junior ranger – Page 2 – Brightside Nomads

Adventure

Tumbling into Santa Fe

By mamawanderer March 16, 2018

Santa Fe

We made it to Santa Fe and were super exciting our Airbnb was an adobe house. We had cactus in our yard and it’s really feeling like the west. Our stay here was extra long because Matt was going on a ski trip with his friends and on his return I was heading off for a girls weekend to Denver. Before Matt’s trip, we had a day to get acquainted with the town and it sure is cute! It was also small enough that I was comfortable driving our huge vehicle around so that was good.

Rollin’ with the tumble weeds

Santa Fe Children’s Museum

The Santa Fe Children’s Museum was just a few blocks from our Airbnb and we had an afternoon of fun there. Most Children’s Museums I’ve been to are amazing but pretty controlled, this one was wild and free. There was an art center with fabric, paper, beads, glue, feathers etc. and you could make whatever you wanted. There was also a water area, blocks, gardening section, and the highlight for our kid’s face painting! (Oh and making big messes is encouraged!) To be able to paint their own faces was such a treat and their individual personalities shined through perfectly with their paint choices!

Bandolier National Monument

We decided to venture out to Bandolier National Monument on our second day without Matt. 90% of the time he drives so I was in charge of driving which isn’t a problem and navigating which I will be the first to admit, I think I was born with a broken compass in my head. The good thing is phone navigation makes things relatively easy nowadays, the bad thing is sometimes in the middle of nowhere navigation doesn’t work. We made it there and back safely. The drive was beautiful, I love this desolate land, all the blonds of nature, the miles you can see in front of you. It is also amazing how you can be driving along in what seems to be flat land for miles, make a turn and there is a big canyon. We popped up on Frijoles Canyon as we entered Bandelier National Park and then wound down switchbacks until we came to the visitor center. A short hike from the visitor center with Junior Ranger books in hand brought us to cliffs in the distance where the Pueblo people made their homes. We made our way past the Kiva, then to the ground dwellings and finally to the cavates (alcoves carved into the canyon walls). Wooden ladders allowed you to climb inside and check out these small houses. I will say it is pretty cool to perch inside these dwellings and imagine living with a family here 800 years ago. This area once was covered with 1000 feet of volcanic ash which turned into tuff. Over time, in areas with less density in the rocks, hollows formed, and then Native people used tools to carve out these holes for dwellings. We also saw petroglyphs carved into the rock which is always astonishing to imagine the hands that carved these lines and the stories they were telling. The kids loved our adventure, they all became Junior Rangers and we had a great day to tell dad about.

Super STEM Saturday

While watching the Olympics Colette saw a commercial for “Super STEM Saturday” she declared we had to go. To be honest I didn’t want to make the drive to Albuquerque but when your kids are that excited about science how can you not. We got up and headed out early and it was more than worth the trip. Super STEM Saturday, full of amazing science experiments, robots, math challenges, Bob the Science Guy, and Star Wars! It was so much fun to see such excitement and so many kids enjoying the wonders of science.

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

Santa Fe, the land of Georgia O’Keeffe. I was so happy to visit this museum dedicated to her work. I loved that they gave the kids sketchbooks to create art while in the gallery. This kept them occupied while I enjoyed the paintings. I cringe at Lennox with the phone in the gallery but I consider it insurance against us ending up with a multi-million dollar destruction of artwork and a front page news story. He wasn’t as thrilled about browsing O’Keeffe paintings as I was.

Kakawa

A shop dedicated to sipping chocolate, wow! We stopped in for a treat and found an extraordinary gem. From sipping chocolate to truffles and even ice cream this place serves the finest flavors and its atmosphere is amazing. We all fell in love with this soul-warming experience.

Meow Wolf

Ok, where do we even start… if you bottle up creativity and put it in a building and shook it vigorously you would have this amazing place. It is so crazy and cool it is pretty much indescribable and all I can say is go! If you ever have a chance get there and soak up the experience, I know I did. From giant robots to playing music on the ribs of a wooly mammoth skeleton, glow rooms and eyeballs of all sorts staring at you from the walls, climb into a washing machine or walk through a refrigerator, places light up and sing, tight spaces, shrinking walls and dance party rooms, you will never want to leave. Enjoy a taste of the magic.

