Pecos

To celebrate the last day off until Thanksgiving (the kids and I both have some days off before then, but Labor Day is the last joint holiday until we eat turkey), we decided to join some friends from the ward in a trip to the Pecos National Historical Park in northern New Mexico. It's place we've been meaning to visit for some time, and the group outing made it ideal.

We arrived around 9:00 and spent some time in the visitors center. The exhibits chronicle the history of the area, from the pueblo that flourished there to the contact with Spanish Conquistadors and later Anglo intrusion via the Santa Fe Trail. At the time of Coronado's expedition into what is now New Mexico, Pecos was the largest and most influential pueblo in the area, serving as a trading center for the Rio Grande pueblos and the Apaches and Kiowa of the plains to the east.

The start of the trail

Seven of the Twelve Children

Next, we began the hike through the ruins of both the pueblo (more on the excavated and reconstructed kivas later) and the mission church built by the Fransicans. Our party included four familes, with 8 adults and 12 kids (at dinner we did some math with the kids asnd figured that these 12 children included 10 boys and just 2 girls).

Three of the hikers
Mission Church Ruins
Detail of the Mission Ruins
Boys Among the Ruins

The company proceeded along the 1.25 mile path, entering two reconstructed kivas, pausing at an overlook of the Glorietta Mesa, and meandering through the mission ruins. Having a multi-family group made for a lot of mingling, as Allyson adopted the other girl in the group as her little sister for the day, Ryan and Isaac floated among their friends, and the adults got to chat as we hiked.

Evan and Summer in the Kiva
Ryan Ascending From the Kiva
Isaac Leaving the Kiva
Lookout Point

Isaac, Spencer, and Ryan

After returning to the visitors center and eating lunch, we decided to drive north past the village of Pecos (a quaint place that serves as the gateway to lots of great wilderness area adventures and rental cabins) and along the Pecos River to the Holy Ghost campground area.

At the End of the First Hike

There we set off on another hike, this one a trail that eventually makes its way toward Santa Fe Baldy (a nearly-13,000 foot peak) and a series of mountain lakes, which would make for a great backpacking trip someday (perhaps when the 10 boys we had in tow are old enough to carry their own gear).

The trail ranged from 2 feet to 6 inches in width, switchbacking a few times up the hill. The kids did a great job of scrambling over logs and uphill. After a mile or two, we came to an intersection with another, downhill-trending but even more narrow path. We followed this down to the creek and the road leading back to the parking area.

Along the way we passed by some beautiful campsites that require future visits. We also made our way to the creek, where the kids (and the more daring adults) slipped barefoot into the icy waters. It was then time to head back home, reflecting on a summer of fun, the impending autumn (the leaves up the Pecos canyon will be brilliant in a few weeks), and more such trips in the future.