2002-03 . . . Episode 3a - New Mexico - to Las Cruces

The weather drove us into New Mexico - it was really getting cold! We followed Hwy 40 into New Mexico and our first night was spent at Grants about 60 miles west of Albuquerque. Even though New Mexico is one of the youngest states, it is rich with history, ancient Indian sites and the struggles with Mexico for the territories.There were a lot of places to explore . . . BUT . . . New Mexico (especially the higher northern part) is definitely September country. There was only one place we didn't want to miss - the Pueblo of Acoma - Sky City - the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the United States.

The Acoma Pueblo sits on top of a high mesa. They say this site was chosen because it made an ideal site for defence against enemies although the oral heritage tells of the origin and migration that the site was Hak'u-the place ready for people to occupy. It was said to be occupied as early as A.D. 1150.

Tourists are not allowed on the pueblo without a guide and there was a $10.00 fee to take up a camera. Our guide shared with us the kinds of conflicts the peoples' had experienced (primarily with the Church) and how they had retained much of their culture, beliefs, symbols, rituals and traditions within the Catholic religion. The Acoma are a matriarchal culture. Our guide was not married and he lived with his sister and her family. It was his responsibility to discipline his sister's children.

There are still about thirty families that live on the mesa and they retain many of the old way (there is no electricity) and traditions but have adopted other modern ways (like the windows and doors) to make their lives more comfortable.

The products sold on the pueblo (pottery, jewellery, fabric) are all created by the people who live there.

The Kiva is a meeting place for men (so said Orvil, our guide). There are no doors and only a small opening in the wall where the women can pass in messages. The entrance is a hole in the roof - thus the ladder. Every Indian community we explored had a Kiva or meeting place and they were very central to life.

Mount Taylor Mountain (one of the four Sacred Mountains) is visible from the pueblo.

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We took Hwy 6 to bypass Albuquerque and met Hwy 25 at Los Luma on our way to Las Cruces. All along the highway there is a variety of Roadside Trading Posts - each has it's own particular charm.

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We made Las Cruces our base for exploring. Las Cruces is in the Mesilla Valley surrounded by the Organ Mountains. The is a strong agricultural area with pecan groves, cotton fields and chilis. There still is desert but it's very different from Arizona and California. The weather tends to be cooler, but still very pleasant. It could be almost freezing at night, but as soon as the sun comes up, it gets very warm and cools down with sunset.

We really like it here . . . so much to do and see. Rather that being surrounded by "snow-birds", the people are mostly local who have chosen to live here. The markets, the festivals, we enjoyed it so much. It seems to be a centre for the arts and crafts, there are open markets almost daily and the University (NMSU) has quite an influence. The Mexican influence is very strong, too . . . the architecture, food (we're trying our hand at making burritos, tacos and have graduated to non-gringo chili). The RV Park has very large sites surrounded by grass and trees and we have made friends with our closest neighbours as well as the owners.

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We've broken our New Mexico adventures into more Episodes to download easier !

2002-03 . . . Episode 2 - Touring the Arizona Indian Lands

Navajoland covers about 27,000 sq. ft. and is surrounded by four
sacred mountains. It is primarily in Northern Arizona and extends into New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. The Hopi Reservation is actually in the middle of the Navajo Reservation. We stayed at Cameron, along the west side and half way up on the Reservation. We did daily truck-travelling from there. Our first outing was to Tuba City and on the way, we stopped at Dinosaur Tracks area . It wasn't your typical tourist place and our guide wandered us through the site pointing out some of the dinosaur tracks, fossilized poopy and explained some of the geological history. We travelled to Tuba City via a wanna be back road (barely a dirt trail) and almost got stuck in the sand but we did end up on top of the mesa and got an incredible panoramic view of the whole area. A lot of red soil and stratified rock. The whole area was once underwater and you visualize this when you can get such an expansive view.

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Our next expedition took us south of Flagstaff (via Hwy 89A). We travelled through Ponderosa Pine forests, incredible winding roads,
came down from 7000 feet (Flagstaff) through the Red Rock Canyon to 2000 feet and back up again.

Sedona is your typical tourist town
but south of there we entered the region of the Sinagua people, an ancient farming tribe who inhabitated the cliff dwellings they call the Montezuma Castle. This apartment-type structure is five stories high, housed 95 - 100 people and dates back to the 12th century.

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The next outing took us north from Cameron on Hwy 89 through the Painted Desert area to Page, Arizona (close to the Colorado border) and then on Hwy 160, along the Black Mesa back to Cameron. Roadside stands dot the entire route - some are simply tables along the side of the road and others more elaborate structures - all the stands sell jewellery and woven Navajo rugs. Most are authentic, made by the people manning the stand. The terrain is diverse as well, ranging from the sand waves to the multicoloured mesas and rock formations.

