Travelin Taos-dayGreetings from Taos!! So, here we are in the second city of our Cousins Road Trip! aos What a busy day we had yesterday, driving from Albuquerque to Taos and all the stops we made on the way. We had a little caravan going - Tanya was always in the lead, since her sense of direction is impeccable and mine, well, let's just say, it's not as good. First stop was the Giant Red Arrow! It's just this random arrow on the corner of a Whole Foods parking lot. Of course, we took a gazillion photos; climbing all over and getting ourselves and the kids in the perfect position! People watching us must have thought we were nuts.  Giant Arrow in Albuquerque  Two Wild & Crazy Cousins After loading up on food in Whole Foods, we headed to Petroglyph National Monument. This was ALOT of fun and the kids had a blast hiking together. Under Tanya's guidance, we selected a trail that was relatively easy and short. As we made our way up this elevated trail, we saw a plethora of the 3,000+ year old petroglyphs or "rock paintings." The seven of us battled the heat as we trekked up the rock mountain. (Sounds really dramatic, right!). Actually, it was a challenging hike, but not terribly tiring and there was an incredible breeze as we got higher and higher, particularly at the top. We had some great photo ops at the top and then retraced our steps back down. Poor Gianna slid at one point as we descended and landed on her bottom. Thankfully, she was unscathed and carried on. Please check out Tanya's side of The Daily for more information about Petroglyph National Monument - lots of facts about this newly named National Monument! Our goal had been to visit both the Kasha Katuwe Tent Momument and Bandelier Monument after leaving Petroglyph Monument, before arriving at our rental house in Taos. It was a bit ambitious to think we could squeeze in both attractions so we decided after leaving the Tent Rock Park, that we would forego Bandelier on this day and slug it on our way to Santa Fe in two days.   Our gang hiking one of the trails at Petroglyph National Monument
Although I was awestruck by the age of the Petroglyphs, I was astonished when I saw these naturally formed tent-like rock formations up close. The cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash, and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Located on Cochita Pueblo Reservation, the park is open only for day use. Incidentally, the name Kasha-Katuwe means "white cliffs" in the Pueblo language Keresan.  At the top of our Petroglyph trail  Kelsey made it all the way up the rocky climb! Now, I will share with you a little truth. I am a travel buff but sometimes my kids are not as enthusiastic. Gianna heard that there were snakes in these parts and after a short walk, decided she would rather go back to the car. So, her and I sat comfortably in the air conditioned car while our fearless and adventurous cousins trekked the Tent Rock park. Check out Tanya's amazing photos!  Kasha Katuwe Tent Rock National Monument
 View from the top of Kasha Katuwe Tent Rock Monument
 Beautiful View Whew! We sure packed a lot into one day! Today we have a fun-filled day of more sites, right here in Taos. - Kit Carson Museum - Taos Downtown Historic Distric - Rio Grande Gorge Bridge (for a kick-ass sunset view) Hope you are enjoying traveling with us!! See you back here tomorrow!! -E It is better to travel well than to arrive. | Travelin' Tuesday in Taos!Hey everyone! Welcome to another edition of Travelin' Cousins - Travelin' Tuesday! The Travelin' Cousins are all together here in Taos, New Mexico, for the very first time! And we all know how much I love exploring new places!!! We arrived via caravan early yesterday evening, after a full day of activities (just the way I like it!). As noted yesterday, we had a much later start in Albuquerque than originally planned. But that didn't stop us from having a great day and following our itinerary as close as possible! Our first stop was at the World's Largest Giant Arrow - located in the Whole Foods Parking lot - how very odd!  Giant Arrow in Whole Foods Parking lot Each of us had a blast being silly and posing for pictures on this one! I'm surprised that this isn't listed in T&L's America's Strangest Roadside Attractions!  Buncha silly kids!  Tanya & Elisa Being that our stay in the next 2 cities are in Vacation Homes (with a kitchen), we had done some shopping/picking up some supplies at Whole Foods before hitting the road... "Yay! Home cooked food!!" The journey continued, and the next stop (only 10 minutes away) was at Petroglyph National Monument.  At the gates of Petroglyph National Monument We started by visiting the Las Imágenes Visitors Center, where the kids all picked up Junior & Senior Ranger Guides; and I was quite surprised when I learned that this only became a National Monument in 1990!
We then took a short hike up to the top of Boyton Negra Canyon, where (if you have a good eye) you can find over 100 petroglyphs! The kids all had fun on their little adventure surrounded by the Volcanic escarpment with petroglyphs that Archeologists believe date back at least 3000 years!  Boyton Negra Canyon Mesa
Next stop on our little adventure was the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rock National Monument...where Elisa has shared information with you on yet another fairly new and oh so cool (although it was rather HOT) National Monument!  Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rock National Monument After reading about the possible sightings of snakes, Gianna decided that doing a short hike amongst these ancient conical formations wasn't for her. So Elisa went back to the car with Gianna and enjoyed the A/C, while I took Dominic, Cosette and Kelsey on a HOT little hike!  Hiking at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rock National Monument And of course when we were ready to turn back is when we spotted a fallen tree - which can only mean one thing... We MUST climb it and have some fun!  Silly kids  Once we finished exploring, and were ready to head out towards our next planned stop - Bandolier National Monument (which appears rather close on the map), I realized that the driving time was 2hrs! Thus not giving us time to fully enjoy, learn and experience it as it should be; Elisa and I decided to add it onto Wednesday's itinerary, and head straight to Taos. After figuring out who gets what room, we all settled and the moms started cooking, while the kids vegged out on their electronics!  Today the Travelin' Cousins will be visiting the Taos Pueblo - a Unesco Site (which I usually seem to really enjoy!) We'll also be heading to check out Kit Carson Museum, Taos Downtown Historic District, and lastly catch what is claimed to be an amazing sunset at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge! Our cameras will be ready and you'll get to see and hear about all our fun when you meet us back here on the daily, tomorrow! See ya then :) I'm outta here, -T |