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Adventure

750ft Below the Surface of the Earth…and Aliens

By PapaWanderer March 13, 2018

San Antonio to Carlsbad

This section of the trip took us from civilization to no man’s land. Well, that’s not entirely true. There were an awful lot of oil men drilling for black gold. It was a beautiful drive until we hit the last hundred miles to Carlsbad. This is where we turned on to a two-lane road with posted speed limits of 75mph and potholes that could rip the tranny out of a monster truck. There were semi’s barreling by and an uncountable number of F150’s. All these trucks were there to service the oil derricks that dotted the landscape like toothpicks on a party tray. Oh, and did I mention that the winds where gusting 25-30+mph which is really fun in a big land yacht with a topper on it. We made it just as the sun was setting. We tucked into our hotel and got ready for a fun day deep underground.

The Caverns of Carlsbad

The caverns aren’t actually in Carlsbad. (FYI) You need to drive about 30 minutes. It is well worth the effort. After a beautiful drive through the park and up to the cavern entrance, you’re greeted by a breathtaking vista of the Chihuahuan desert. On the way up we got to see a type of Bighorn sheep which was a cool surprise.

The visitor center is well staffed has an excellent museum to get you oriented. Once you’re ready to visit the caves you have two options. A quick 1 min elevator ride or a 45 min hike into the cave system from the mouth at the surface. We opted for the elevator on our first day as we had a guided tour we needed to meet. The next day we decided to hike in and it is AWESOME!

But I digress, day one we went to a cave system called the King’s Palace. This was a guided tour and was wonderful. The cave system was well lit and had thousands of stalagmites and stalactites, rock curtains, and impossibly thin rock tubes called soda straws. Truly an awe-inspiring experience. The guide also turned the lights out half way through so we could feel the intenseness of complete darkness. Colette and Sienna both loved the excursion into this hidden world. On day two we hiked into the cavern from the surface. This gives you a real sense of what it must have been like to first come upon these caverns and explore them. We highly recommend hiking in one of the days if you visit this place. Once at the bottom we went on the self-guided tour of what they call the “Big Room“. The Big Room tour is about two hours and takes you buy some of the most spectacular otherworldy structures you’ll ever see. Carlsbad Caverns is a remote location and we’d recommend tacking it on to a bigger exploration of the Southwest.

More of the Surreal

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Guadalupe Mountains National Park

The caverns aren’t the only thing to see when in Carlsbad. About 20 minutes past the caverns lies the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We are always in awe of the national park system and what they protect and this was no different. Beautiful mountains, pristine wilderness, and Jr. Ranger Program!!! We love these.

There are a few short hikes here, but it really caters to longer overnight hikes to experience the park. We opted to drive around and get some great shots after the kids became Junior Rangers at the museum.

Believe…….

We spent about three full days in the area exploring and found that to be a good window of time to experience a taste of the caverns and mountains. On the way to our next destination, we needed to make the pilgrimage to the town made famous by the alien spacecraft that crash landed there 72 years ago. Roswell, NM is a surprisingly big town, much bigger than Carlsbad. Our only focus for passing through was to visit the UFO Museum and have space lunch. The museum is a fun place to visit and does a great job recapping the history of the alien crash investigation. There’s are lots of fun and cool art and exhibits to enjoy as well. I love Aliens! So making the effort to land here definitely was a check off my bucket list. I’m not sure if Katie felt the same way, but the kids had a blast. A worthwhile place to spend an hour and get some lunch. Though space lunch was not found we did have a nice bite at a deli up the street. Our next stop is Santa Fe for a couple weeks.

Adventure

Deep in the heart of San Antonio

By PapaWanderer March 10, 2018

Texas is BIG

So we all know Texas is big but man this state is fricken HUGE! We had a seven-hour drive from our stay in Louisiana so we buckled down and ground it out. We were on our way to San Antonio. The kids were taking turns studying school work and blowing off steam with the iDevices. The longest most stressful part of the drive was the hour it took getting through Houston. Eight lanes of traffic packed with cars all going 70+?! Glad that’s over and definitely not our cup of tea. We eased on into San Antonio and were pleasantly surprised by our Airbnb for the week. A beautiful Southwestern home North of the city. Plenty of great things to do close by and space to spread out.

The Alamo

I’m guessing the one thing everyone does when coming to this city is going to the Alamo. We were no different. It’s located right in the heart of the city near the famed Riverwalk. Nestled between towers of steel and concrete was the historic mission that gained so much fame from the fact the everyone defending it died. The people of Texas are very proud of this monument, and rightly so. It’s a testament to the resolve of early Americans to defend to the death what they believe in. 200 defenders went up against 2000+ professional Mexican soldiers under the leadership of López de Santa Anna. One thing That has come to surprise me (and somewhat sadden me as well) is that all the historical sites are heavily encroached upon by the modern world. I guess my mental image of these places was a more romanticized vision of the sites sitting pristine with nothing around them. I take great heart though in knowing that they are being protected and that no matter the marching progress of the future, they will stay the same. After visiting the Alamo we spent the rest of the day walking around the Riverwalk and checking out the downtown sites. Due to cool and wet weather, we didn’t spend a whole lot of time exploring the Riverwalk. I guess we’ll need to come back again for that.

