Kit Carson Home & Museum

  Kit Carson was a fur trapper, a guide for John Freemont and an Indian agent. He was also given the task of relocating the Navajos from the four corners region to Bosque Redondo in eastern New Mexico, a 400 hundred mile walk. Several thousand people died on the way, Bosque Redondo was found to be unsuitable for the settlement of such a large number of people and the Navajos were permitted to return to their home territory four years later. The Taos house is where Carson lived for 24 years with his third wife and eight children. It’s only four rooms, simply furnished as it would have been when the Carsons lived there. The exhibits are lacking in detail so watch the short movie and read the handout for more information.

  There are short steps between the rooms so the museum isn’t accessible without help.

  Taos is not an easy city for wheelchair visitors. Many curb cuts are steep or missing. We also encountered sidewalks with steps and light posts blocking the way.

  Free RV parking is located in a lot on Cam De La Placita. Follow the RV Parking signs from US 64.  Museum

Governor Bent House and Museum

             

Charles Bent, a very successful American fur trader and merchant, settled in Taos while it was still a Mexican city. During the Mexican-American War Santa Fe, which was the capital of the Mexican territory of Santa Fé de Nuevo México, fell easily and in September  of 1846 Bent was appointed governor of the new US territory. The takeover did not please many of the Mexican citizens and on January 14, 1847 Bent, along with other US officials, was killed by rebels in his house in Taos. The house is now a somewhat strange little museum stuffed with artifacts, many which have nothing to do with New Mexico, Taos or Bent.

  The museum is not accessible due to steps, narrow doorways and passageways that are blocked by furniture.

  Taos is not an easy city for wheelchair visitors. Many curb cuts are steep or missing. We also encountered sidewalks with steps and light posts blocking the way.

  Free RV parking is located in a lot on Cam De La Placita. Follow the RV Parking signs from US 64. Museum

Poeh Museum

  The history of the Pueblo people is told in this small museum using wonderfully expressive sculptures by artist, Roxanne Swentzell. The museum also has an art gallery with rotating exhibits and a gift shop.

   Everything is accessible.

  The parking lot is large enough for RVs. Museum

Casinos North of Santa Fe

  There are three casinos about 10 miles north of Santa Fe, Camel Rock, Buffalo Thunder, and Cities of Gold. All of them allow overnight RV parking. Buffalo Thunder is the largest casino but the RV parking is the worst, in a very sloped back lot far away from the casino entrance. If you have a van or small RV you might be able to get away with parking in a little used section in the front lot. Cities of Gold has a paved, fairly level lot but it’s kind of small and shared with trucks and a Park and Ride bus stop. Camel Rock’s RV lot, pictured above, is a very large, sandy area. It’s the best overnight spot but might be dusty on windy days.

Bradbury Science Museum

  While the atmosphere in Los Alamos today is one of small town tranquility, the role of town, past and present, as a top secret research laboratory, is still in evidence. Much of the surrounding land is posted with signs warning about unexploded munitions and other hazards. Roads to the laboratories are closed to everyone but pass holders. Visiting this museum will give you an understanding of some of the projects that have taken place here. The displays are very technical, unlike many other science museums which are often geared towards children.

  Everything is accessible.

  The parking lot is shared with other businesses and may be too crowded on week days for large RV parking. Several shopping centers are nearby where RVs can park. Museum

Entrance Park (Eastgate - Sunrise Park)

    This little park, which is really just a parking lot, is located at the east end of Los Alamos, making it a convenient place to stay if you want to visit the city. There’s a dump station, a restroom, picnic tables and grills. It’s next to the road into town so there’s some traffic noise.

   The park isn’t marked very well so look for the dump station sign. The fee for camping is $10.00 a night and must be paid at the Larry R. Walkup Aquatic Center at the west end of town. Nothing about this campsite is mentioned on the town website - click below to enlarge the picture for more information.

