Megan’s Take
Petroglyph National Monument was a disappointment. I probably had big expectations because Colorado National Monument last year was really cool. This monument isn’t worth visiting again. The views aren’t as striking as other monuments since the sites are dispersed among residential areas,
and the petroglyphs don’t seem as well-preserved as others we’ve seen.
We did about a mile with the kids, but then they were over it. I sent Phil off to get some pictures while I waited behind with the kids in the shade. (It is HOT.)
We went to Explora Children’s Museum in Albuquerque this afternoon, and that was a great pick. Emmett and Emilia needed a fun thing that was just for them to play and explore. I’m not sure if it’s the heat, higher altitude, week of traveling, or something else, but they’ve been dragging. I’m tired too. But they were very excited and kicked into high gear at the children’s museum. It seemed like it was up Phil’s alley also – lots of hands-on, STEM-related exhibits – and he was able to guide the kids along.
The day also had few other fun stops – Mama’s Minerals to add to our rock collections, Popcorn Cannery for snacks, and Frontier Restaurant for a true southwestern dinner (at least for me).
Phil’s Take
The petroglyphs weren’t that bad, but the scenery was certainly terrible. Probably the best part is where she stayed back with the kids. It did get far enough back into the volcanic hills that you couldn’t really see the houses. I agree that it’s not somewhere that I need to visit again. I also recall seeing Newspaper Rock on our way into the southern portion of Canyonlands that was way more intricate than this (I mention it directly in the linked post).
The highlight of the day was definitely the children’s museum. I think I enjoy the exhibits here even more than I do the children’s museum in Indianapolis, because of how hands on it is and how it gets into the STEM subjects. It gave me a glimpse into the future of teaching these kids how stuff works, and I think it’ll be a lot of fun.
There were two activities there that I think we all enjoyed the most. The first was a water feature where they had cleverly incorporated a Duplo portion into a stream. We had fun building dams and trying to see if they could hold up to a flood. It turns out, Duplos aren’t great dam building material, especially with 3 year old environmental catastrophes. This was the third such dam to succumb to the raging river, and it wasn’t just our kids that enjoyed it.
The second activity was building the rocket. After some design modifications, Emilia successfully launched her rocket.
But it turns out engineers might know a thing or two about how to build a rocket, as you can see here (this one I built).
One day I could explain to these kids why mine was better. I’ll be happy to share my knowledge when the time comes. It brings to mind a Star Wars quote:
Here’s the gallery for today.