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Time to Monkey Around

It had been a while since we hit a zoo and we found out San Antonio had a nice one. We packed everyone into the ride and headed down. We love zoo’s I don’t know what it is but each of us has our favorite animals and we just love seeing these creatures in real life. We saw Jaguars, an untold number of funky monkeys, a baby anteater hitching a ride on its mom’s back and many others that would make Dr. Dolittle proud. This zoo really packs a lot of exhibits in a relatively small space while still keeping the animal environments decently big. We had a great time. The pics will tell a better story than I can. One cool thing we saw was during lunch, we had packed a picnic and decided to sit and watch the Giraffes. This zoo has a Giraffe feeding area that’s attached to the elevated lunch area we were sitting at and the animals come right up to within 5 or 6 feet of you. Very awesome to see these big guys at eye level. Colette, Sienna , and Lennox also made these plastic injected molded toys you can get at a machine in the park for $2. Both Katie and I had these little treasures when we were young so it was a cool moment to share that with the kiddos. San Antonio Zoo.

Cowboy hats, Cowboy Boots and….Cowboys!

One thing both Katie and I wanted to do on this trip when we were in the west was attending a rodeo. It just so happened that our timing was such that we hit town the same time as the huge San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. At first, we looked for tickets and found nothing for under $200. We thought we were out of luck. Then late one night, on a whim, I checked to see if anything was available. To my astonishment, we found five tickets in the nosebleeds. (center corral?) So the next day off to the rodeo we went. What a spectacle. So much pride in the event from both the attendees and the participants. You could really feel these people’s American pride and happiness. We saw buckin’ Broncos, steer wrestling, calf roping, barrel racing and of course bull riding. We won’t pretend that we’re longtime fans of the rodeo or even know much about what a “good” ride is, but we certainly found a new appreciation for the men and women that call this their profession. We had a blast and at the end, we were treated to a country concert from the band Midland. Katie the girls and Lennox really had a great time and hopefully made some memories.

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McLeod Kids – Texas Junior Rangers

So as many of you may know, our kids love the Jr. Ranger programs at the national parks. San Antonio just happens to have a National Park for the Spanish Missions. We decided to forgo our traditional homeschooling and supplement it with some good old-fashioned hands-on experience. There are four missions in the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park; Mission Conceptìon, Mission San José, Mission San Juan, Mission Espada. These beautiful structures are 250 years old and in many ways remarkably well preserved. Even though these missions evoke a sense of wonder for times long past, they also serve as a reminder of a dark chapter in history. A history filled with the exploitation of native peoples and the destruction of a noble culture. The missions were built on the backs of the native peoples that lived in the area at the time. they were forced to give up their traditions and embrace an alien way of life. It’s always a bit sobering to find out the true history of some of these landmarks. It serves a good teaching moment for the kids. Katie and I just hope that they come away with a deeper appreciation of cultural diversity and the notion of right and wrong. This is a really good tour and you can bike from mission to mission if the weather is nice. Our weather was cold so we drove, which is just as easy.

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Meatfest 2018 – Chama Gaucha – A Dinner in Pictures

St. Valentines Day – Big Air and Time Machines

We always like to do something special for the kids when holidays come up. Valentine’s Day was no exception. Katie and I celebrated the night before so we could spend the whole day and night treating the kids to a fun outing. We chose a spot to go to during the day but we didn’t tell the kids. We like to surprise them! We just happened to be talking to my parents when we drove into the parking lot of the destination when all of a sudden Colette let out an ear piercing scream. This was quickly followed by Sienna and Lennox. My parents must have thought we crashed. Really we had just pulled into Altitude Trampoline Park. This place was awesome. The whole floor of this massive warehouse was covered in trampolines. There was a foam pit, basketball nets, and dodgeball courts to play at as well. We spent the day going nuts. I managed to reclaim some old days of glory by pulling a double front flip into the foam pit. The kids were in heaven. The only downside was that Katie and I Spent the next couple days recovering from pulled and sore muscles.

