I drove on the school field trip today to Bandelier National Monument. It was all day long, and I am sooooo tired.

The bonus was that I thought each driver would have to pay for parking, but they don't charge school field trips. So $12 saved.

The other bonus was that F got to leave school early because we returned from the field trip early.

So we spent $2 at Sonic for lime slushes (half price drinks during "happy hour" 2-4 pm) after school since I'd saved the parking fee.

The sad part was that Bandelier had a huge flood last September (the largest in the park's recorded history); the water rushed right down the canyon. It tore down trees and broke off large chunks of the asphalt trail. It even ripped off a drinking fountain (we saw it in a tangle of fallen tree branches). They've done a ton of cleanup, but the trail on the west side of the canyon was super-sandy (it was like walking on a beach).

Luckily Alcove House (a ceremonial cave 140 feet above the canyon floor) has reopened, so we got to go up the stone stairs and wooden ladders. All but just a few kids and adults went up. This was the first time F has done it, even though we've been to Bandelier before.

Anyway - such a cool trip, and I got to take a day off of work!