My childhood places - Bandelier National Monument, Los Alamos, Espanola, and Taos

This was a marathon day.
We started  at Camel Rock nearby and went on to Bandelier National Monument (which is below Los Alamos).  This was the place my family often went when Los Alamos had evacuation drill.  This happened once or twice a year in the early 50s.  So, my family would pack a lunch and anything else we needed and we would usually head for Bandelier Park (which I believe it was called then) in our car.

I remember Bandelier as beautifully forested, with a glorious creek flowing through it.  I would play in the creek, sending pretend leaf boats floating down the stream.  Sometimes, we would walk the short distance to the cliff dwellings nearby and marvel over who might have lived there and how they did it, although I never climbed the ladders to the upper "apartments" due to fear of heights.

However, we discovered that due to damage from a terrible flash flood a couple years ago the park is only accessible by shuttle bus every 25 minutes.  But, the creek looks the same, while the forest is thinner and shorter (unless I got bigger?).  I couldn't manage to walk the trail through the park and up to the cliff dwellings. [The toe is better, but it aches when I walk too much or bend it back on rough terrain.]   But, Steve saw them and may graciously provide me with photographs to post here.

Here's what I have:

Camel Rock used to have a longer head, but someone damaged it, I think.  Now there is a fence, no access.

Every kid's dream of a creek to splash in.

See the little holes in the cliff face - cave dwellings.

2) After we returned on the shuttle exhausted and, in my case, still dealing with altitude sickness, we stocked up on more water (must drink constantly to counteract the altitude) and set out for one more trip to Los Alamos and lunch.  This time, I got my photos of the old main gate and other sites that I missed on the first visit.

Main Gate you saw in Manhattan (the mini-series about Los Alamos).

Sniper tower at Main Gate.

Fun at the ice skating rink.

My father got a patent for the nuclear reactor in the NS Savannah and here 's the model on display.

Oppenheimer's house on Bathtub Row is still in private hands, but we sneaked a shot of it.

Ashley Pond (named after Ashely Pond) where the original Lab was located.

We toured the Bradbury Science Museum (no relation to Ray) and I have pics, but if you are like me, you might not understand the exhibits without a much more rigorous science education.  Exhibit A:

3) Yes, we tried to drive on the enthralling "Road to Espanola" - the road that felt like a little roller coaster, the only way our parents could get us to go smiling to the pediatrician.  But, alas, some pencil pushing efficiency experts decided to smooth the road out for some stupid trucks and my hopes were dashed (apparently a couple decades ago).  Darn it!  I was going to video the whole thing; so disappointed.

4) However, we continued through the still tiny town of Espanola and drove to Taos, New Mexico.  Yes, it's a Sunday and, yes, it was after 4pm, but we were hoping to see the lush, artisan mecca in all its glory.  Our hopes brought us only a few sites of interest.  Taos is pretty far off the beaten track and it was much smaller than we expected.  But, Steve was delighted to find the home of Kit Carson and the Kit Carson Museum.  Although closed, it had very interesting plaques and windows.  We loved the traditional adobe and the narrow streets which are very much like Santa Fe. But, Santa Fe does it with more panache.   Taos, which also appears to be a ski town, is more of a laid back "hippie" town, where Santa Fe is also for high rollers, politicians (being the capital of New Mexico) and diverse other groups.

One of the traditional streets in Taos.

There's Kit Carson's house and museum in Taos.

After dinner, we finished the night by driving around Santa Fe Plaza, which was lit up after dark by strings of tiny white lights wrapped around the trees in the park.  Back to the Pecos Trail Inn for a well deserved good night's sleep.

Tomorrow, we do our last exploring in Santa Fe and head out to reach Gallup, New Mexico before dark.