One day was left of our jam-packed National Park New Mexico road trip, so I woke up right at opening for the Aztec Ruins. Turns out they were not actual Aztecs, they were just Native Americans called that by the white settlers who found their settlement ruins. Not having too much time, we powered through a a few buildings and then hit the vantage point which showcased the whole layout of buildings.
Down the path, I heard commotion and actually caught a picture of the fleeing rabbit! When heading back through the visitor center, the rangers there told us they’d seen a bobcat chasing after something – the rabbit we’d seen! Day two and already off to a wild start.
New Mexico is such a scenic drive, I had a nice time heading to Chaco Culture National Historic Park. We spent more than hour on a big dirt road with no signs, and free-range sheep and cattle right in the middle of the road! The cliffs were so impressive and big; there wasn’t a bad sight in any direction.
Most of the Chaco Park was about taking the long winding drive, so funnily enough by the time we made it, we’d already been experiencing what it had to offer.
As always, we spent more time than we’d thought so we knew we’d need to hurry to Pecos National Park if we were also going to make it to our last stop. Pecos was an adorable little town, but the Park reminded me a lot of the Aztec Ruins. There was a lot of pottery left behind that was very beautiful and allowed them to recreate what it would look like when it was new.
Our final stop was back towards Los Alamos with the security checkpoint. Instead of turning left toward Bandelier, we turned right and made our way to Valles Caldera. It was massive. I was expecting a small valley, but the vastness of everything was truly impressive on this trip. It was fall so the valley wasn’t really in bloom, but it’s golden expanse was still breathtaking.
Finally not in a rush for the first time that day, we took our time exploring the nature in the valley and the surrounding Jemez Mountains. I searched for a small hiking trail that allowed the dog with us to be on it, and we climbed a bit and stretched our legs. It was truly a day of seeing new parts of the world. I was the pictures I took could do it justice, but I’ll always have my memory!
