Blog Day 1 (Saturday)
We started by going to the Zapata Ranch. At the Ranch, we drove to a couple of spots on the property and saw a couple of owls in the nest protecting their babies. We also learned about the heard of local bison/buffalo. We learned about how they were limited in population, how their bringing them back, and at the ranch they were trying to breed out non bison DNA because they were cross-bread with cows. Then we drove over to the counting site. Once a year, they have to count every bison and take a sample of every female’s DNA because they may carry the cow DNA that they are trying to breed out. They take a small sample of DNA from their tails. Every year they also have to make sure that they have 2,000 bison on their land because that is how many they can properly take care of. After that we made our way over to some of the oldest buildings they have on the property. We first went over to the stable there were two bison hides for us to look at and our instructors pointed out the oldest building there: The Chef’s House. Right after, we walked to the last house. There, we then heard the differing paths our three instructors took to become where they are at the Zapata Ranch. We took our two vans an hour away to The Great San Dunes. From when we got there, we rented sleds, and took them up to the parking lot. We ate lunch and had a quick lesson on the best ways to stay safe on the dunes. We crossed a stream of water, then chose our destination to hike up and sled down. We hiked up to a divot in the dunes that had steep slopes, great for sledding. We took turns riding the two sleds we got, and jumping into the sand. We spent a couple of hours there and then walked back into the water to try and get some of the sand off of us, It didn’t work. We drove back to the camp. Tomorrow we will depart from our camping site and drive to New Mexico. --Violet and Tristan Day 2 (Sunday): Today we started by breaking down camp at the Mogote campground, and we took a hike around the campground discussing the day. We then departed from the campground and started our journey to Santa Fe. In Santa Fe we went to Maria's to have lunch and fuel up for the day. Maria’s is a world-famous Mexican restaurant. We started out our day in Santa Fe by watching a group of dancers called "the lighting boys." We then continued the day with a scavenger hunt around around the plaza. We learned history on the longest trail in new Mexico. Our leaders were spread out around the city. We departed Santa Fe around 4:30 to head to the Cochiti middle school, where we would be spending the next three nights. We met Gerald; he is a very popular teacher. He gave us a tour of the school and helped us find a place to set up tents. We were lucky and were able to be immersed in the culture of the Pena Blanca through food. The woman who made us food is Tessa Montoya, who lives in the Cochiti Pueblo. After we were done with dinner we went in to the old gym to do a learning session. The learning session was about your True Colors. We were able to take showers in the locker rooms of the Middle school. After showers and our learning session we were able to play around in the gym of the Middle school. We played for about an hour. We went to bed after that. -- Shea and Dietze Day 3 (Monday): This was the second night sleeping at Cochiti K-8 School. We got up at 7:00 and began packing out day packs for a trip to Bandelier National Monument. After we finished packing, we ate breakfast burritos (also made by Tessa Montoya and her son, Jacob). We then drove to a gas station before heading to the Monument, which ended up to be a one-hour drive. On the drive, we experienced winding mountain roads with breathtaking views of the canyon. Once we arrive at the Monument, we were greeted by Nicole, Porter, and their son, who were our tour guides for the day. They are both from different pueblos, and they gave an insightful impression of their cultures. Once we started the hike, we learned about the caves in the mountain. Porter told us that they were the backs of the houses, and the fronts of the houses are no longer there since they eroded over time. At the bottom of the mountain, we also saw the remains of houses around the plaza and round rooms dug into the ground that held important meetings and religious ceremonies. Later that day, we were able to climb into some of the caves. We saw petroglyphs on the walls, which represented the different clans of the village. We then had lunch, then took the van back to the middle school. Thankfully, the teachers surprised us with a trip to Dairy Queen. After that, we had a good dinner and some down time. We ended the night with a closing circle where we talked about today's events and plans for tomorrow. -- Wyatt and Elianna
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