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Tag: bandelier national monument

  • Celebrating National Monuments For All of Us

    Celebrating National Monuments For All of Us

    Today marks the 111th anniversary of the 1906 Antiquities Act which gives presidents the ability to designate national monuments. National monument designations preserve historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest. It is the starting point to potential national park status later on. Some of our greatest treasures—places like Grand Canyon, Zion, Grand Teton, Olympic, Arches, Acadia, and Death Valley—started out as monuments. Others remain as monuments today: Devil’s Tower, the Statue of Liberty, Giant Sequoia, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Mount St. Helens, to name a few.

    Right now, 27 monument designations are under scrutiny by our new Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, and things aren’t looking up for them. The list is heart-breaking. In an age of unchecked development, protecting these remarkable places is more important than ever.

    The politics surrounding the threat to these monuments can only be thwarted by vigorous and unrelenting support for them from the outdoor-loving public. That’s where you come in. Please join the public comment period that is active through July 10th to help keep the last 20 years of progress in public land preservation from being undone. You can do that by visiting monumentsforall.org, managed by the Center for Western Priorities. They’ll be collecting and recording comments to submit to the regulations.gov site so nothing gets lost in the mix as our monuments face political scrutiny.

    In the meantime, I hope you will indulge me in a trip down memory lane.

    Looking back

    The pressure on our monuments has me reviewing the times I’ve spent in them. I’m not one to keep count so I had to go back and take roll of those I’ve been to. My list includes: Bandelier (NM), Canyon de Chelly (AZ), Craters of the Moon (ID), Devil’s Tower (WY), Dinosaur (UT/CO), Fort Matanzas (FL), Fort Pulaski (GA), Fort Sumter (SC), Giant Sequoia (CA), Gila Cliff Dwellings (NM), Grand Staircase-Escalante (UT), Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks (NM), Petroglyph (NM), Rio Grande del Norte (NM), Statue of Liberty (NJ/NY), Sunset Crater (AZ), Vermillion Cliffs (AZ), White Sands (NM), and Wupatki (AZ).

    Some of these I visited so long ago I don’t have images to share. I do know that my life would be less for not having been to them. I also know I have dozens on my travel wish list. And I haven’t yet had a chance to visit Gold Butte or Basin and Range, two newer monuments that celebrate the rugged history and landscape of my Nevada.

    In my efforts to curate my time in our national monuments, here are a handful of memories from our adventures…

    dinosaur national monument - val in real life
    National monuments, like Dinosaur, have played a huge role in my explorations with Fred and George.
    bandolier national monument - val in real life
    History and nature abound at Bandelier National Monument.
    fort pulaski national monument - val in real life
    The textures of Fort Pulaski have brought me back to visit repeatedly over the years. The sobering history reminds me why preserving these monuments is so important.
    petroglyph national monument - val in real life
    Petroglyph National Monument preserves antiquities as the development in Albuquerque closes in around it.
    craters of the moon - val in real life
    Fred and George were “blown away” by Craters of the Moon.
    wupatki national monument - val in real life
    The ruins of Wupatki in infrared. National monuments preserve our history and heritage.
    fort matanzas national monument - val in real life
    Fort Matanzas in Florida was one of the first national monuments Fred and George experienced.
    sunset crater national monument - val in real life
    The drama of Sunset Crater National Monument never ceases to amaze.
    vermillion cliffs - national monuments - val in real life
    The expanses of Vermillion Cliffs are nothing short of awe-inspiring. Quite worth preservation, don’t you think?

    Why are these important?

    While national monuments serve as stepping stones to park status for some units, those that remain monuments offer opportunities for a rich experience, usually without the crowds that national parks tend to attract. They’re typically a sweet spot of preservation without being over-loved. Help us maintain this process. Tell your legislators to keep the monument designations as they stand. Visit Monuments For All to have your voice heard.

    What fellow bloggers have to say about National Monuments

    Check out these posts from other #MonumentsForAll bloggers:

    Adventure on, friends.

  • Parenting Teens

    Parenting Teens

    This week when I shared the nuts-and-bolts of visiting Bandelier National Monument, I had to think back to why I enjoyed camping there so much. Certainly it’s a very agreeable campground in a technical sense but really it was that the time with my sons went well.

    There are so many challenges to traveling in a small car with two adolescent boys. The challenges are entirely different from the ones of their younger years. Emotions run high. Volatile. They want their independence yet they still have so much they need from us. Criticism for you as a parent lurks in nearly every comment and interaction.

    The rewards when something goes well though? They’re extraordinary.

    And with teens, those moments are few and fleeting. Parenting teens involves weathering a lot of storms for only a glimpse of the wonder of seeing our fledglings happy and appreciative of our efforts.

    What made our time at Bandelier so memorable was that we were at ease. We’d made it through a couple of days of some sort of stomach bug before we arrived. On the road, that’s even more miserable than at home but we got through it together. We made changes to our plans. We stayed flexible. It gave us at least a temporary perspective and compassion for one another.

    Having that ordeal behind us, we explored the ruins without trying to do too much, continued our Boggle tournament, made S’mores over the campfire, listened to the hummingbirds, marveled at the craftiness of ravens, and watched the full moon rise over the trees. We talked and laughed. Together.

    I often wonder how they’ll look back at our time camping and exploring as they grow older. I want my boys to learn what they can from the places we visit, but more so I hope they value the connection we have when we’re immersed in the simplicity of camping. And that’s all I can do… show them and hope they get it one day. I can lead them to the water but I can’t make them drink.

    And that’s ok. They get to decide for themselves.