YAY! We got our computer back and I was able to write about out trip to New Mexico. So…this has nothing to do with books (although I did read 6 while we were away 😉 )…

Once upon a time…

There was a kid named Erik who had never been on a plane. He was glad when his family told him he was going on a big adventure! They took off from Philadelphia and landed in this strange land called El Paso, Texas. They borrowed a brave, gallant, and (95% of the time) trustful steed named Chevy Equinox and set off to the land of U.F.O.s – Roswell, New Mexico. They liked it here, but fled because they were scared of being abducted by U.W.B. (Unidentified Weird Beings).

They went to see the Very Large Array radio telescope and got messages from high out-of-reach places.

The family learned of worlds and galaxies far, far away but ran away because there were rattle snakes crossing the walking path (no, really, we saw a HUGE rattle snake **shiver**).

They escaped to the underground world called “The Caverns of Carlsbad”.

They went down…deep down…really deep down to almost the center of the Earth (OK maybe not that far down, but it felt like it).

The family saw wondrous sights and then were whisked to the surface by an elevator (that they were happy to see so they didn’t have to walk all the way back up). At dusk the family watched in awe as 200,000 Mexican Freetail Bats flew out of the cave, over their heads to feast on bugs!  What an awesome thing to see! As they headed north, the family ran into all sorts of dangers like the land of free range cattle (be careful driving around corners – you don’t know if cows are standing in the road) and the notorious royal “CATTLE GUARD”!

**My mom took this picture and we were all laughing. I thought this would be a great picture for Catherine Johnson’s Metaphor Monday  blog post!**

The family bounced around New Mexico where they saw volcanoes and ancient lava flows at El Malpais, and the homes of the famous Smokey Bear in the Capitan Mountains, and the infamous Billy the Kid in Lincoln. The town of Lincoln remains pretty much the same as it was in the “Old West” times. There, the family learned of Lincoln’s history. They saw the courthouse where Billy the Kid escaped from in 1881 and the room where he was held. They learned of the brave lawman Pat Garrett who finally brought him to justice and the Lincoln County War and the Regulators.

*Just a quick shout out to National Park Ranger Bennie Long of the Lincoln State Monument who took a lot of time and explained the history of Lincoln and the Lincoln County War to our family. She also gave Josie and I a cool book about all the New Mexico state and national Monuments and a bunch of cool information about Lincoln County. Thanks  Ranger Long! *.

The adventurous family next visited the Bandelier National Monument in the Frijoles Canyon of New Mexico, and saw where the Ancestral Pueblo People lived 10,000 years ago! The family dared to climb  14o feet up, up, UP on rickety ladders (seriously rickety with no guard rails) and steps! When at the top, they were amazed at the view and to see where some of these ancient people made their home. Here at Bandelier, the children were knighted as Junior Park Rangers, sworn to uphold and take care of the land’s treasures and natural wonders.

Once they badges were bestowed upon them, the family quickly made way to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santé Fe, but alas it was closed for the day (**sigh**). The family did see the beautiful country that inspired Georgia O’Keeffe to paint and understood why she wanted to paint the skies she saw so BIG!

One the next part of the trip, the family drove through ghost towns, but didn’t see any ghosts (thank goodness).

Finally in Albuquerque (I got to learn how to spell Albuquerque, by the way). They wandered through a field of over 500 hot air balloons lifting up in the air. There were balloons from 16 different countries and it took about 2 hours for them all to float away! Creatures of all shapes and sizes drifted up silently, except for the cheers from the crowds.

Some, sadly, didn’t make it, like this little penguin. He inflated but couldn’t fly, the winds were too strong for him.

A flightless penguin (pretty ironic if you think about it)…

The family rode in their trusty (95% of the time, yes, we did have car trouble at one point) steed back to Texas  and headed for home (on a plane). Erik, Junior Ranger, Inter-state traveler, had a great time and couldn’t wait to tell you all the tale!  🙂

The End

Tomorrow I’ll be back to reviewing books but today, I liked “reliving” my vacation with you!

Categories: Other Stuff Related to Books and Reading

Tags: bandelier national monument, carlsbad caverns, lincoln, new mexico, texas, travel