Later that evening we went to dinner at what we found out was a local San Antonio landmark; The Magic Time Machine. This place was the perfect place to end our day. First off, every table is built into its own nook and has a theme. The theme could be anything from a cave to dragons lair. We sat at a table with a rocker theme, which was cool for us old ones. The other really fun part about this place is that all the wait staff are dressed up as characters like Draco Malfoy, Thor or Wonder Woman. They also stay in character which adds tremendously to the wackiness of this place. We had a young lady dressed as sponge bob complete with all the funny one-liners and affectations. We highly recommend hitting this place up if you’re in San Antonio.This is a great city and we had an awesome time exploring at this stop. We’re looking forward to coming back someday. Next, we are heading out into the desert in search of some caves.

Road Trip

Let’s do the Charleston!

By PapaWanderer November 27, 2017

A Sunny Saturday Stroll

After our spell in the mountains, we were eager to get back to the coast. We packed up the rig and headed out for the jewel of South Carolina, Charleston. (That’s what I’m calling it at least) One thing I’ve noticed, and it’s very apparent here in Charleston, is how kind everyone seems to be. I guess that southern hospitality is real. We have really enjoyed our trip south. The people and cities seem to become more and more inviting. Our first day in the city just happened to be the first Saturday of the month. On the first Saturday in Charleston they close down King St and open it to the public to walk around. King Street is the major shopping avenue in the city and all the vendors come out and set up pop-up shops and restaurants. Such a welcoming start for us.

Patriot’s Point

As a kid growing up I spent many vacations going to Kiawah Island. Kiawah is just 20 miles from Charleston so we would often head over for the day. We saw many sights, but the one I remember most is visiting the Yorktown aircraft carrier. The area is now called Patriot’s Point. (maybe it always was?!) We love seeing these old pieces of history open to exploring. After driving over the beautiful Arthur Ravenel Bridge, we got to see an aerial view of old Charleston and the Yorktown in the distance. At this location is a submarine, a frigate and of course the Yorktown. My little guy Lennox has developed a love for this military stuff so he was in heaven. Colette and Sienna would rather just get selfies from the captain’s chair. We explored the ship and learned about all the history it has experienced. From battling in the south pacific to picking up Apollo space capsules after their missions, this ship has seen some action. The flight deck and interior hanger are filled with old aircraft to see up close. This thing is crazy big…like a floating city! We also toured the USS Laffey which was kamikazied by multiple planes and had something like six bombs dropped on it. Amazingly it never sank! Both ships have cool interactive exhibits which make you feel like you’re experiencing a moment in their history. One last memory of the day was a large group of new American citizens were being naturalized on the deck of the Yorktown while we were there. Cool to see and I bet even more memorable for the participants. Definitely, a great place to spend the afternoon.

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Fort Sumter and a Little Horsin’ Around

No trip to Charleston would be complete without visiting the fort where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, Fort Sumter. The fort lies at the mouth of Charleston harbor and you need to take a ferry to get there. This site is part of the National Park system so….you guessed it Jr. Ranger Program!! The day was beautiful and we had an awesome ferry ride out to the fort. (We saw dolphins!) Once there, we disembarked to explore the site. The fort visit was another nice piece of history that fit well into the narrative we have been learning since the beginning of the trip. Since we were one of the last trips of the day we got to do something really cool. Colette, Sienna and I participated in the ceremony of lowering the fort’s flag. Since both the girls are Girl Scouts they helped bring the flag down from the pole. I jumped in (with about 20 other people) to help fold the flag. A great experience to put an exclamation point on our patriotic visit. Lennox got to see a bunch of cannons so he was psyched. We wandered around the ruins learning and having a fine sunny November day.

We decided one of the best ways to see the city would be to take a horsedrawn carriage ride. If you’ve been following our blog then you know that Sienna was out of her mind excited. We chose Palmetto Carriage Works and we had a great driver. A young man who claimed to be 16th generation Charlestonian. Given the heavy southern drawl he could pull off we believed him. We saw some old beautiful homes, let a bride and groom get some pics in the carriage and learned some quirky local history. It was a great way to see the city and we all had fun. After the tour, we walked the streets for hours and took in even more of this beautiful city.

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Trees, Food and an Unexpected Namesake Tour

Sometimes we find some strange but cool things on our journey. One such thing was a visit to one of the biggest trees on the East coast, The Angel Oak Tree. Off the beaten path a bit but well worth the visit. This tree is a big mama jamma!

Every now and again Kaite and I get a moment to ourselves. So with a babysitter watching the kiddos we headed out for some fun. I always cherish the moments when it’s just the two of us. I love my family but we need our alone time as well. We strolled the streets, did a little shopping and had a fantastic dinner at Mcgrady’s Restaurant. The restaurant was amazing. Just 22 seats and you get to watch the chefs create magnificent dishes a few feet away. This is not a cheap dinner but well worth the money for the experience and a nice night out with my love.

