Petroglyphs National Monument

The Petroglyphs are located on the outskirts of Albuquerque, NM. If you are visiting the city take the time to go visit the Petroglyphs. They are like taking a walk back in time. My friend and I went here back in February, a perfect time to visit. Nice and cool. There are several trails to hike each are located a drive away from the visitor center. But all are worth it. One of the longer hikes is a flat path with no shade whatsoever. It is a beautiful walk. While walking among all of these boulders, you can find hidden pictures i.e. the petroglyphs. It is sort of like playing "Where's Waldo?". I think it would be a great hike for all ages. I would highly recommend it to anyone teaching home school courses on Native Americans.

I returned to the area in late February to take the next hike. The trail was located NE of the visitor center. Here my friend and I hiked to the top of a mesa. A great workout, mostly paved. A bit of a climb, but overall a great way to get to an interesting view. On one side you see the city of Albq and on the other prairie. It is sort of sad visiting here, because of the amount of civilization the has built up around this sacred ground. Sometimes I wish, as humans, we could leave more areas untouched.

This is a great monument to visit and one of the few places I have visited where you can get close enough to the pictures to touch them, but I don't and you should not either. It is just nice to be able to view them so closely. If you do decide to go take plenty of water, and a hat. I do not recommend this area in the summer heat, but once again it is the Irish in me talking. I highly recommend visiting in winter, spring, or even fall.