“Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education;
in the elder, a part of experience.”
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
One of the goals of this road trip was
to expose more of the world to my children and so far I have succeeded in doing
that quite well, I believe. They
have seen a lot more of the United States than I had at their ages and I hope
when they reach their adult years they will have fond memories of this trip. As far as I’m concerned it has been
quite an experience for myself, as well, not only because I was able to see the
world through young eyes but, in no disrespect to Sir Francis Bacon, the
educational value was high for me, too.
My last entry had us leaving Colorado
Springs heading south back to New Mexico. In the two times I crossed the Raton Pass both were at night and so it was nice to actually see it in the light of
day.
After filling up gas and
stomachs in Raton we got on Highway 87/64 towards the panhandle of Texas but we
first had a scheduled adventure at Capulin Volcano. Olivia studied volcanoes in 6th grade and we
actually built one – a cross sectioned volcano that was supposed to show how
the lava moves up through the tubes and comes out on top and through fissures. I
had rigged a system using a turkey baster so that when squeezed the air would
push orange liquid up the clear tubing to simulate an eruption. In a rush to get it done before her
project deadline I wasn’t able to test run the system. I left it up to the class to be test
pilots. Olivia claimed it sort of
worked but not so much. Oh well,
it was a nice father-daughter bonding project and like most of those go, Dad
did most of the work. “Olivia,
hand me the pliers, please…Olivia?
Olivia where are you?”
Olivia did learn a lot about volcanoes
and was passionate about the knowledge so I thought she’d like to see a real
one, albeit a dead one. A live
one, as Avery says, “would be REALLY hot and we’d burn up like Anakin Skywalker.” Yes, after watching
Episode III more times than George Lucas ever did he was well versed in what
lava can do to a person if you get too close.
Chugging away down the highway I expected better signage.
I could see the volcano looming to the side of us and a small grouping
of structures that could have been a town…sort of, I guess. I didn’t see a sign so I went right
past the road that led to Capulin. After seeing the volcano fade in the distance behind us I kind of figured
out I made a mistake and quickly turned around. Duh! There was
a sign, though it was easier to spot when you’re looking for it.
We finally found the entrance to the
park and drove up to the visitor’s center.
Before the trip I had printed out some
literature from the Park's web site geared to kids and knew that Avery and Olivia could become Junior Rangers. With the help of the
ranger on duty they each received age-appropriate Junior Ranger booklets,
outlining everything they needed to do to become Junior Rangers.
Avery’s was fairly easy. He just needed to identify certain things while hiking the park, such as flowers, bugs and shrubs pictured in the booklet. If he could spot a ladybug he would get a special commendation. Olivia’s was a lot more involved: She not only had to identify plants and animals but answer fill-in-the-blank questions, arrange a geological timeline, answer questions from what she observed in the visitor’s center and a video that runs on a loop, as well as all the field work. They seemed surprisingly eager to win their certificates and to do all the work. We saw other kids come in who had just finished their booklets and I was surprised at how enthusiastic they all were. It’s a very good program so kudos to the U.S. Park Service outreach.
Avery’s was fairly easy. He just needed to identify certain things while hiking the park, such as flowers, bugs and shrubs pictured in the booklet. If he could spot a ladybug he would get a special commendation. Olivia’s was a lot more involved: She not only had to identify plants and animals but answer fill-in-the-blank questions, arrange a geological timeline, answer questions from what she observed in the visitor’s center and a video that runs on a loop, as well as all the field work. They seemed surprisingly eager to win their certificates and to do all the work. We saw other kids come in who had just finished their booklets and I was surprised at how enthusiastic they all were. It’s a very good program so kudos to the U.S. Park Service outreach.
The ranger told us to drive up to the
top of the mountain and we could hike around the rim of the volcano crater and
down into the crater, as well.
There was also a ranger talk scheduled in a little over an hour. That would give us time to hike and
work on their Junior Ranger requirements first. We got back in the car, booklets ready for exploring.
I could see us in an episode of Dora
the Explorer chugging up and around the volcano in our animated blue
Honda. If Olivia was Dora and Avery Boots then I must be Benny, “a
lovable six-year-old bull with a big heart”.
Great views of the valley could be seen
350 degrees as we meandered around the volcano to the top. It wasn’t crowded, which was nice.
There were only a few others around when we got there so we kind of had the place to ourselves. It was warm but not too hot as we first ventured down into the cone, which was about a quarter mile hike.
