New Mexico: Petroglyphs Monument, Scenic Drive, Madrid, Los Alamos

Poor Dante wasn't feeling too good on this morning.

I really liked Petroglyphs National Monument.  It is right in Albuquerque (which is a beautiful city).  There's a little Visitor's Center where we went first and then we did the short hikes around Boca Negra Canyon to see about 100 Petroglyphs.  One thing I thought was cool was they had a phone number you could call and then press the number of the stop you were at and there was a narration.  No one wanted to listen to it except me.  But I found it fascinating to hear about the history of some of the petroglyphs, particularly the macaw petroglyphs and how important the macaw was to these people.  (I was surprised macaws would be found in New Mexico back then.)

This was right outside the Visitor's Center and was a model of the ovens they would have used.

Many of the petroglyphs were really clear and easy to spot.  Some were simple shapes and others were fairly complex or intricate.  I really enjoy history and found all of this fascinating.

We saw quite a few rabbits on our trip, including a bunch among the brush here at Boca Negra Canyon.

Look at the macaw and below it a caged macaw!

Gabby and Daphne are nearly the same age.  They got along so well and often walked along holding hands, posed for photos and just had a great time with each other on this trip.

Then we went for a long scenic drive along the Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway.  We stopped in Madrid at the Soda Fountain and had lunch.

Madrid is an old coal mining town and obviously a touristy little stop with lots of shops and restaurants.  The soda fountain is next to an art gallery with some amazing glasswork and some unique and interesting artwork.  There was an American flag made out of overalls and other clothing.  There were tables and chandeliers and other items made out of blown glass.  Pretty remarkable things.

Our next stop was in the town of Cerrillos.  Turquoise had been mined here.  The turquoise was used in the crown jewels of Spain.  The town has a small petting zoo which the children enjoyed.  Sadly, my camera stopped working while we were at the petting zoo and I fear it may never work again.

After the petting zoo, we headed to Los Alamos, New Mexico.  We went to the Pajarito Environmental Education Center.  It's pretty small but it was very child friendly.  The kids enjoyed looking at the animals (a few in terrariums...and they have a little nature area with a huge viewing window where many birds and a few chipmunks were...they also had photos of other animals caught on camera in the nature area...such as skunks, raccoons, mountain lions, bobcats and coyotes.
We only arrived at the education center about 25 minutes before it was closing, but we enjoyed every minute there.  

 Then we headed to the Bradley Science Center which was all about the development and use of the atomic bomb.   There were some interesting displays but it was not nearly as kid friendly.  I found some of it quite fascinating, and there was one room with hands on puzzles for the kids to try to solve.  We spent an hour there.

We then made a quick stop at Ashley Pond/Park right by the Bradley Science Center.  We took photos on the fun statues and by the pond.

Then we headed to our campsite at the Camp Vista Linda/Jemez Falls campground.  It was a beautiful drive through this forest/mountainous area.  There was snow on the ground and it was beautiful.  We saw a coyote right on the side of the road as we entered.  We saw several deer.  Somewhere in this area (either Los Alamos or the area we camped...I can't quite remember which...) we also saw wild turkeys.

The campground was breathtakingly beautiful.  Such beautiful surroundings.  And we were allowed to have a campfire so we roasted hot dogs and made smores.  I was worried it would be cold (as it had been the first two nights) but it wasn't too cold.  We were warm enough that night.  But we did hear coyotes howling all around us during the night.  The only downside to this campground was there was no running water.  But it was beautiful!

New Mexico: 4 Corners, Shiprock, Laguna Pueblo

Day 1 included quite a bit of driving and not a lot of sight seeing.  We did a few things:


Four Corners/Shiprock/Laguna Pueblo:

First, we had breakfast and packed up our tents, bedding, etc.  That first night in Monticello was freezing.   It was so cold the next morning.  The kids spent most of the time in the car while Annette and I made breakfast and packed everything up. 

Then we got on our way and headed to Four Corners.

Four Corners was smaller than I had pictured.  You stand in a line to take photos (there was a sign that said to take a MINIMUM of three photos...I'm sure they meant a maximum, but it seemed like most people took about 10.  The line wasn't too long so it was fine.   Then you stand on the little plaque that shows you where the 4 states meet and take your photos.  All around the little square were booths selling Navajo jewelry and other souvenirs.  There was also a little trailer that sold Navajo tacos and fry bread.  So we had some fry bread and bought a few souvenirs.

