Deborah's Post - Coronado State Park

Because our blog is also a home school project, it's time for me to hand the reins over to the kids. Here's Deborah's entry & pictures for Dec 5:

Today we went to another National Park. This time Joel tried to win a badge too. We met this teacher, named Danielle, she was a teacher for 35 years. she made her own house of adobe and told us of a really neat zoo and art museum. she also told us a lot about the Pueblos people and yucca. Yucca roots can also be used as soap for your hair - it makes it really soft.

We even got to go in the Kiva. The Kiva was used for ceremonial worship for the native men. The women only went in there to give food to the men and their sons. Later on we got to see the Festival of Lights.  It was really pretty to see it turning dark and all the lights lit up.

At the Visitor Centre we met this funny ranger who gave Rachel some answers to he Junior Ranger Guide, like saying the answer rhymed with adobe, then whispered the answer in her ear. He also taught us the junior ranger's secret handshake. Mom & I are hoping to go back there sometime.

...and ended up in Elephant Butte

Nov 30 -  ... so after waking up in Pecos, we headed to the nearest automotive repair shop, Sam's Auto Body. The owner, Sam Whittington, took care of the problem for us, then showed us around his place. He took special pride in his pontoon, telling us about fishing on Val Kilmer's property (he even had one of Kilmer's quads in his shop for repairs), and asking if he could keep Ben around to go hunting. On his advice, we got some breakfast at Rivera's, where his daughter works, and went to see the Pueblo ruins at Pecos National Park:

It was very cold with the wind, so we didn't stay very long outside. We went back to the museum & looked at the artifacts while the oldest 3 kids completed a workbook to receive a Junior Park Ranger pin.  Afterwards, we hit the I-25 (aka as the Santa Fe Trail on the section we were on). Most of the housing in Santa Fe has some form of adobe feature on it, or is completely finished in adobe - really quite lovely.

Dec 1 - Really only stayed in Santa Fe long enough to go to the library & catch up on emails, then we were off to Albuquerque.

Dec 2 - Our headlights had gone off again,  so we went to  repair shop that could diagnose the root of the problem, which was a burn out switch. while it was being replaced, we walked to the Petroglyph Monument National Park, where the kids earned another junior park ranger badge & pin.

Dec 3 - found a good library in the Alamosa county of Albuquerque that I used to make the last post - there was a skate/bmx park nearby, so we didn't see too much of Ben all day ;)

Dec 4 - on the way to look for a bicycle shop, we brushed against a tree that was just about down & it popped off part of something on our roof (can't remember what it was, but nothing important & Dan was able to put it back on), as well as ripped it right out of the ground. this happened near an Emu farm, so the kids went over to take a look at them while the repair was being made. Later when shopping a rep for a fundraiser sold us a coupon book for discount meals at Denny's, so no supper for me to cook tonight :D

I think I missed that right turn in Albequerque...

...at least, that's what Bugs Bunny would have done. Don't know how he would miss it now, especially if he made use of a GPS :)

It is pleasantly cool out - like a mild autumn day on the prairies. The locals here find it cold, the coldest they've known for a long time. Let's send them to Southern Saskatchewan to compare - Bwahahaha!!!  Seriously though, all the people that we've met here are very nice, so I really wouldn't want to torture them that way. Since I've got our personal computer in the library, I can finally show some photos.

                          Dan busting out of jail when things didn't go so well at the first attempt across the border

 

                                                                Cowboy statue greeting us in Plentywood, MT

Nov - 26 - Deborah is standing next to the propane tank of our RV when the valve shoots off & gas goes up in a big cloud. Dan isn't around & I'm not sure what to do, so being the "safety dog" that I am, I have Deborah call the fire department & track down Dan in the store he was in, while I keep the other children away from the vehicle.

The fire truck & Dan arrive at the same time, & I'm told that it was a good choice to be safe rather than sorry by the chief, but that it was just the safety valve that blew. Apparently the attendant at the gas station over filled the tanks. Still, they checked around the vehicle for any signs of leaking propane or carbon monoxide inside just to be sure, and then invited us to stop by the station so they could give the kids a tour (which we did). Too much excitement for the day, we drove on to Wyoming & bunk down near Guernsey for the night. It is extremely windy & I wonder if we might get knocked over while we sleep.

Nov 27- The wind is gone by morning & I feel surprisingly refreshed. It is starting to feel more like autumn outside. After looking at some points of interest on the maps at the rest stop, we decide that we have to check out some of them: Guernsey Reservoir, Oregon Trail Ruts, & Ft. Laramie.

A scenic, winding road brings us past a dam into serenity. The North Platte River is frozen over, there's a kiss of snow on the ground and the crisp air carries no voices of man or beast. We have this wondrous place all to ourselves, and it is heavenly.

The boys try to break the ice, literally, by throwing stones, only to have them skip along the surface. It sounds like rain on a tin roof, due to the great acoustics provided by the surrounding red-faced cliffs. We walk along the shoreline, picking over rocks, then side-stepping cacti as we climb the banks back to the road.

                                                                Guernsey Reservoir

Next stop, Oregon Trail Ruts. The road leading to the park is very rocky & uneven, which we would discover later to cause a flat tire on the way out. Despite that, it was the perfect place for the kids to burn off their pent up energy.Aside from the paved trail that climbs up the hillside, there are smaller footpaths that cover the area and the wagon ruts themselves to clamber over. Looking at the terrain that the settlers crosssed, I'm amazed that they succeeded in moving west at all - certainly no passenger car  could travel that same route today.

 

                                                           Wagon Ruts along Oregon Trail

After getting our flat fixed, we went on to Fort Laramie. We came after 4pm & weren't sure that we'd be let in, but we had about an hour to look around. the site is very clean, well-maintained, and the staff are incredibly knowledgeable about the site's history - friendly too! We really enjoyed looking through the exhibits and old housing units on the grounds. I personally would have loved to camp out in their bookstore (as would Deborah) - so many interesting tomes on Native American history, the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express & more.

 

You can even quench your best friend's thirst out here at the Fort :)

Nov 28 - made our way quickly through Colorado - it was difficult to get a reliable wifi And Dan just didn't like driving along I-25 through all the big cities. We did stop near Garden of the Gods for some photo opportunities and picked up a few trinkets for the kids.

                                           Red rock formations at Garden of the Gods

Nov 29 - We stopped at Trinidad, just before the border to try to get wifi at the Carnegie library (my last post) but it turned out that connection really was painfully slow - it took nearly the whole hour to upload my post, then my time limit was up. :( Other than that, got to see everybody's posts wishing me well on my birthday. Awww - Thanks everyone :) Then had chocolate mousse cake for dessert that night - my favourite!

Then, our signal lights & headlights decided to fade in and out of working, so we quickly pulled off into the town of Pecos, NM for the night. To be continued......