This past weekend we headed down to Alamogordo, NM for the first family vacation by car that we have taken with the boy. We went there for the twice yearly moonlight bike ride through White Sands National Monument. We have been pretty excited about this ride for a while - a 16 mile jaunt through the alabaster dunes under the very bright moon. Grandma Scrymgeour came along with us for the trip, and she agreed to watch the sleeping babies (Connor and our friend's little girl) while the parents did the ride.
So we headed out on Saturday morning for the 4 hour drive, Connor's longest time ever being confined to his car seat. Aside from one short meltdown, he spent most of the ride either super happy or sleeping.
That night we headed out for the park around 7 pm for registration with the park gates opening at 8 pm. We met up with 3 other couples and we headed out for the ride. (Here is a route description with nice pictures too if you are curious). Low clouds near the horizon obscured the moon for the first few miles, but right as we got to the sand dunes the moon was full and high. It was really bright (I kept turning off my bike light and everything was still visible) and absolutely beautiful. We had forgotten our little pocket camera, but I had packed my SLR and tripod ready to take some great shots when we got into the heart of the white sands. While we enjoyed the leisurely pace, stunning scenery, and good conversation, at the back of our minds we kept thinking about Connor, who was hopefully still sleeping in the hotel along with his friend Sadie, under the watchful eye of Grandma.
About 1 hour into the ride, we got the phone call. True to form,Turdley Connor woke up and was screaming like a banshee. He was inconsolable, and was in danger of waking up Sadie. So we turned around, and did the fastest moonlight bike ride that was ever taken through White Sands! We sprinted the 7 miles back to the car, loaded up, and sped back to the hotel within 45 minutes (considering we had taken 1 hour to get to that far into the park plus the 15 minute ride back to town - we were setting land speed records).
Some of the beautiful pictures I wanted to take!
Ali hopped out, and I parked and secured the bikes. By the time I made it to the hotel, Ali and the magic power of Mommy had calmed Connor, but Sadie, who was awakened and also in hysterics, was still sobbing away. Apparently, Grandma had bravely kept two inconsolable babies from bursting into flames (little known fact, this is what actually happens!) for 20 minutes until we arrived. The 3 of us worked to get everyone happy, and then the two babies proceeded to play for the next hour until Sadie's parent came to pick her up (they had biked on and lost cell phone reception so didn't get our urgent calls or texts to return until much later).
Midnight baby dance party!
So overall, the ride was still worth it. Ali and I had a really fun and beautiful ride through the white sands with each other and some good friends, followed by some very intense exercise as we booked it home. Grandma also earned her "Medal of Valor" for her courageous and virtuous behavior under extreme duress. Even though we gave her an out, luckily she has still agreed to stay on as the grandmother of Connor aka Turdley (which is what Mom and I call him more than anything else).
On Sunday we visited White Sands in the daylight, then headed north to stop off at the Bosque del Apache wild life refuge. It is the wintering grounds for thousands upon thousands of migrating birds. It was really fun driving around and spotting all the different types of birds, and in our brief trip the highlights were snow geese and the sandhill cranes. We were still a little early in the season, apparently the party and the majority of the birds really get there in December and stay until April. We will definitely return!
All told, a fun and very memorable first family vacation. It was nice to spend time with Grandma and, despite it all, the boy. We may have to do this again sometime.
So we headed out on Saturday morning for the 4 hour drive, Connor's longest time ever being confined to his car seat. Aside from one short meltdown, he spent most of the ride either super happy or sleeping.
That night we headed out for the park around 7 pm for registration with the park gates opening at 8 pm. We met up with 3 other couples and we headed out for the ride. (Here is a route description with nice pictures too if you are curious). Low clouds near the horizon obscured the moon for the first few miles, but right as we got to the sand dunes the moon was full and high. It was really bright (I kept turning off my bike light and everything was still visible) and absolutely beautiful. We had forgotten our little pocket camera, but I had packed my SLR and tripod ready to take some great shots when we got into the heart of the white sands. While we enjoyed the leisurely pace, stunning scenery, and good conversation, at the back of our minds we kept thinking about Connor, who was hopefully still sleeping in the hotel along with his friend Sadie, under the watchful eye of Grandma.
About 1 hour into the ride, we got the phone call. True to form,
Some of the beautiful pictures I wanted to take!
Ali hopped out, and I parked and secured the bikes. By the time I made it to the hotel, Ali and the magic power of Mommy had calmed Connor, but Sadie, who was awakened and also in hysterics, was still sobbing away. Apparently, Grandma had bravely kept two inconsolable babies from bursting into flames (little known fact, this is what actually happens!) for 20 minutes until we arrived. The 3 of us worked to get everyone happy, and then the two babies proceeded to play for the next hour until Sadie's parent came to pick her up (they had biked on and lost cell phone reception so didn't get our urgent calls or texts to return until much later).
Midnight baby dance party!
So overall, the ride was still worth it. Ali and I had a really fun and beautiful ride through the white sands with each other and some good friends, followed by some very intense exercise as we booked it home. Grandma also earned her "Medal of Valor" for her courageous and virtuous behavior under extreme duress. Even though we gave her an out, luckily she has still agreed to stay on as the grandmother of Connor aka Turdley (which is what Mom and I call him more than anything else).
On Sunday we visited White Sands in the daylight, then headed north to stop off at the Bosque del Apache wild life refuge. It is the wintering grounds for thousands upon thousands of migrating birds. It was really fun driving around and spotting all the different types of birds, and in our brief trip the highlights were snow geese and the sandhill cranes. We were still a little early in the season, apparently the party and the majority of the birds really get there in December and stay until April. We will definitely return!
All told, a fun and very memorable first family vacation. It was nice to spend time with Grandma and, despite it all, the boy. We may have to do this again sometime.
1 comment:
Oh THAT is why there was a full moon. You guys went on that bike ride!
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