Gallop to Gallup

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RV Travels

Gallop to Gallup - If you love Native American Art

Leaving Flagstaff, happily coming down off mountains at last, we head across 40 East and detour North on 87 (You know we don’t like the roads most traveled). In this case, we should have stayed on 40. The journey through the Navajo Nation Reservation consists of bad roads after bad roads and more desert to look at. I know all the dishes in the cabinets and goods in the pantry will tumble out on my head if I forget to open doors carefully. However, we made a very interesting stop at the Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado. It is the oldest continuous operating trading post in the west. Beginning in 1876 Juan Hubbell traded in Navajo country and his story of settlement of the West makes very interesting reading. There is a neat general store to look at and Mr. Hubbell’s home to tour. Unfortunately, we got caught by the time zones again and were too late to tour it. I honestly think they should do away with all time zones.

We arrived in Gallup, New Mexico very late in the afternoon and checked into the USA RV Park on Route 66, a very nice park indeed. Next am we hit Main Street in Gallup, which is actually old Route 66.There are so many jewelry and arts and crafts shops, that you could never visit them all in one day. We spent a great deal of time in Richardson Trading Co., where Larry Fulbright, buyer of Navajo rugs, patiently explained to us the intricacies of weaving, differences in quality and artists. We learned a great deal about weaving; my favorite rug design is the Tree of Life. It is a corn plant with branches full of birds. At the base is a depiction of a Navajo wedding basket and at the top corn tassels. Every Tree of Life weaving has the same basic design, but all differ in color, border, detail and style. We spent hours staring at the old pawn, sand cast and new inlays exhibited in the dozens of jewelry display cases. I have never seen such a collection. All of the prices were reasonable. I understand that a hand woven Navajo rug may be expensive - however, what do we get paid for two months work? That’s approximately how long it takes a Navajo artist to weave a three by five piece.

We continued on to Santa Fe New Mexico, where, once again, we checked into a cool old RV Park called Trailer Village on the main bus line. It has been there since the 1930’s. Santa Fe’s historical area is anything but historical, more like commercial. You can buy Rolex’s, J Crew and way overpriced Native American Art. I would just skip it all together next time. Gallup was by far, more realistic.

In Santa Fe, we lost our Lilly Kat. She became sick and when we took her to the 24 hour emergency vet, the diagnosis was stroke and kidney failure, no cure for either and I can’t begin to describe the sadness with which we left Santa Fe without her. Life goes on, and we go on to Albuquerque, where we are hoping that visiting with my Joan and Billy (sister and brother-in-law) and John and Susan (brother and sister-in-law) will cheer us up. It feels like a huge hollow behind my breastbone; Lilly was such a sweet soul. Too long and too sad in Santa Fe.

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Photos

Gallup Visitors Guide
Full of useful info and colorful too!

Tree of Life
Navajo woven rug - please don't actually walk on this!

Rock Formations
Across the Navajo Nation Reservation on the way to Gallup