Avery spotted a bunch of items on his list, such as the tent worms and cactus. It was interesting being down at the bottom and thinking of what it looked like when it first erupted. As Avery pointed out we would have been in the middle of the lava and burned up.
There were only a few others around when we got there so we kind of had the place to ourselves. It was warm but not too hot as we first ventured down into the cone, which was about a quarter mile hike.
Avery spotted a bunch of items on his list, such as the tent worms and cactus. It was interesting being down at the bottom and thinking of what it looked like when it first erupted. As Avery pointed out we would have been in the middle of the lava and burned up.
At the bottom of the crater |
On the walk back up the trail Avery
somehow spotted a ladybug. I’m not
sure how he did it - we were just walking and he blurted out, “Ladybug!” I guess because he was closer to the
ground it was a touch easier, but the tiny orange creature was sitting on a dry grassy plant in the shadows of a shrub. I’m gonna have to start calling him
Hawkeye. I took a picture
to prove Avery’s discovery to the ranger and I didn't think I captured it. The bug flew away before I could get
another one. Luckily, the ranger
believed us and awarded Avery a special ladybug button when we got back to the
visitor’s center. On later inspection the ladybug was visible in the picture so here it is to prove Avery's perfect eyesight. Look closely at lower half in the middle. Way to go,
Avery, Ladybug Hunter.
Next was the hike around the rim of the
cone, which was about three fourths of the total circle. It was a fairly hard hike because of a
lot of ups and downs but we were able to blaze the trail, though a little weary
at the end. A sign read that it took
about an hour to hike so we’d be able to get back in time for the ranger talk.
It didn’t take long for the kids to
start fussing. Avery wanted to be
carried (I don’t think so 45 pound boy) and since Olivia was so sweet all the
bugs in Capulin swarmed around her.
She is deathly afraid of and detests bugs and lets everyone know it in a
4 square mile radius. At least we
had all the discovery signs along the trail that kept their interest, as well
as their Junior Ranger duties to fulfill.
I tried to be a good platoon leader and encourage them along the way,
giving them rest stops and some history and science lessons. Olivia kept getting worse and worse but
at least she was aware that she was quite annoying. She apologized and asked if I was mad that she was upset
about the bugs, which I appreciated.
I encourage them to be aware of how they affect those around them.
All in all, I think the kids enjoyed
the hike but were glad when we got back to the staging area/parking lot. While filling water bottles at the
water container we saw the ranger had arrived. Perfect timing.
There was another family, along with the three of us, for the talk. The ranger reminded me of my cousin
Justin in both a physical way and the delivery of his speech. He told us all about the history of the
volcano and that part of New Mexico.
It seems two real-life cattle dealers, Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving forged a cattle trail that skirted the volcano. They would make a camp there because it
afforded a high spot to check for bands of Indians prone to attack white people
and their cattle.
He also told us
that Goodnight and Loving were the basis for the characters in the book and
miniseries Lonesome Dove, played by
Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones.
I did not know Lonesome Dove was based on real people and events. And it was nearby where Loving was
killed by Indians and asked Goodnight to take his body back to Texas
(poignantly recreated in the miniseries).
I always thought the terrific author and Arthur, Texas bookstore owner, Larry McMurtry,
made the story up (I met him back in the 90’s), but history is a great source
for material and he enhanced it perfectly. Zach also told us about famous outlaws, train robbers, that
hid out there and other interesting stories. I enjoyed the talk and learned quite a bit. Thanks Ranger Zach.
After the talk we headed back to the
visitor center. Olivia needed to
finish some of the tasks in her booklet first. While Avery perused the gift shop I helped Olivia complete
what she needed. It didn’t take
too long and both kids presented their booklets to Ranger Lynn. She looked it over and asked if they
had found any ladybugs, which big sister Olivia blurted out with pride that her
little brother did find one. Avery
received the before mentioned ladybug button along with their Junior Ranger
certificates and patches. Then
Ranger Lynn asked them to raise their hands and they got sworn in as Junior
Rangers, repeating the oath. Dad
was proud…which allowed the kids to convince me of getting a bunch of stuff in
the gift shop, like ranger hats and t-shirts, volcano book and volcano making
kit – all in the name of education, right? They deserved it.
After our volcano adventure it was back in the
car and the long trip to Lawton, Oklahoma to see where Poppa trained.
(Next
on A Road Trip Adventure Across America:
Fort Sill and finally we get to Winnsboro just in time for dinner)