Abe can be a nervous kid, particularly when heights are involved. I understand this, because I can be a nervous grown-up under the same circumstances. But I’m happy to report that, after some initial trepidation, both Abe and I conquered our fears at Bandelier National Monument and climbed the very scary ladders into the cavate […]
Things to Do in Santa Fe, New Mexico with Kids and Teens: City of Many Museums
Santa Fe, New Mexico sits at over 7000 feet in elevation, keeping its summer temperatures more reasonable than the ones associated with other cities in the southwest. The average high in June is in the low 80s, which is one of the major reasons it earned a spot on our summer itinerary. I live in […]
Santa Fe Skies Campground Review: Candidate for Best Campground Ever
It didn’t take us long to figure out how they settled on the name Santa Fe Skies for this campground. Owing to (again!) some itinerary shuffling, we spent more than a week at Santa Fe Skies, which gave us plenty of time to enjoy its spacious, scenic campsites, quirky public art, large clubhouse with patio, […]
A Day at Carlsbad Caverns with Kids: a Cave, Baby Raccoons, and a Whole Lot of Bats
Travel date: July 14, 2017 Carlsbad Caverns National Park has the prettiest caves we’ve ever been in. There; I said it. No offense to Mammoth Cave or Wind Cave or the lava tubes at Lava Beds National Monument–each of which has much to recommend it–but nothing comes close to Carlsbad Caverns for sheer beauty and […]
Brantley Lake State Park: A Campground Review and a Very Flat Tire
Travel dates: July 13-15, 2017 To get to the campground at Brantley Lake State Park, you have to drive about six miles off the main highway, down narrow, little traveled roads surrounded on all sides by rabbits of both the living and dead varieties. I don’t know how many of those miles we drove with […]
Passing through Petrified Forest National Park and a Stay at the Grants/Cibola Sands KOA
Travel date: July 13, 2017 Generally speaking, I wouldn’t suggest a drive-through visit to any National Park if it can be avoided. But if any park lends itself to this kind of visit, it’s Petrified Forest–you can see a whole lot of the park if you spend a few hours driving through and stopping along […]