Brave Mama!

It was a gorgeous spring day here in the Land of Enchantment.  So nice, that we couldn't let it go to waste and decided to go for a hike at the Tsankawi Ruins not far from our home.  In the 12+ years that we've lived here, we've never been on this particular hike so I didn't know what to expect.  I got the opportunity (for lack of a better word) to face a few of my fears when it comes to hiking with our children.  When they say cliff dwellings, you should expect that there are some cliffs involved, which means some trails that go along the edges of said cliffs. Although I have tried at times to overcome it, I am not a big fan of heights. Especially when people I care about are involved with high places.  Today, I only freaked out a little bit.  If you ask my seven year old son, I was a wreck the whole time but he's a little biased because he got the honor of walking with me.  I kept telling him to slow down even when he was doing his best to walk at a snail's pace.  Which for a boy his age is an unreasonable request!

The hike is a loop that goes up over a mesa and then along the cliffside.  There are a few ladders involved which pose their own challenges for the height-haters of the world.  At one point the littlest one was protesting the idea of moving forward and I was more than ready to turn back myself, not really thinking that the trail we had already traveled was that much better an option but at least it was familiar.  Isn't that just the way we work...wanting to take the route that we know, rather than facing the fear of taking the road less traveled.  But, we pressed on and in doing so, got to see some beautiful scenery, cliff dwellings and petroglyphs. We also got to feel the sense of accomplishment that we would not have experienced if we had turned around.  Actually what looked to me to be a daunting and uncomfortable task turned out to be a fantastic experience for us all.  I am glad we decided to take that trek today.

My Amazing Family

A little too close for my comfort!



Happy Hikers