Albuquerque to Gallup, New Mexico

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We continued westward today. The landscape was red mesas and sage colored desert. The “green” season is actually in the summer when the rains come. Right now it’s very dry. We got off the interstate and took a secondary road to El Mapais Nat’l Monument where evidence of former volcanic activity is plentiful. NM really is the “volcano state”, which we hadn’t realized. In this area the lava is similar to what is in Hawaii. There are lava fields, lava tubes and caves, but you have to hike to them. The fields we saw from the road were mostly covered with vegetation. I think remnants of volcanoes in NM (and possibly Arizona) are like glaciers in Alaska - - they’re everywhere.
Inside El Mapais Nat’l Mon. is a privately owned volcano and ice cave. Since it’s unusual to find year round ice in the desert (cave maintains 31 degrees), Frank took a tour. Lava insulates the cave and it’s half open to the air. The ice is estimated to be over 3500 years old!
Next on the route was El Morro Nat’l Monument. El Morro is a huge sandstone mesa, a very noticeable landmark in this landscape. There is a natural pool of water at the base of the mesa which has made it popular throughout history. Ancient Indians, Spanish explorers, military men and frontiersmen have lived near or traveled by El Morro for hundreds of years. Interestingly, they’ve left their signatures on the rock to mark their passing.. We took a hike to see the inscriptions. They range from 700 yr old petroglyphs, signatures of Spaniards from 1605 and men who were part of the U.S. Camel Corps (an experiment) in 1857. It was neat! We continued up to the top of the mesa to see the Indian ruins. It was a great hike; not too hot and not too windy. El Morro is one of our favorite places in NM.
We are spending the night in a campground in Gallup on “old Rt. 66”. Rt. 66 travels through NM. We’ve been on it several times and it looks like a normal highway, but in Gallup the 50’s style diners, drive-in’s and hotel signs are still up and some of the establishments look authentic. It’s like a time warp. This is our last night in New Mexico.

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Photos

El Morro
A sandstone cliff formed from ancient sand dunes.

El Morro Pool
Natural pool is 12 ft. deep and holds over 200,000 gals of water so you can imagine how popular it was to desert travelers.

Petroglyphs on El Morro
Ancient Indians lived in the area

Another Signature
This just gives you a sampling.

Looking UP to the Top of the Mesa
We hiked up there.

Cactus on top of the Mesa
They turn pink in winter and the spring wasn't arrived on top yet. Temperature extremes are still common. It had been 15 the night before and was 65 the next day.

Ruins on the El Morro Mesa
Ancient people lived here 700 years ago.

Ice Cave
Ice in a lava tube.

Comments

[Shannon]

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Looking at your pictures makes me feel homesick!