Day 31 - A Full Month on the Road
Today marks our first full month in the campervan. It’s been ten weeks since we left
Anchorage. So far we have traveled
through nine states – Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah,
Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. We’ve
put on a bit better than 3,000 miles on the RV.
We have visited better than two dozen state and national parks and
monuments. We’re on budget. We have seen some pretty amazing things and
we are just getting started.
Today was a driving day with hopes of reaching Canyon
de Chelly in Arizona by evening. It was
slow going over narrow gravel and country roads. We traveled through high desert and Navaho
Tribal Land for most of the day and then only realized after six hours into the
day that we had made a wrong turn and were literally 30 miles from where we
started in the morning. We had made a
huge circle and were headed for Gallup.
So we regrouped and came up with an alternative plan. We ended up in Gallup at a rather upscale RV
park with all the bells and whistles…except for a relatable Wi-Fi signal. We will be here for four nights now planning a
few long day trips in three different directions.
Day 32 – Canyon De Chelly National Monument – Navajo Tribal
Lands
Heading back north and then west through Widow Rock (Tribal
Headquaters) we were then directed due north to the park. The park is at the city limits to the town of
Chinle, AZ. Chinle is a typical native
town with lots of large public buildings and a grand school. Lots of low income housing units are
scattered and there are a few service stores and gas stations. The park headquarters was small and as usual,
well equipped with movie, displays, and good maps. We headed out on the north road to the first
overlook. The canyon was indeed
beautiful with 1,000’ high shear cliff sides and a grassy floor full of native
farms. The colors were impressive. There were a few pueblo ruins to see as well as
come really amazing rock formations. We
spent the next two hours enjoying the views from several parking areas where a
short walk took us to the canyon’s edge.
We had lunch at the picnic area near the historic trading
post. The shop was well done and well-appointed
with some really beautiful pieces handmade and authenticated. Bobbie successfully purchased a beautiful
ring for me and was able to keep it a secret for a few days. We took a slightly different drive back. It was a long day with five hours of
roundtrip driving and visiting the park as well as a few native sites and
shops.
Day 33 – Meteor Crater and Winslow, AZ
Another long day-drive to Winslow, AZ. It took us 2 ½ hours from Gallup to get to
the crater. From a distance it simply
looked like a small mound in the desert.
As we got closer we could see that it was a crater and from the top it
was really quite interesting. The center
is run by an Indian corporation instead of the national park system. Interesting.
From there we drove into Winslow for the ubiquitous photo “standing on
the corner.” A sweet western town,
Winslow’s downtown area seemed to entirely be dependent on the song. Several gift shops lined the main street and
people were all over taking photos and buying t-shirts.
Day 34 – Hopi Pueblo, Gallup, Jerry’s Café
The pueblo was only 30 minutes south so we decided to
include it in our “day in Gallup” itinerary.
The village was pretty sad…old adobe styled public housing surrounded by
a lot of dilapidated mobile homes and a lot of closed up shops. The number of indian jewelry stores was
overwhelming. The museum was closed as
was the mission. We drove around the village
a bit admiring all of the adobe bread ovens and then headed back to Gallup.
Downtown Gallup was similar, although in much better
shape. Curios and gift shop after shop
lined the main streets. There was little
to remind one of the “old west.” The
highlight of the day was an amazing Nex Mex lunch at the famous Jerry’s
Café. Tasty, hearty, full plates make
for big smiles and full tummies.
Day 35 – Gallup to Carlsbad Caverns
Long drive, our longest yet, all 450 miles of it to the
southeastern part of the state. We
traveled through many small farming towns, lots of hay fields, and the
occasional pecan orchard. Where ever the
water is hiding, they did a good job of finding it! Lots of natural gas and oil wells too. Carlsbad is a big town, aobut 60,000 people
so there was sure to be a Walmart, Home Depot, and Safeway. We found a nice RV park on the south end of town
and settled in for two nights.
Day 35 – Carlsbad Caverns National Park
It had been 25 years since I was here and a first time for
Bobbie. We drove the short distance from
town to the national park and then into the visitor’s center. There we arranged our tickets for the tours
and headed off to the natural entrance of the cave. It was a long, steep downward trail into the
cavern. 900 feet below the surface the
light disappeared and the walkway lights, as dimly lit as they were, created an
eerie yet spectacular mood to the magnificent formations. It was cold, all of 56 in the cavern, and we
were glad to have taken jackets. We had
lunch in the great room before touring the other half of the cave. You’d think as a captive audience, we would
have been charged a huge amount for a chef’s salad and sandwich. Surprise, surprise...with drinks only $12 for
the two of us.
We were not able to book spelunking tours online and by the
time we got to the park all had been sold out.
There were openings for the next day but that was not in our plans. We headed back to camp in the early afternoon
and enjoyed a lazy day doing nothing.
Day 36 – Roswell, NM to Sumner Lake
We left Carlsbad early and heading back north through
Roswell for a stop at the famous UFO museum.
It was a fun experience, well done with lots of documentation and
reading, photos, newspaper articles, a long movie, and an kitschy gift
shop. It was a fun thing to say we had
done and we got some great photos.
Afterward we stopped at the local Hobby Lobby store to get some craft
supplies. Gotta keep busy on those down
days when idle hands need to be kept active.
A few hours later we were in the town of Ft. Sumner and
looking for a campground for the night.
The lake was a short drive from town and offered a great spot with
wonderful views of the water. The $10
per night camp fee was a nice change too.
Day 37 – Ft. Sumner National Monument to Bernadillo, NM
This morning before returning to Albuquerque we visiting the
Ft. Sumner memorial. What a nice museum
and display to remember the atrocities committed by the US Army against the
Navajo and Apache Indians. We spent a
few hours at the site before heading to Albuquerque. We arrived late afternoon and settled into a
local RV park for the next four days.
Tomorrow we hook up with my sister Tanya and her husband for a few
special days.
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