Day 19: next stop - Gallup, New Mexico

We got ourselves ready to leave Santa Fe and head to our next destination 190 miles away in Gallup, New Mexico. The sky overhead was bright blue, the landscape a blend of browns and khakis, dotted with scrub brush and occasional green bushes. It's the opposite of what we see in Washington State, where the landscape is primarily green, dotted with blue lakes, and covered with a gray overhead blanket.  Unless it's also sunny and bright and then the blue skies in Seattle rival the ones in Santa Fe, and we have the best of both worlds.

Towards the end of the city, we passed a race track. Instead of a typical painted or neon sign, plants were cleverly planted in the shape of the Zuni sun and state's symbol, with the name of the track, The Downs.   

This portion of the highway, I-25, took us through Indian land, and we crossed one Pueblo after another.  There are nineteen Pueblos in New Mexico and all have autonomous rule and practices.  Several operate casinos along the highway.  I wondered how they cope living in this barren and desert-like expanse in their communities. 

a school on one of the Pueblo's with yellow school
buses neatly lined up

We drove past a solar panel farm  - this area must surely be the perfect location with guaranteed daily sunlight.

We passed red rock formations that appeared out of nowhere.

And just as suddenly, flat-topped mesas arose in the distance, with another cluster of Pueblo homes close to the highway.

Around the town of Bernalillo,a band of bright yellow trees appeared. These were cottonwoods, always a tell-tale sign that there must be water close by.  They were changing color and their golden yellow leaves stood out. Indeed, the Rio Grande flows through the town, which today is a farming community and also a livestock shipping point.  The first settlers arrived  here in 1698.  Pueblo Santa Anna is close by, one of the oldest missions in the US.  This is also where Coronado's army camped, looking for the fabled city of gold in 1546.  The only "gold" here is perhaps the color of the landscape, and it looked more like a tarnished gold to me. Of course the ancient tribe had settled here since around 1300. Already centuries ago, others were traveling and exploring this region, and in a lot less comfort than we are today.  

After about an hour, we approached Alburqueque and connected to I-40 westbound once again.  In 139 miles, we would arrive in Gallup.  

I noticed that artwork featuring Indian petroglyphs decorate the bridges and overpasses, which were often painted a terracotta and bright turquoise color. Since the natural landscape here remains constant with its khakis and browns, it makes sense to add color and interest to things man-made. 
 

We crossed the Rio Grande and the rest of our trip was once again through dry, arid territory.

It became quite windy and as we continued, the winds began to grow stronger. Several times, tumble weeds actually bounced across the highway in the gusts.  The rest of the trip required focus and concentration, as Michael negotiated the wind and occasional stronger gusts that buffeted us about. This was probably the least pleasant day of driving, together with the episode of the snowy mountain pass through the Smoky's.

The terrain around us was interesting, however, and like driving through geological history. There were canyons, mesas, various rock formations, upthrusts, and splendid displays of layers of differently colored rock. This region has gone through some tremendous changes and forces over time. Geologists are obviously able to read and interpret the various layers, much like reading the rings of a tree. The concept of how ancient the earth is, is quite mind boggling compared to the few millennia in which we humans have created our own history.

Then suddenly, we were driving past a couple of miles of pitch black volcanic rocks, the lava beds of an ancient volcano, Bandera Volcano, which erupted 10,000 years ago. Ten thousand years later, the blackened and scorched fragments still remain.  At least you can dispose of a burned roast or cake.    

blackened lava flows

more lava flows

this mesa reminded me of my mother's layered jello desserts

For a time, Historic Route 66 ran alongside the highway.

Likewise, train tracks followed along with us, as did several very long trains, pulled by three or four locomotives.

Other than a couple of truck stops, another casino and a few black cattle, there was nothing else in this wilderness.  

About 47 miles from the border, we crossed the Continental Divide at an altitude of 7,225 ft. We had crested the Rockies and from this point, all rivers flow westward towards the Pacific.  

Around 2 PM we pulled into Gallup and our RV Park.  It was still blowing like crazy and we were relieved to get off the highway, set up and relax.  Yes, of course we had a cup of tea, but not in the Alpine.

While checking in, another couple arrived right after us and we started chatting, well actually we all complained about the wind and I mentioned to the woman that even though it was early for 4 o'clock tea, after today's windy drive I was more than ready for a cup of tea.  It turns out that this couple is from Australia, and well acquainted with this colonial tradition of a 4 o'clock cup of tea. Paula invited us over and we spent a couple of pleasant hours with Paula and Norm, exchanging travel stories over a cup of tea.  Like us, they are retired and spend months at a time touring the US.  They have traveled to all but four or five states in the past four years.  I guess we have some catching up to do!The best part about meeting Paula and Norm is discovering that Paula also quilts.  Traveling around a foreign country does not stop her from enjoying her pastime.  She bought a sewing machine and has made several quilt tops during her travels.This is simply more confirmation that sewing machines and fabrics are perfect companions while traveling.I can't wait to get started....