Bosque del Apache, Albuquerque Temple, Chaco Canyon

Bosque del Apache Wildlife Center:  

Sunday started out pretty rough.   We drove to Bosque del Apache and as we arrived there, Drake's hand got slammed in the car door really hard.  Annette was worried that bones were broken...but thankfully they weren't.  Meanwhile, I had gotten out and was going to head inside with my kids when I realized that Gabby's hair really needed to be brushed.  I grabbed the brush and set my keys down on the seat in the middle of the van.  The kids unknowingly shut the door and my keys were locked inside.  So stressful!!

I panicked for a moment, and then calmed down and asked my girls to say a prayer.  Annette went in to talk to the people inside and ask if by any chance they could help.  And turns out one of the employees there had been a professional locksmith and had the necessary tools.  He kindly came outside, spent about 10 minutes fiddling around with his tools and the sliding door (which thankfully didn't shut all the way...the front part was shut and it was locked...but there was a gap in the back through which he could slide his tools and was able to hook my keys and pull them out...)  It broke my key chain, but we got the car unlocked safely.   Such a huge answer to prayers!  I am and was so very thankful!

The visitor center at Bosque del Apache was pretty cool.  It is a bird refuge/wildlife center.  There were some cool displays telling about some of the animals that visit the refuge.

After spending some time at the visitor center, we drove through the refuge and did a couple of short walks to see birds.  We saw roadrunners, red winged blackbirds, many ducks, and several other birds.  We also saw the cutest turtle, sunning himself.

Albuquerque Temple:

Next we drove to Albuquerque.  We stopped and visited the temple.  Because it was Sunday, the grounds were closed.  It's so beautiful and peaceful...even though we couldn't go on the actual grounds, just standing and looking at it brought peace.  It is such a tremendous blessing to have temples!!

We met a nice couple that had just moved to Albuquerque from Spanish Fork 3 weeks earlier.  They took a photo of all of us and we took a photo of their family for them.

Chaco Canyon:

Next we had a long drive to Chaco Canyon.  A very long drive and a good 45 minutes of it was on an unpaved road.  But we finally arrived and set up camp.  It was quite lovely.

Right by where we were camping, there were ruins!   So incredible!

We made dinner and then we sang Primary songs around the campfire.  The day started out stressful/bad but we received countless blessings.  So grateful for the kindness of strangers, answer to prayers, the peace of the temple, and protection from above!  As well as for friends.  I would never have attempted this trip on my own!