About 15 miles west of Bloomfield, NM, (where we are staying) is the larger town of Farmington. We began the day with a stop at the Visitors Bureau.
And, we were so glad we did. There are multiple exhibits here that were great! The first one was “Adventures in Wood Contemporary Craftsmanship” by Steven Barr. His work was incredible! We especially like his creative lamp designs, but all of the furniture was gorgeous.
Numerous quilts with creative and unique designs were displayed along the walls of the lobby. Here are some that I particularly liked.
As we walked to the rear of the facility, we came to this expansive exhibit about fuel and motor oil.
This Continental Oil wagon (1908) was used to deliver kerosene, white gas, and fuel oil to homes.
In the next room is Stan, the T. rex. He was initially discovered by an amateur paleontologist, Stan Sacrison in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The fossils were excavated by the Black Hills Institute. The skull was nearly complete and perfectly preserved, a rare find. It is widely considered the best T. rex skull ever discovered (including 58 of his teeth).
He was 42’ in length, 12’ tall at the hip, weighed 6 tons, and is 66M years old. Check out the size of his footprint compared to John’s hand (and John has pretty big hands)!
This is one of about 60 casts of the Stan’s skeleton on display in museums around the world. The original is at the Black Hills Institute’s Hall of Dinosaurs. What a surprise it was to see it here (although we have also seen Stan’s skeleton at the Houston Museum of Natural History).
The staff at the Visitor Bureau gave us maps and brochures about attractions in the area. We decided to spend some time outdoors with our sweet doggie, Sadie, in nearby Animas Park.
We parked near the Riverside Nature Center (closed the day we visited) and set out to hike a portion of the 8-mile Animas Trail System that runs along Animas River. And, of course, Sadie went for a swim.
We crossed the pedestrian bridge over the river and continued along the trail to the Animas River Whitewater Park. During spring runoff rafters enjoy Class I and II rapids from here to Boyd Park. During the rest of the year canoeing, kayaking, rafting and tubing (depending on the water level) are popular activities on the river.
The All Veterans Memorial Plaza is a beautiful tribute to veterans. We spent some time exploring the plaza seeing the monuments to each war or conflict in the history of the US. Below are those for the Revolutionary War, WW II, and Vietnam. Also shown are monuments to New Mexico’s veterans awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Continuing to the second pedestrian bridge, we crossed to the opposite side.
It was nice to see some Canadian geese and ducks in the river. Note the sign describing healthy food for them (NO bread!)
The return trip through the park was lovely. We all enjoyed spending time outdoors.
When we came to the prairie dog field, they were very alert to Sadie’s presence. She would just like to sniff them, but they were quick to raise the alarm to the rest of the community. This little guy had a lot to say!
This was one of those unplanned days that ended up being a lot of fun for us all. It’s always interesting to spend time in a new place.
For additional information about the area, go to www.farmingtonnm.orgor stop by their Visitors Bureau.
That is exactly why we stop at places most overlook or pass on by... there is something to see/do in every little nook and cranny
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