Christmas Day we left Taos, NM and decided to visit one of the newer National Monuments on our way home. As you're driving north on the highway out of Taos one notices that there are mountain ranges on either side of the high valley floor (7,000 ft.) where the highway runs. What you would never notice unless you venture towards the center of the valley floor is the Rio Grande River and the Gorge. The Rio Grande River is responsible for the 800 foot deep gorge you will witnes

On the northwest side of Albuquerque, NM is Petroglyph National Monument. It is located in three seperate canyons and a visitors center. The Government shut-down had just started this day, so we didn't bother stopping by the visitor center as there are no trails there. Instead we chose Piedras Marcadas Canyon, it is home to 300-500 petroglyphs. In the West, having a National Monument of this kind in a populated area is...well, rare. What's really odd is that you can get yo

This would have been a photographer's happy place but the lighting this day was terrible. So my apologies, but perhaps that will inspire you to go check it out for yourself. Almost 2,000 years ago El Morro was an established Puebloan site. They carved into the sandstone cliffs and left their mark not only on the walls but with a large dwelling on top of the ridge called Atsinna. But the reason for the location and the names of the place through the years is the beautiful po

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is dedicated to the memory and life of the sweetest lady in Richmond, VA, Cindy Herndon Parcell. Sunset Crater Volcano last erupted 933 years ago. Volcanoes leave an indelible mark on the land that lasts thousands of years. There are places in this monument where it would be plausible if you were told the eruption was last year. It looks that fresh in areas! I'm going to apologize for the quality of the pictures, it was getting late