During our time of social distancing, there are a few places that you can get away from the house, get some exercise, breath some fresh air and still stay a healthy distance from folks. The Pecos National Historical Park has the 2.3 mile Civil War Trail the takes you up and down hills through the trees and tells a story of the historic battlefield of Glorieta Pass.
The trail is located behind a locked gate, but you can get the gate code at the Visitor Center at the main park. Be sure to lock the gate after you go in and when you leave. This code changes regularly, so when the park Visitor Center opens again, you’ll need to call for a new one. It’s a little tricky to find.
Here are driving directions:
- Take Interstate 25 Exit 299 and Hwy 50 toward Pecos.
- Turn right at La Joya Road. Watch the speed bumps there are several!
- Turn right at Old Denver Hwy and drive to the end of the road to the locked gate.
- Since the Visitor Center is closed for the moment, the gate code is 9506.
Visitor Center phone: (505) 757-7241
Park website: www.nps.gov/peco
to take on this project. It should be mentioned that he did a biographical report on Manuel Chaves and his role in the Battle while in the 5th grade, Ryan is now going into the 10th grade. The original plan was to have Ryan and his fellow scouts complete this project in June or July, 2019.
One of their new programs is the Junior Ranger Ambassador program, where they select youth from across the country to advocate for kids becoming more involved with parks. Brian was selected due to his visits to over 160 NPS units and level of media attention that follows him and his blog site. Brian elected to choose Pecos NHP as his first Ambassador program. 
There are several requirements from the National Park Trust, and one of them includes Brian participating in a conservation project. At the time that we were asked to participate in Brian’s program, we only had one conservation project that was applicable to kids and this was the Civil War Monument site enhancement project. We had to quickly complete the required compliance and planning and develop a youth oriented conservation day, with Ryan’s help. Park staff assisted the project with procuring and installing a low rock wall and providing some supplies and material. Ryan organized and supervised the labor staff using scouts, leaders and Brian. Ryan developed a site plan, list of materials and a labor plan to accomplish the project by 1 PM that day. The goal was met with the hard work and dedication of youth and leaders.
Another requirement of the Junior Ranger Ambassador Day, is that the park and Brian must host fun and educational activities for local and visiting youth. With the cooperation of Brian and his family, the park suggested hosting a raptor education program to be conducted by the New Mexico Wildlife Center, and the New Mexico State Museum staff cooperated by providing a primitive hunting workshop, and traditional jewelry making demonstrations at the park visitor center. These were all accomplished with great success and with very little time for planning and coordinating. Additionally, a television program “Travels with Darley” requested to capture the conservation project along with an interpretive/on camera ranger presentation to be an upcoming episode on her program. The “Travels with Darley” program airs on PBS and Amazon Prime.