Of course, we took our traditional photo in front of the state sign!

After our visit to Four Corners, we began driving toward Albuquerque.  We stopped in Shiprock, New Mexico for lunch.   Shiprock is a town not far from the rock formation with the same name. 

Shiprock (the formation) rises nearly 1,583 feet above the desert.  It is part of the Navajo Nation.  It apparently figures in their religion and myths.  It was pretty majestic.





Our next stop was Laguna Pueblo.  The Pueblo is only open on feast days, and our understanding was there would be dancing and cultural presentations.  I was excited to go.  Unfortunately, it was really more like going to the fair or even a farmer's market.  There were vendors selling food, clothing, jewelry and other items.  There were people milling around and buying things.  There is a beautiful Catholic Church there and we took a photo in front of it before we were told that taking photos anywhere in the pueblo is offensive and not allowed.  We were allowed to enter the Catholic Church and it was very interesting and beautiful.  It had a unique mixture of Catholic artwork and Native American artwork/architecture.  It was fascinating to see the influence of both side by side.  It was a small cathedral, but beautiful.  Also, seeing the Pueblo village from the freeway, it looked quite beautiful. 

Here are the kids standing outside the car as we were about to head into Laguna Pueblo.

Then we drove the rest of the way to Albuquerque area where we stayed at a campground along Turquoise Trail.  We set up camp, made dinner and had showers. 

Spring Break Trip: Part 1

There will be more posts coming soon with lots and lots of photos.  And lots more photos.  My girls and I took a ten day camping trip through New Mexico with my friend Annette and her four children. 


We left shortly after I got home from work on Friday.  The plan was to leave by about 2:30...which sort of happened.  We left our house at 2:30 and went to the bank to get cash and then stopped to get gas.  While we were getting gas, Michelle realized that she had 3 English assignments that needed to be turned in and one of them wasn't quite done.  (The girls missed 3 days of school to go on this trip.)  She agonized for a few minutes and I felt a tiny bit frustrated...but she decided that it was important to her to get the assignment done and give them to her friend Liv to turn in on Monday.  So even though we were less than a 1/4 mile from the freeway, we turned around and headed back home (it's not that far...maybe 4 miles or so?).  We all sat in the car while Michelle went in, finished the homework (took maybe 5-10 minutes) and took all 3 assignments over to her friend's house.  Then we were on our way...close to 3:30.  Which put us into Monticello later than I'd hoped.  But it's okay. And while I was a tiny bit frustrated, I was mostly proud of Michelle for choosing to be so responsible and for caring about doing her best. 


Annette arrived earlier and had put up tents and so we mostly just got ready for and went to bed that night...and FROZE.  It was SO cold.  It was no fun to get up and pack up the tents and sleeping bags in the cold.  The kids mostly sat in the car.  My hands were numb.  But we were on our way.


I will detail, day by day, our many adventures.  And include more photos than probably anyone cares to see (except us).  But I first want to just record a few things I learned or want to remember if we ever do a long trip like this again.


First, ten days was maybe just a tiny bit too long.  The last couple of days the girls were homesick and whiny and began to argue.


Second, if we go on a longish trip again, I should hide some of the treats/snacks for the last few days of the trip.  While I thought I overprepared and I did have more actual MEALS than I needed, most of our lunches were pretty casual and were filled with lots of snacks like fruit cups, fresh fruits and veggies, granola bars and trail mix.  I should have kept some of the snacks and treats hidden so that there would be new surprises for those last few days and especially the long drive home.


Third,  a good book on CD makes any trip more enjoyable.  I knew that...we are books on CD aficionados with all the driving it used to require to get my girls to and from school.  But there were days that my kids asked when we would please drive somewhere so they could listen to more of  The Candy Shop Wars and its sequel.


Fourth, bring winter coats and gloves if you are camping in the spring, even in the southwest.  I brought heavy blankets and sweatshirts and hot chocolate...but the mornings were cold.  Heavier jackets would have helped.  (Fortunately, after the first two nights we were warm enough while we slept.) 


Fifth,  I just kept reflecting on the beauty of this Earth.  We saw some really remarkable things.  I kept finding myself singing "My Heavenly Father Loves Me." (LDS Primary Songbook 228)
Whenever I hear the song of a bird
Or look at the blue, blue sky,
Whenever I feel the rain on my face
Or the wind as it rushes by,
Whenever I touch a velvet rose
Or walk by our lilac tree,
I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world
Heav'nly Father created for me.