Santa Fe Week 3

In our 3rd week in Santa Fe, Ed flew out on a business trip and Lola arrived later that same day, both from the Albuquerque Airport, so I took the kids to the Albuquerque Zoo in between. It was a hot, hot day so we got to see lots of panting animals resting in the shade. They also had a train ride that went throughout one side of the zoo so of course we had to take that.

I spy a giraffe

My personal favorite, the baby chimp

The kids were happy to see Lola and for our first day together, we visited El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a Spanish & Mexican colonial resting stop that transports you back in time the way things were hundreds of years ago. (Basically the Mexican Williamsburg with costumed people). The compound consisted of several areas, and the kids got to see what living conditions were like and how they ground corn, wove textiles, and raised sheep among other things. Life was a lot simpler before air conditioning and XBox...

the boys learn how to grind beans with a stone

These boys are almost as tall as the door frames!

they said they prefer their beds to this lumpy, skinny one

After Ed got back in town, he and I went on a 2 hour sunset horseback ride. We agreed afterwards that 1 hour would've been enough as our bodies were hurting from the saddle : ) We rode through the very canyons where Billy the Kid evaded the law and where "Young Guns" was shot. The scenery was beautiful and while it wasn't the clearest sunset, the thunderstorm that rolled up close by provided dramatic views of lightening and sheets of rain, just far enough in the distance to keep us dry. It was hill after hill of pretty views and our horses George and Jack were good followers of our guide, Sequoia.

We went to the Farmers & Artist Markets and also checked out a Johnny Cash cover band at the Railyard one night, but a thunderstorm rolled in a little too close.

That weekend, we headed to Badelier National Monument, where you could climb into ancient cave rooms inside the mountain walls where settlements from the 12th century lived. We hiked through the remains of their civilization and saw kivas (walled gathering places for ceremonies) and stone walls that marked where their storage and housing had been. The kids liked climbing up the ladders and completed a packet to earn a Junior Ranger Badge and patch.

hello lizard