We hiked to the Bat cave in the monument and then we turned around. It was very windy and kind of boring. We did see two large sink holes about 80feet and the bat cave. All bat caves are currently closed because of White Nose Disease.
She wanted her dolly to go!
Two different peoples, drawings and a written language
Pueblo
We spotted our airstream down below. 
4 things we keep commenting on
She liked playing at the visitor center.
Then we continued up 53 to this monument.
This is El Morro. The pueblo is on top. I had a hard enough time getting to the top at this elevation; I can only imagine how hard it would be to carry water up every day. The inscription area is around the base of the rock.
We did the entire loop
The water hole that provided life for so many for hundreds of years.
Posing by the water hole. It's now 12 feet deep and holds 200,000 gallons of water. It was made larger by the civil corp.
The rock is inscribed by passerbys from several different eras. There are native petroglyphs, and signatures from the Spanish, Mexicans, and pilgrims. Inscriptions were allowed until 1906.
Breckinridge was in charge of testing camels out in the dessert. The camels did very well packing gear around for the crew but the mule won out. Mules replaced the camels and were the animal of choice during the Civil War. The camels were sold to zoos and circuses and some escaped becoming ferral animals.
I'm not sure how they were able to have such a pretty signature?
There are several that say so and so passed through here and the date
The guys below were beheaded in the Santa Fe Plaza in the mid 1600s for plotting to kill the governor.
This bear paw tells of the animals in the area.
Elk crossing
Spanish bringing their church to the Indians
The trail took us to the top of El Murro. It was beautiful at the top. What a climb!!
Super windy at the top. 25mph winds. I had to use both hands to hold onto my phone
Atsinna pueblo. There are an estimated 800 rooms. They have only uncovered 12 and then moved to preserving the site instead of excavating it. They think about 1500 natives lived here. Many battles were fought here. The high location of the pueblo provided protection. There is also a center canyon that they used to corral animals. It would be an awesome place to live considering we are in the desert.
Pueblo
1. We should work for google maps. We find errors all the time! We could be a valuable resource for them as we spend so much time driving and exploring.
2. UPS is everywhere! We can we out in the middle of no where, dirt road full of pot holes and a UPS truck will come flying by.
3. New Mexico is WINDY and dusty!
4. We are so happy that we have a chance to do this type of exploring now. The majority of the trails we hike on most retired individuals wouldn't dare walk on. We are also thankful that we are fit and healthy enough to do these walks. Not everyone in their 30s can physically do what we do which is such a sad reality. We both vow to stay active and set a good example for Ella.
