry when I do.  Given bad knees, it's been a while since I've hiked anywhere.  The last time I recall was after a double dose injection of steroids before my right total knee, and we went camping in Wyoming.  

Recently he has checked out San Lorenzo Canyon, just north of Socorro, NM.  The first time he was there, he followed a trail which unfortunately got him to the rim of the canyon with no way to get into the canyon itself. 
The second time he scrambled up the rocky dead end of where you can drive to, and was rewarded with the canyon floor.  He really wanted to take me there, though he wasn't sure I could make it up.  In any case, the drive there is pretty, with lots of interesting vistas.  

Once you get up this steep rocky area, you are walking on nice sandy gravel of the canyon floor.  It does rise a bit, a little over a mile to the "end," at the largest of little springs along the way where we ate our lunch. 
We waited until we had the best possible forecast weather, and we weren't disappointed.  It was sunny, with nice breezes to keep us from overheating, though we each got a little overexposed with sun! 

I was really happy I made it up the steep, rocky access to the canyon floor.  Going back down was trickier, and I ended up just sliding down on my butt and inching my way back down.  Fortunately my left knee isn't killing me this morning!  I'm having to relearn coping with a bad knee...up with the good, down with the bad, but now my total knee is the "good," stronger knee.