So after a fantastic week, it was time for us to move on to our next destination. However, I had on last stop for us. I found this location by happenstance as I was out running one day.

The McLeod Plantation. Since it bore the same name as us(though no relation that we know of) we had to go visit. The property was beautiful even though the history it embodied was heavy. As a working plantation during the time of the civil war, slavery was prevalent. There’s the main mansion and a number of smaller structures still standing. A stunning Live Oak lined road leads up to the front door. As with most plantations in the area, the original cotton crops had long since died off but they had a small area that was cultivating an ancient strain of cotton local to the area. I’ve never actually seen cotton growing, but I’ve learned so much about the negative history of its beginning, that seeing it grow kind of made the history more tangible. It’s somewhat sobering when you stop and think of what horrible atrocities were perpetrated over such a simple plant. After the war, the plantation fell on hard times and was eventually turned over to the city of Charleston. Now it’s a historical site managed by the city of Charleston. We appreciated our visit to this plantation though I think the kids are a bit burnt out on historical visits! ” uugghh! not another history place!” was a phrase I heard uttered in one form or another from each of the kids. As this was our final stop we loaded up the car and headed off for one of our final destinations before ending the first leg of our year on the road.

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Random Charleston Memories

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Road Trip

Mcleod’s go to Washington..Part 1

By mamawanderer November 13, 2017

National Zoo

We were lucky to stay in an Airbnb just a 15 minute walk to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Colette’s favorite animal is a panda and she has been so excited for our stop in DC so she could meet her spirit animal. Bei Bei did not disappoint her, she actually gave us quite a show. She climbed up a tree, out on a branch which I was afraid would break with her weight, then did some type of flip roll on the branch before settling then getting down. So fun! She stole the show at the zoo but there were many great things such as the Zoo is FREE, it’s also a beautiful place to walk through (an Arborist’s paradise) and of course the animals are amazing. We were lucky to be here just before Halloween so we were able to see decorations for Boo at the Zoo.

Colette loves sea turtles almost as much as pandas

animal sculptures always Lennox’s favorite

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The National Museum African American History and Culture

We weren’t able to secure tickets for this museum before our stay in DC so we tried the 6:30 am same day tickets, the type fast and cross your fingers method, and it was successful!!!! The tickets are for a specific time so at 2:00 we were able to enter this amazing building after staring in awe from the outside. It is one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen. The architectural scale and lines themselves are brilliant on their own but when you see the iron texture, so ornate yet modern it makes a perfect package. Once in the museum you make your way to an elevator/time machine that slowly lowers you below the ground. The ride down is meant to take you on a journey back in time to the beginning of slavery. The ride down also sets the tone, which is decidedly heavy. But as you start to walk up and out of the basement, you move forward in time, to a more positive future. To say this is a solemn heavy exhibit does not do this part of the museum justice, it is a heartwrenching journey and slowly you walk the path through time and progress. I will say it was not easy to take the time and appreciate as much of this part of the museum with 3 kids along. We were here in the afternoon, which means we had probably already walked 4 miles. The kids don’t understand the enormity of this time in history and I was really conscious of not wanting to interrupt the experience of others. All in all we did the best to give the kids the basis of history while taking in what we could but I will definitely plan another adult only visit in the future. When you came above ground to the other levels of the museum you were embraced by African American art, music, culture, sports, community and so much more. Amazing exhibits and experiences, we only scratched the surface, imagine everything from Chuck Berry’s Cherry Red Cadillac to Jesse Owen’s track shoes. Overall, this museum is truly an incredible journey and a must see if in DC.

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The National Mall

Colette had a different vision of “The Mall” but I hope she ended up loving this one even more. We made our way to as many memorials/monuments as we could manage and each one is amazing in its own right. All possess such grandeur while also being welcoming and accessible to all which is remarkable. To wander through history and glimpse at the icons and events that molded our country is a moving experience. My favorite was the FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) Memorial, such a beautiful natural space which told the story of Roosevelt and his 12 years of the presidency from the Great Depression to World War II and Elenor’s contributions to human rights. The dog even has a statue! We also were able to tour the Capital building. The rotunda at the Capital takes your breath away, such a beautiful space. At the Washington Monument, which is closed for renovation, the kids were sworn in as Junior Rangers which is always a cool experience for them and a proud moment for us. The program is amazing and I think I learn as much as they do doing the workbooks. One thing about visiting Washington DC is take great walking shoes, I think we averaged about 7 miles a day! That makes a good nights sleep especially for the little ones.