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Published: April 29th 2009
Today we visited two more treasures in the national park system, both a little off the beaten path, but worth the trip.
The first, El Morro National Monument, is SE of Gallup, NM. El Morro is a mountain, in the midst of very dry terrain, with a constant pool of water at its base, making it a stopping place along the ancient trade route for many different peoples. The mountain is mostly sandstone, making it a compelling canvas for people to leave their marks. There are ancient petroglyphs, signatures of early Spanish explorers and names carved by settlers, soldiers and railroad workers. In all there are over 2,000 names carved on the sides of El Morro. Also at this site is Atsinna Pueblo, where some of the walls are 3 stories high and which was abandoned around 1400.
Down the road a few miles is El Malpais National Monument, a huge area of lava flows, spatter cones, ice caves and a lava tube cave system at least 17 miles long. We walked a short way down the trail at El Calderon area and saw lava tubes and sinks. Fascinating stuff, wish we had time to see more. The road
loops right back up to Grants, NM.
The winds picked up this afternoon becoming quite gusty. We watched thunderheads building ahead of us, but by the time we stopped in Santa Rosa, the storms were mostly north.
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Pat
non-member comment
Beautiful
So glad you getting to see new areas. I love the pool at El Morro, so peaceful. Take care and be safe - WASH YOUR HANDS!