We checked out of the Four Seasons Santa Fe to drive to Colorado. We had a few stops planned on the way. We stopped at the Manhattan Project for a few minutes. During WWII this served as a top secret administration hub (Site Y) for the development of the atomic bomb. On the drive in, we had to stop at security, provide our drivers license and promise not to take pictures or stop at the buildings on the way. It was a little freaky!
Our next stop was Bandelier National Monument. We hiked the Pueblo Loop Trail, which is an easy 1.5 mile loop. We explored ancient pueblo houses on the trail. The kids thought it was really fun that we could climb up into them.
It was gorgeous scenery
We added the alcove house onto the hike, which adds an additional mile. This is an aerial view of the climb up to the house. Its 140 feet above the canyon floor using ladders. It isn't recommended for children under 10, but we were pretty confident Caitie would do great. You can fall a pretty large distance if you aren't careful.
Going up was really easy for all of us. There was a lady that dropped her phone and it went crashing down the canyon. She was able to climb down a portion of the canyon and retrieve it.
If you fall off the sides of the ladder this are huge drop offs, but they did have a little bit of protection at the bottom.
Made it to the top. There were pretty views from the top.
Going down was a little more challenging for a couple of the kids
We had really great weather and it was a fun stop on the way to Colorado!
It was about a 2 and a half hour drive to Pagosa Springs from Bandelier National Monument. We arrived pretty late. We stopped at Riff Raff Brewing for dinner on the way in. It was delicious!
We had a blast in Santa Fe and all wished we had more time to experience a few more things that were on our list. It is a gorgeous part of the country!
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