Pecos, NM: Pecos National Historical Park is honored to have been selected to host a Kids to Parks Day event in conjunction with National Park Trust and Buddy Bison Student Ambassador Bryan Wilson. Kids to Parks Day is a nationwide celebration of the great outdoors organized by National Park Trust and is designed to connect kids and families with their local, state, and national parks and public lands. Together, we invite you to help us celebrate at Pecos National Historical Park on Saturday, May 18th.
Schedule of Free Family Events:
Junior Ranger Activity Books
12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Families and children of all ages are invited to earn their Junior Ranger badges, pins, and patches. Challenge yourself with the Junior Angler Book, Pecos Junior Ranger Book, the Not-So-Junior Ranger Activity Book, the Santa Fe Trail Junior Ranger Book, or the Wagon Master Junior Ranger. Junior Rangers will have fun rolling up their sleeves and trying their hands at fish printing and corn grinding with a mano and metate! Kids who complete any of the Junior Ranger Books will receive a free plush Buddy Bison from National Park Trust. (Supplies are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis). All kids are encouraged to enter the free raffle to win wonderful prizes courtesy of Western National Parks Association.
New Mexico Wildlife Center Presents: Wild New Mexico
1:00 p.m. – 1:45p.m.
Join us as we meet some unique animal ambassadors from the New Mexico Wildlife Center including snakes and raptors.
Yucca Sandal Making Workshop with Mary Weahkee
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Come learn how to make yucca sandals in the style of the Ancestral Puebloans with Archaeologist Mary Weahkee, who is a member of both Santa Clara Pueblo and the Comanche Nation and is an Assistant Archaeologist for New Mexico’s Office of Archaeological Studies.
About Junior Ranger Ambassador Bryan Wilson
In May of 2018, Bryan Wilson was named a Buddy Bison Student Ambassador for 
the National Park Trust, one of four in the country, to promote public lands and share what he learns. He represents National Park Trust by supporting its mission and programs. He is a steward of our parks and loves to discover different public lands and waters and share what he learns with other kids. On May 18th, he will kick off his Kids to Parks Day event by partnering with Santa Fe Boy Scout Troop 414 and local Eagle Scout candidate Ryan Cordova on a conservation service project related to the park’s three Civil War Monuments.
About National Park Trust
National Park Trust (NPT) is a non-profit dedicated to preserving parks today and creating park stewards for tomorrow. NPT is the only land trust with a comprehensive mission of protecting national parks through land acquisition, and creating a pipeline of future park stewards by getting kids to parks. Since 1983, NPT has completed 70 land projects in 31 states, 1 US Territory, and Washington, DC. This school year, NPT will provide an estimated 25,000 under-served kids with park trips through their nationally recognized Buddy Bison Programs and Kids to Parks Day National School Contest, both of which support Title I schools. Learn more at 
www.parktrust.org.
Many thanks to Eastern National Parks Association, Western National Parks Association, National Park Trust, New Mexico Wildlife Center, and Boy Scout Troop 414 for their invaluable assistance.
Don’t miss your chance to visit one of northern New Mexico’s most iconic locations—the Forked Lightning Ranch. On Saturday, May 11th, Pecos National Historical Park will open up the Ranch House from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for visitors to explore at their leisure. The Forked Lightning Ranch, which overlooks a wild stretch of the Pecos River, is steeped in history. Once home to such notable personalities as rodeo promoter Tex Austin and Hollywood actress Greer Garson, the ranch house transports you back to the formative years of dude ranching in the Southwest. Rangers will be on site to help answer questions and to orient visitors to this architectural gem.
Pecos National Historical Park will offer a hike with Park Archaeologist Jeremy Moss to the site of the Lost Church on Sunday, May 5th. Along the one mile round trip hike to the ruins of the church, also known as the Ortiz Church, you will explore the fascinating history of some of the earliest missionary efforts in Northern New Mexico. The church, which dates from 1617-1621, was first described and mapped by Adolph Bandelier in 1880. Much has been learned about this historical treasure since then—come see for yourself!
Explore the site of the Forked Lightning Pueblo on Sunday, April 28th. Along the two mile roundtrip backcountry hike to the remnants of this 13th century pueblo, you will explore the fascinating history of a large settlement that sits on the western bank of Glorieta Creek. The pueblo, which housed hundreds of people primarily between 1225 and 1300 AD, was described and mapped by noted archaeologist A.V. Kidder in the late 1920s. Much has been learned about this historical treasure since then—come see for yourself!
Friends of the Pecos National Historical Park 