To Taos and Back: Day Two
Day two in Taos found us driving to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico to see the National Boy Scout Museum. The drive over from Taos took us through the Cimarron Canyon State Park, and I have to say, it was gorgeous! There were so many places I wanted to pull over, take out my camera, and start shooting! It was wonderful to see such beautiful mountain landscapes, but we didn’t really have time to stop. The boys were anxious to get to the museum as quickly as possible because this was the stop they were most looking forward to on this trip!
The National Boy Scout Museum was relocated to Philmont Scout Ranch and officially opened to the public in 2018. This wonderful museum covers both the history of Boy Scouts in America, and the history of Philmont Scout Ranch. Knowing a great deal about the evolution of Scouting in America, I was more fascinated with the history of Philmont Scout Ranch. I learned that the area was originally purchased as a summer home by an oil tycoon, and upon his death was given to Boy Scouts of America who then turned it into a summer camp. Christopher and Joshua were much more interested in the displays of Boy Scout memorabilia, as well as the portraits honoring notable Eagle Scouts and former Boy Scouts. The museum was also accompanied by a library- which I would have loved to check out, but the boys were all too restless to go in. We loaded up the car and headed back toward Taos, planning to stop in Angel Fire to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Both my dad and my father-in-law are Vietnam Veterans. Neither of them saw any action in Vietnam; my father-in-law was stationed in Iceland with the Air Force working as support for those on the ground, and although my father’s unit was deployed to Vietnam, the war was declared over just as his plane was getting ready to take off for Vietnam. That being said, I wanted to stop at the memorial so that my boys could begin learning about the war and what it really means to serve our country. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Memorial has a wonderful little museum in their Visitor’s Center. We spent about an hour going through the museum before viewing the rest of the memorial. Christopher had a lot of really great questions regarding the memorial, and was really interested in it- especially after I explained our family’s history in the war.
After we finished our visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, we headed back to Taos, eating lunch in the car. The drive from Taos to Angel Fire is just as beautiful as the one through Cimarron State Park (and if anyone has any property they’re willing to give me in that area, I promise to love you forever!). We were all pretty tired by this point, so when we got back into Taos, we went back to camp and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out there and playing on the playground right next to our tent site.
What are some of your favorite things to do in Taos? Drop me a line below!