“To be part of the miracles you see in every hour / You’ll know it’s true that you are blessed and lucky” – 10,000 Maniacs
Day 26 of RTXVIII was an unexpectedly busy and great one. It actually started a bit slowly. We were able to sleep in a bit since our first destination of the day, El Morro National Monument didn’t open until 9. After packing up and having breakfast at our hotel in Gallup we found a grocery store/Starbucks where we were able to fill up on 2 of the 3 vital liquids for this trip: coffee and water. Gasoline would have to wait for a couple more miles down the road.
As we traveled the hour to El Morro’s visitor’s center Ellie practiced introducing herself and asking for a note from Ranger Leslie. We pulled into the parking lot and walked inside where Ranger Joseph immediately asked if we were the Knotts. He handed Ellie a letter that I know she and Molly will go into detail about so I won’t, but it was very sweet. Ranger Joseph then told us all about the history of the park and area and suggested a route to hike.
We put on our boots and sunscreen and headed out to the Inscription Trail where we were met with what seemed like hundreds of signatures from petroglyphs to Spanish explorers, settlers, early US military scouts, Union Pacific Railroad employees, and more. We also saw the perpetually full well of water that led to the area being utilized over those hundreds of years. The well was unlike anything we’d seen other places since it was not spring-fed, but only filled by the occasional rainstorms the area receives.
Next, we hiked to the top of the mesa for our first really fun hiking experience of the day. The trail was created by the CCC and consisted of a route carved through the slickrock on the top of the hill. The creators must have had a bit of a sense of adventure since there were plenty of twists and turns and climbing over rocks involved. We also passed a pueblo that had been partially excavated.
After descending back to the visitor’s center the girls finished up their junior ranger program and we picked up a couple souvenirs. We made just a brief stop at El Malpais‘ Visitor Center after driving through much of the western part of that monument, but decided we didn’t have time to do any hiking there. We continued North to Chaco Culture NHP while enjoying our PBJ&C’s in the car. Molly took her turn at the wheel and negotiated a 20 mile dirt road to get us to the south entrance.
Chaco Culture is the second park we’ve visited this trip (the first being Zion) that I cannot wait to return to. I feel like we only scratched the surface of learning about all the things that happened there and hiking the many backcountry trails that are available. What we did learn there is that it was the center of the Ancestral Puebloan culture. It was a hub of commerce, technology, and trade that served as the focalpoint of the culture of the area. It was built nearly 200 years before many of the outlying pueblos we have visited on this trip. The people who lived there developed the masonry style that spread to other pueblos and constructed roads to allow for travel and transportation of goods and ideas throughout the region.
We were able to get in one small hike from the floor of the canyon to the rim. This was cool hike number two of the day since it required us to squeeze through a crack between rocks that served as a 200 foot high stairwell. Sadly, upon reaching the top we made the decision to head back down since there were some ominous looking clouds closing in and none of us had any desire to hike down a flooded 200 foot stairwell. Shortly after that point we also decided not to camp there for the night. RTXX?
I took my turn driving 20 miles on a dirt road as we headed North on the “suggested” route from the park. Although it was a better dirt road, it was still pretty slow going. We eventually arrived in Farmingon, NM. We found our first brewery in quite a while and discovered that the local Independence Day fireworks would be held tonight. Now it’s way too late and we’re finally getting into bed. Thankfully, we have a very light day scheduled for tomorrow so no alarm clock at all!
