My children's spring break began on a Friday. K, D and N had off the entire day and M had an early release day, which included a field trip to a classmate's house to do things like snuggle baby chickens. We picked her up straight from J's house and headed to Santa Fe for the night. Believe it or not, we started off our giant road trip without Hubby but took my dad along. He helped me take the children to the Puyee Cliff Dwellings, where he had taken me as a child. It was pretty disappointing that we couldn't climb up the ladders like we did when I was a child, but it was still pretty neat to visit a cliff dwelling for a while.
That afternoon children were super excited to head to Albuquerque and the BioPark to see a real live koala. We laughed at the gorilla sign (here's N's gorilla imitation) and were pretty darn bummed when we got to the koala exhibit and found it empty. We found out later that the koala had died. It was still a great zoo and a mother feeding her baby and running around in an open space (and ice cream cones) cheered us up a bit. The children also happily spent all evening in the hotel swimming pool. I have to say that the Super 8 Airport was the best hotel we stayed in during our road trip. That was a nice surprise because it was really cheap!
We also had to giggle at the wild prairie dogs sunbathing because at home they would never do such a thing.
The next day we made it to White Sands National Monument and having a 4th grader came in handy! With the Every Child in a Park program, we were able to save a total of $65 in entrance fees this trip. It was a great way to break up the driving that Sunday but we didn't spend as much time as expected but once the wind kicks up, you really don't want to being hanging out in that much sand. Especially if you are a human with eyeballs.
The sand was soooo soft and we just couldn't get over how white it was. We were good and resisted the temptation to bring home a bucket full to put in the sand table. You're welcome, future visitors. (I will also give you a tip. Even though there are Lotaburgers all around NM, my children hated it.) Then it was back in the mini van to head to our real destination: Tucson, Arizona!
Comments