New Mexico

Click here for more...

Well...we can check New Mexico off our list and we are now 3 states and 2000 miles down! Whoohooo! When this all started I thought maybe 10-11 months was gonna take a really long time to complete but time is flying! The kids and I have finally settled into a routine and we all feel like we have just about figured this thing out. We do school for about 3 hours right when we get up and then either head outside to swim, ride bikes, play or we head out on an adventure or errands. Craig sadly has to stay back and work (we gotta pay for this somehow!) but we try to save the really cool stuff for when he is done for the day or the weekends so he can tag along! 

We spent the last 5 days in New Mexico. I can honestly say from all of the times I have either been to or passed through, New Mexico is not one of my favorite places. I am a huge fan of some of the things to do in New Mexico but wouldn't have any desire to live there...to each their own I guess :) Our first stop was Albuquerque...home of the world renown hot air balloon festival. While we missed the festival by just a few weeks, we did get to go and play at the Hot Air Balloon Museum and learn all about the science behind hot air balloons! Next stop...the top of Sandia Peak in a sky tram...so fun! We took a 20 min ride 3 miles straight up the mountain in a swinging cable car to the prettiest views of New Mexico! We hiked around the 2 mile trail with the kids, saw the different ski runs and had an absolute ball! 

The second half of New Mexico was spent in Alamogordo...a tiny little town in the bottom of the state and home to one of our favorite places in America...White Sands National Park! 7 miles of pure white sand dunes literally plopped in the middle of nowhere...a kids paradise! It is actually located in the White Sands Missile Range which is another really neat place to go and see the rockets (did that too!) The kids and I spent 4 hours playing in the sand, rolling down the sand, flying down the sand and completely exhausting ourselves climbing up the sand! We were completely covered by the end and so glad we got to come back!!! Our last stop in Alamogordo was McGinney Pistachio Farm,home of the worlds largest pistachio! Here we got to take a tour of the pistachio farm and the vineyard, learn all about the harvesting process and try pistachios right off the trees! Our tour guide was beyond knowledgeable and the kids were fascinated to learn that there are actually male and female trees. We left with a bag full of treats and of course, a photo of the worlds largest pistachio!