This photo is from sometime before I was in the third grade. Who knows exactly when. I'm gonna guess 1971 or maybe 1972. I think it's at Bandalier National Monument in Northern New Mexico.
Bandalier ranks right up there with Mesa Verde as one of my favorite ruin sites to visit. I mean think about it. What's the name of this website again?
You can see, even back then I was calm and collected. I was the cool little boy everyone else wanted to be. And yes, I seem to have been into plaid at an early age.
This is a photo of me and my big brother.
I don't remember anything about this particular trip, but I do remember lots of composite things about Bandalier from several trips there:
I've backpacked in the backcountry there. I've had the best tasting Dr. Pepper of my life there. I've seen odd petroglyphs that seem to indicate both Christianity and Space Men visited there before Columbus "discovered" America. Heck, My boy scout troop even did a scout project there once, scraping graffiti off of the cliff sides.
On one of our backpacking trips we were accosted on day one by a bunch of 6 year olds on a field trip that we collectively referred to as "the YMCA kids." For years whenever we'd do impossible things (like climbing peaks in Glacier Park) someone would inevitably say "look, it's the YMCA kids…"
Hiking the Alamo Canyon was always a challenge. Even a simple walk a couple of miles to the Rio Grande could turn into a life-threatening adventure (it is in the New Mexico high desert, after all).
All in all, its a fascinating place. Maybe I should drag Tim down there to look it over some time.
