Photos Posted

Well, it took me 4 days, but I finally got our spring break photos added to the blog!  Go check it out.  : )

Snowy Spring?

 We are back home, ahead of the snow, and safe and sound in our warm little abode.  I started downloading our trip photos this morning and I have taken 429 photos in 7 days.  Not a personal record for me, but a surprisingly high number, none the less.  I'll start inserting the photos (after they are edited and sorted) into my previous posts this afternoon... Judging by all these snow photos, I'll have plenty of free time today!

Roswell NM

This morning I woke up early (like usual) and enjoyed a beautiful morning watching the sun rise over the mountains, sipping my coffee and watching the birds.  I have had  very successful trip thus far in regards to my birding. I have added 8 new birds to my life list, counting the ones from yesterday, and also a Mountain Bluebird, White-winged Dove, Canyon Towhee, and Curved-bill Thrasher.  Amanda is not patient enough yet for birdwatching, but Logan is showing a lot of interest.

Popcorn... the breakfast of champions??  Hey, we're on vacation, man!

After breaking camp, we headed for Roswell New Mexico to take in the 1945 alien crash cover-up.  Another item marked off the bucket list! : )

 HA HA HA!!!!

Tonight we are doing some serious driving after hearing that our home state will be getting 4 to 6 inches of snow starting Saturday afternoon.  Unlike the spring break of 2010, we don't want to have to crawl home on snow packed roads, especially pulling a camper.  So we will get as close as we can tonight before exhaustion sets in.



By the way, Eric and I played the Roadkill Count and 50 States Licence Plate game to pass the time.  Here are our results:

Roadkill counts... Coyotes won with 17, Deer 10, Raccoon 8, Skunk 7, and Bobcat 1.  Let me tell you, it's not easy to identify dead animals flying by at 70 miles per hour!  We also had a few unknowns and one we couldn't agree on, but what prompted this morbid game was the disturbingly frequent dead coyotes we passed on our way through Oklahoma.  One section had 5 dead coyotes within a mile of each other, but did we pass a coyote crossing sign?  NOPE!  Poor fellas.  Guess no one cares about them. : (

Of the 50 States we could have seen, we spotted 33....
Kansas (duh), Oklahoma, Virginia  Oregon, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Florida, New Mexico, Minnesota  Missouri, California, Arkansas, Ohio, Tennessee  Colorado, Arizona, Indiana, Georgia  Washington, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania  Maine, Utah, Connecticut  Wyoming  Idaho, South Dakota  and Maryland.  Then on my way to visit my friend Megan the following weekend I spotted Hawaii and North Dakota but Eric said it didn't count since it was a separate trip.  : (

Gila Cliff Dwelings

Wednesday and Thursday were spent traveling and returning from a remote area of New Mexico known as the Gila National Forest.

 We found a wonderful campground for the night right at sunset so it wasn't until morning that we discovered the beauty of the area.  Logan and I did some extreme bird watching in below freezing temperatures.  We found lots of Western Bluebirds, Red Naped Sapsucker, Pinyon Jays (a large flock), and Cassin's Finch.

After breakfast we headed up to the cliff dewellings.  The hike was challenging, but worth the discovery.  The kids really enjoyed climbing in some of the caves, peering through windows and over walls.

After a lovely picnic lunch we started our long, winding trek back yo Kansas.  We made it as far as Alamogordo, NM that night.

Tuesday in Santa Fe

Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early to catch the train to Santa Fe.

We shopped the square...

 ... then headed the the Children's Museum for an afternoon of play.

 The bubble station held our attention for a long, LONG time!

 And we ALL got into it!

 Logan and Amanda sent messages back and forth to each other with this cool contraption.

I think Eric was the biggest kid of them all!

 And I had some fun too : )

 Logan and Amanda raced to the top with this pulley exhibit.

And we made lots and lots of spyrograph picture with this cool contraption!

Amanda put on many a puppet show for us... these were her two favorite actresses.

 And we created our own Jinga game with the building blocks.  Eric was the Grand Champion 3 times in a row!

Then we stopped by a local brew pub to sample the local flavor.

 And enjoyed the view from the rooftop bar.

 Then it was time for our return trip to Albuquerque where we we met up with a college buddy of Eric's, had dinner, and visited.