New Mexico Archives | To Wander Freely

Bandelier National Monument: Are you tuff enough?

Posted by Jen Featured, New Mexico, Outdoors ancestral puebloans, bandelier, national parks 2 Comments

Bandelier National Monument is comprised of 33,000 acres and contains some 70 miles of trail; but the main feature is the Ancestral Puebloan ruins. These ruins are located in Frijole Canyon and are accessible by a short loop trail that is somewhat strenuous due to the optional ladder climbing element. Start at the visitor center, […]

White Sands National Monument

Posted by Jen Featured, New Mexico, Outdoors May 2016, national monuments, white sands 1 Comment

White Sands is a National Monument, not a National Park. Do not allow that fact to diminish its appeal. While the National Parks may seem more prominent in the sphere of outdoor adventure, I surmise that is only because we are mislabeling National Monuments as National Parks in our minds. What makes up the ranks in the […]

Journey In To the Deep…Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Posted by Jen Featured, New Mexico 2016, caverns, May, national parks 3 Comments

A main reason for our stay in Guadalupe Mountains National Park was to be able to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park which is right next door. We got a small taste of cavern exploration a few weeks back when we tackled the Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio, and we enjoyed that experience so much […]