Thunderbird TrailAKA: Jemez Mountain Trail. Nickname given to a portion of the Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway. The route leads from Bernalillo to Los Alamos and Santa Fe on the west side of the Rio Grande, a rough mirror image of the Turquoise Trail on the east side of the Sandias. The route heads west along NM 550, then north at San Ysidro to follow NM 4. The scenic route passes Santa Ana and Zia Pueblos, then Jemez Pueblo as it climbs through the Jemez Valley (Canon de San Diego). After climbing through the narrow valley, the route turns east to the Valles Caldera, Los Alamos, Bandelier National Monument, and eventually Santa Fe. The nickname comes from the seeming form of a large bird with outstretched wings on the side of Redondo Peak. The Thunderbird Trail gives a cross-section of the transition into northern New Mexico, rising from the Rio Grande basin through the canyons, and summiting out in the tall ponderosa forests.