Our first stop on Day 2 of our journey to Arizona was Pecos National Historic Park in Pecos, NM which is about 30-45 minutes north of Santa Fe. We went Fort Union National Historic Park last time and I wanted to get my stamp at Pecos this time. The hubby for whatever reason was being a grump and that's about all we did.. get my stamp.
Pecos National Historic Park is a crossroads in which people of various backgrounds and historical periods passed through -- hunters, gathers, soldiers, explorers, immigrants, and even tourists. It is pretty rural and rugged. You can explore the many trails or walk out to the old mission which is exactly what I wanted to do. It is one of the many no fee National Park Sites.
When we arrived, we went to the visitor center. I stamped my passport. I got a new National Park Passport which has a spot for each of the National Park sites and lots of extra space for additional stamps. Plus there are regional stickers that you can buy that might include that a site. Each year they design a stamp for each of the 9 regions featuring one of the parks in that region. There are currently 36 sticker for each region so not all parks have a sticker yet.
Then we checked out the small museum which was filled with relics found on site as well as historical facts of the area. It was actually very fascinating. I thought it was just the mission but it is much more than that.
I really wanted to check out the mission but it was cold and windy. We were not dressed properly and like I said the hubby was grumpy and didn't want to walk the gravel path to the mission. Some days you just go with the flow and pick your battles. The mission wasn't high on my list and it would give us more time for lunch and at our next stop.
If you are traveling through Northeast New Mexico, definitely check out Pecos. Go explore the trails and mission. It looks to be a great place to hike. Hopefully I can get back one day and explore more.
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