          

Los Alamos Historical Museum

  Los Alamos,where in the early 1940s the nuclear bomb was developed, was also known as the secret city. Scientists, civilians and military personnel were whisked away to these secluded mesas on the Pajarito Plataea.  For three years arrivals and departures were monitored and strictly controlled, letters were censured, and friends and family were given no information about the location of their loved ones. The museum covers all of the inhabitants of the plateau - the early Native Americans, the homesteaders of the 1900s, the boys who lived at the exclusive Los Alamos Ranch School and finally the men, women and children who found themselves adjusting to an unusual life far from anything familiar.

  The museum is all accessible. After leaving the museum follow the paved trail to the left to visit the ruins of a pueblo village and a reconstructed homesteader’s summer shelter.

  Vans and small RVs will fit in the parking lot. Larger RVs may park in the library lot across the street.  Museum

Bandelier National Monument

  When drought forced the inhabitants of Mesa Verde to move this was one of the places where they settled, close to a small stream that supplied water year round. The cliffs in the area are soft volcanic tuff with crevices carved by wind and water which were farther enlarged to form rooms. More rooms, built of stone blocks, were constructed in front of them using the cliff walls for support. A circular village, containing hundreds of rooms, was built on the flat land of Frijoles Canyon .

  Most of Bandelier NM is not accessible. There are few roads and many miles of trails. Even so it’s still an interesting, unique  and scenic place to visit. The visitor center is accessible plus the short trail to the village ruins is paved. The cliff dwellings are reached by steps and ladders but it’s possible to view the location of some of them from the canyon trail. The canyon trail is bumpy because it’s made with small pebbles set in concrete. An additional section that loops back to the visitor center is sand and pebbles – a little hard to push along but doable. The campground doesn’t have any accessible sites. Most of the paved parking pads are sloped and the tables do not have overhangs. The ground at the sites is packed dirt.

  The park roads are narrow, steep and winding.Trailers and towed vehicles must be dropped at a lot near the campground turn off. Most of the campground sites are short and sloped but a few are long enough for large RVs.There’s only one parking spot at the visitor center that is long enough for RVs over 30’. During the busy season, late spring to fall, visitors can not drive the park road from 9 AM - 3 PM and must use the free shuttle which leaves from White Rock Information Center. White Rock is about 12 miles away and has a RV park at the Information Center. It’s just a paved lot but has electric hookups and a dump station.  Park

New Mexico History Museum

  This is an excellent museum, newly opened in 2009. The admission ticket is also good for the Palace of the Governors but we spent so much time in the museum that we missed visiting the Palace. If you’re planning on spending several days in Santa Fe buy a four day pass – $20.00 to visit four museums, the Museum of International Folk Art, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Palace of the Governors/New Mexico History Museum

  Everything in the museum is accessible. Most of the sidewalks and curb cuts around Santa Fe Plaza are in good condition but once you get a few blocks away the situation deteriorates. Sidewalks are narrow, tilted  and rough. Many shops have a step at the entrance. Curb cuts are steep and uneven. Wheelchair users will need to have help.

  Parking around the plaza is very limited. RVs may park a few blocks south east in the lot on the corner of Alameda Street and Cathedral Place. The parking fee is high – $20.00 for a RV- but that’s for 24 hours and if your RV is self contained you can stay overnight, something almost unheard of in a city. Free parking is available at the government offices where Paseo De Peralta turns west. The spaces are short so weekends, when the buildings are closed, may be best for RV parking.   Parking  Museum

State Capitol Building Art Collection

   Almost 600 pieces of art work, all by New Mexico artists, are displayed along the hallways, lobbies, rotunda and in the governor’s office. Even the seating in the lobbies are works of art. All the art is contemporary and covers a wide range of mediums. And it’s free to visit!

  Everything is accessible but the carpeting is plush and it can be tiring to push through the entire building.

  A small parking lot for visitors is located off of Paseo De Peralta. Small RVs and vans will fit. A few long RV parking spaces are located across from the Capitol in the visitor center parking lot. Art