4 Nights in NM with a 10 Year Old
 

We fly into ALB on a Friday in February, arriving at 1:50pm, and depart the following Tuesday from ALB at 9am. My son is doing a presentation on New Mexico, for his school's state fair in March, and he is very inquisitive about the state (we live in MD). He prefers being active, but can do museums, too. Need a good itinerary that will expose him to Native American history, unique historical touchstones, plus geological wonders of the state. Accoma Pueblo, Bandalier NP, Tent Rocks, Tram to Sandia Peak and Petroglyphs, and Los Alamos are the things that come to mind when I think of a great trip for him. Not sure how to work the itinerary though, and where to overnight. Any advise is welcome, especially from those who have travelled with 10 year olds ;-)

Ugg. had a whole post and it went poof!

Place to visit:
Hispanic Culture- www.nhccnm.org/
Native American -

Albuquerque Museusm - www.albuquerquemuseum.org/exhibitions
to see:
Common Ground; Only in Albuquerque; Hollywood in the Southwest [end of Feb] History Collection

Visit Casa Ysidro in Corrales ww.albuquerquemuseum.org/exhibitions/casa-san-ysidro

Acoma Pueblo is great. Over an hour drive there, you must go on a guided tour, check to be sure its open for tours.

Tent Rocks and Bandalier could be impacted by Feb. weather.

I'd skip the Tram; really nothing to do with NM per se.

Santa Fe -

www.palaceofthegovernors.org NM History Museum is there too.

museum hill has several worthwhile places to visit.

If it's open - . www.golondrinas.org

While Los Alamos is certainly part of NM; unless its a must, I'd skip it. Too much other stuff to do.

Depending on if anything is closed on Sunday or Monday --- I would head to Santa Fe when you land. Stop at Tent Rocks on the way if the weather is ok. Stay Friday night in SF and then either head to Albuquerque Saturday night and stay 3 nights or spend night in SF and head to ABQ on Sunday morning and stay 2 nights.

What's you budget for hotel?
You will rent a car, right?

Hope this helps

definitely visit tent rocks & Bandalier if the weather is ok. You used to be able to climb up a ladder at Bandelier & see one of the ancient dwellings - not sure if you still can.


My kids loved both Acoma & Taos Pueblos. We stayed in 2 locations. 2 nights "downtown" Santa Fe, and a few nights at the Hyatt resort Tamaya (in summer).

Just realized I forgot link:
www.indianpueblo.org/

For Acoma Peublo tours:

Winter Hours of operation 9:00am to 4:00pm Saturday and Sundays only.

www.acomaskycity.org/

Bandelier is a do not miss and you can see both petroglyphs and pictographs from the ancient Native Americans there. I also like hiking in the less developed are called Tswankawi (-3 points for spelling). It is about 5 miles from the main park, closer to Santa Fe.

You probably don't have time to visit either Aztec Ruin or Chaco Canyon, but if you can find a few extra days both are very interesting.

On the west side of Albuquerque there is Petroglyph National Monument which is also interesting and could be visited in an hour or so.

Have a great trip!

I should add if you want to see some pictures of Bandelier, look at my flickr page

www.flickr.com/photos/emalloy2009

Click on albums and look at the 2008 trip. There is also one in the 2013 trip that shows a friend of ours looking out of one of the dwellings.

The Albuquerque Sunport's airport code is ABQ, not ALB. Get this right or you'll end up in Central New York. Not the place to be in February.

You can go to Los Alamos and it is right up the road from Bandalier. But if you cannot get there, or if you want something really interesting in Albuquerque, go to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. It has actual-size models of Los Alamos's most famous products - the two atom bombs the US dropped on Japan - plus various exhibits relating to the development and use of nuclear power. It's far more than just a history of how we made The Bomb: http://www.nuclearmuseum.org/see/exhibits/. My daughter (just shy of 6) loved it even though she clocked far less of the knowledge imparted than your boy will now.

<<You used to be able to climb up a ladder at Bandelier & see one of the ancient dwellings - not sure if you still can.>>

Yeah, you can as of last year.

Thanks, BigRuss, I forgot to include the "ABQ" info when I had to re-do my post.

Weather is the biggest concern for outdoor stuff in Feb. You can be lucky and have great sunny, blue sky days or not. Good to have indoor activities too.

Yes, everything DebitNM recommended.

Lee Ann

It seems we just had a similar thread on NM with a young person, you might search for it.
If you go to Bandelier I recommend hooking up with one of the guides at least for a while, as some of the attributes are not as obvious anymore.

I think any 10yr old would Looooooove the Raddison! I think It's called the Hotel Cascada now. It has a waterpark that is indoors, so weather is not an issue, and it is in ABQ.

While I don't disagree that Los Alamos probably doesn't have much to see from the perspective of a casual visitor, it's definitely an important part of NM (and US) history. Depending on your son's interests, you might check out the visitors center, see if it is worth a short trip. As others have pointed out, you're very close from Bandelier. Whether you choose to visit or not, I think a presentation on NM would be missing something rather big, if it didn't mention "the labs".

He might be interested in Smokey Bear's grave in Capitan NM.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/3635
White Sands is actually gypsum. Let him climb one of the dunes.

White Sands is a great suggestion as far as geological wonders go, but it's nowhere near the other places they want to see. With only four nights, I'd skip it.

Lee Ann

Santa Fe has a good visitor's center, so be sure to stop by. Spend some time wandering around the plaza and check out the wares for sale by the Native Americans, who are there every day. My kids always enjoyed a visit to Seno Murphy's candy store, which is right near the plaza, too. Walk through the lobby of the LaFonda hotel...just so cool and interesting.