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Wupatki National Monument
Wupatki National Monument was our last expedition from Cameron. The ruins of Wupatki lay in the shadow of the Sunset Crater Volcano which is reputed to have last erupted in 1064 but they say that the Sinagua people (ancestors of the Hopi and Zuni) had already been cultivating that area for 400 years. We visited two ruins sites in the park - the Box Canyon Dwellings and the Wupatki Pueblo.
Box Canyon
The buildings of Wupatki Pueblo (as many other of the pueblos) used the red rock outcropings as the backbone for the pueblos.
On the north and west sides the walls were tall to protect against the prevailing winds and the open places were on the south and east to catch the sun. Wupatki had a unique air circulation ventilation system to allow for indoor fire pits. It had a large ball court that apparently was used for trading and games and a blow hole that seems to have spiritual significance and nothing else.

We left Arizona on November 5th.

2002-03 . . . Episode 1 - On the Road Again

Getting ready is half the fun, eh?! This year, we actually had some ideas on what we wanted to see and how we were going to get there. We wanted to get up to the Indian Lands in Northern Arizona and New Mexico, go down through New Mexico, visit Biosphere 2. Our thoughts were to get a lot of travelling in early so when we were ready, we would come directly home.

We wanted to hold off leaving as long as we could to catch the spring blossoms but the weather was starting to turn so we left (October 23).

The goal for the first part of our journey was to get into non-freezing weather. Montana didn't do it and neither did Idaho or Utah. The first day, we drove right through Montana and spent the first night in Idaho Falls between half a house and a transport truck in the truck stop parking lot BUT (as has become a habit) met a couple from Calgary and spent most of the evening visiting with them in the coffee shop. In Utah, we found a rustic little RV park in a small town called Beaver. You know the old expression one person's junk is another person's treasure? Well the owner of this place seemed to be a rather eccentric soul with very eclectic taste who totally surrounded himself with his treasures. But it did have an incredible Mexican Restaurant.

We didn't drain the anti-freeze out of the system until Mesquite, Nevada (oh-h-h that heat felt good) and then onto Las Vegas. Las Vegas is Las Vegas is Las Vegas The weather warmed up nicely - not HOT, just nice and warm. Ann and Eldon (the folks we travelled with last year) had already arranged for a place for us in a nice RV park attached to Sam's Town Casino. Oh, yes, then we toured a few of the Casinos, stopped and watched an act at Circus, Circus, went to Arizona Charlie's    

and ended up doing a buffet and playing Black Jack at a funky little neighbourhood casino that had a $1 Black Jack table and very good (reasonable) food. (2 for one $6.00 US). They are great guides and we visited some great non-casino type places.

The Chocolate Factory was a fascinating place - partly the making and sampling of the chocolates but also the Cacti Garden and water recovery/recycle system. All the waste water used in the production is collected, run through a filtering system and utilized in the Garden. They've even managed to corral a couple of roadrunner to populate the Garden.

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Mountain Spring Ranch

The Mountain Spring Ranch is a unique environment off in the hills outside of Las Vegas. It was once owned by a Krupp woman prior to WWII and then by Howard Hughes. The State has since taken it over and run it as a working ranch. There are nine springs coming down from the mountain which turns the ranch area into a lush oasis in the middle of the desert.

The house is decorated in a 50's style to reflect the Hughes era - was that stuff ever familiar!!

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Bonnie Springs

Bonnie Springs is another Nevada mining ghost town (in the hills just outside of Las Vegas) that has devoted itself to catering to tourists.

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Leaving Las Vegas and Nevada

We got away from Las Vegas either 8, 9 or ten a.m. (depending whether we went by Nevada, Arizona, Mountain Standard or Daylight Saving time) heading east and south first along the Boulder Hwy, then Hwy 93, then Hwy 40.

Las Vegas is O.K. to visit but it sure was nice to get back on the road and get to places we haven't been. We got across the Hoover Dam but they did check every cupboard and drawer in the trailer. That Power Grid is still impressive.

It wasn't until we past Kingman that we started into new country (it still looked like every cowboy movie I ever saw as a kid) a little more brush but lots of hills and rocks. East of Seligman, there seems to be less exposed rock and more trees. We climbed up over 7000 feet and started coming down again. There is one big truck after another on the road from all over. It's hard to believe so much moves so far by truck. We stayed at a small RV Park at Williams, Arizona but it was not very warm (52F during the day, windy and freezing at night). Williams is on the old Route 66 and where the Grand Canyon Railroad tour starts - another western historic place. The fellow at Williams suggested that if we wanted to really see some of the Navajo Nation, we head up Hwy 89, stay at Cameron and tour from there.