Chilly again this morning, the girls hung out inside while the guys and Dennis took their camper 
to get four new tires put on. The tire store got him in right away and they came back in a little over an hour. We packed our lunch coolers and headed to Bandelier National Monument. The drive there is beautiful and arid with multicolor rocky plateaus and valleys, sage brush and pines. The Pueblo Indians lived here many centuries before the appearance of the white man. The ‘caveates’ or little caves in the south-facing vertical rock faces became their dwelling places. The natural holes in the volcanic rock provided perfect shelter for them and warmth from the sun. These people were geniuses. The small creek coming down from the hills could be 
dammed, flooding the flat pasture areas and watering their grain crops. The one hour hike up the hillside was a little challenging but we had to remember the elevation here. Luckily the National Park Service maintains the property and there are decent stairs and handrails. Handmade wooden ladders provide a view into their life in the caveates. Our version of camping is nothing like this!
to get four new tires put on. The tire store got him in right away and they came back in a little over an hour. We packed our lunch coolers and headed to Bandelier National Monument. The drive there is beautiful and arid with multicolor rocky plateaus and valleys, sage brush and pines. The Pueblo Indians lived here many centuries before the appearance of the white man. The ‘caveates’ or little caves in the south-facing vertical rock faces became their dwelling places. The natural holes in the volcanic rock provided perfect shelter for them and warmth from the sun. These people were geniuses. The small creek coming down from the hills could be 
dammed, flooding the flat pasture areas and watering their grain crops. The one hour hike up the hillside was a little challenging but we had to remember the elevation here. Luckily the National Park Service maintains the property and there are decent stairs and handrails. Handmade wooden ladders provide a view into their life in the caveates. Our version of camping is nothing like this!On the drive to Bandelier, we saw the two couples from Kokomo that we met yesterday. We saw them again at the picnic site and spoke. I hope they don’t think we are stalking them! We
found a picnic table, as Rick says, near a babbling brook. Lunch today was burger of your choice, chips, cookies and fruit. Our picnic lunches are the BEST! Somehow the food just tastes better when you’re sitting in the Lord’s dining room. We left Bandelier and headed to Los Alamos. There are mysterious ‘laboratories’ and barbed security fences, HUGE satellite dishes and many other strange structures along the way. We stopped at the information center and the museum. We watched a movie on the development of the entire area. This area, about 
38 square miles, was taken over by the government in the early 1940’s. Back then it was a desolate area with natives and very few other residents. This is the birthplace of the Atomic Bomb. At the time it was called, “the town with no name” because of the absolute secrecy surrounding the project. It made me grateful for their dedication, but also terrified that this Pandora’s Box had been opened.
38 square miles, was taken over by the government in the early 1940’s. Back then it was a desolate area with natives and very few other residents. This is the birthplace of the Atomic Bomb. At the time it was called, “the town with no name” because of the absolute secrecy surrounding the project. It made me grateful for their dedication, but also terrified that this Pandora’s Box had been opened.Back to the campground (about an hour from Los Alamos)… The day in the sunshine (60-70 degrees) and wind exhausted us so we decided to 
have dinner at ‘home.’ The wind speeded up and clouds of dust blocked our view of the mountains in the distance. We heard that Interstate 40 south of Albuquerque was closed due to the dust storm. Dennis and Ted are setup with the long side of the campers into the wind and both were rocking. We are back-end to the wind (like horses and cows) and have very little movement. Weather forecasts call for more wind tomorrow (40 MPH?!) On our schedule tomorrow includes the downtown Plaza area.
have dinner at ‘home.’ The wind speeded up and clouds of dust blocked our view of the mountains in the distance. We heard that Interstate 40 south of Albuquerque was closed due to the dust storm. Dennis and Ted are setup with the long side of the campers into the wind and both were rocking. We are back-end to the wind (like horses and cows) and have very little movement. Weather forecasts call for more wind tomorrow (40 MPH?!) On our schedule tomorrow includes the downtown Plaza area.
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