Today was awesome in every way, but left me wanting so much more time here and the deep desire to come back soon.
Our first stop of the day was El Morro NM, a spot that will now always have a special place in our hearts. We walked in and a ranger said. “Mr. Knott? Everyone in the county knows your family is here today.” A little worrisome at first, but then it all clicked. Ranger Mike’s friend, Ranger Leslie, works at El Morro and left Ellie a note sharing the stories of strong women rangers and New Mexican women. It is such a meaningful letter and one that Ellie will cherish for a very long time. I cried as she read it aloud.
Ranger Leslie couldn’t be at El Morro today, so we met another awesome ranger, Ranger Joseph. He taught us all about this special monument and got us psyched for our hike. The first stop on the hike was a natural pool, one that is only filled by rain and has never all evaporated. It is a literal oasis and has been used as a spot to gather, rest, and reenergize for travelers for centuries. Many of the travelers left their mark by chiseling a name, symbol, date, inscription, or other seemingly important information into Inscription Rock. Ancestral Puebloans began with petroglyphs and the practice continued until the early 1900s. One of the neatest ones was the name Sarah Fox. She passed through on a wagon in 1857, at the tender age of 12, chiseled her name in the sandstone, and was later struck by an arrowhead as her party made their way west toward California. The whole rock was amazing and I easily could of spent hours gazing at the wall and trying to understand each individual’s story.
After we finished looking at the wall, we began a hike to the top of a bluff. It was a super fun hike, lots of carins, rocks to scramble over, and the scenery was unreal. Near the top, we happened upon a whole field of prickly pear. So cool!! At the very top was a Zuni pueblo from 1275-1400. A volunteer/artist was at the top and explained some of theories of what life was like then. I love hearing all the different perspectives when we hear about what pueblo life may of been like. After the hike the girls were sworn in as Junior Rangers and we put El Morro on our “must return to” list.
Later in the day we went to Chaco Culture National Historic Site. It was super rough 20 mile drive in on a tiny, not maintained, dirt road. We weren’t able to give this park the time it needed, which is a disappointment to us all. This spot was the original hub of culture, life, and society in 900-1150 for Ancestral Puebloans, centuries prior to most of the pueblos we’ve seen and studied. The craftsmanship of these pueblos were so much more percise and meticulous. Also, from what we read it is evident that the society was extremely advanced. I can’t wait to go back and learn more.
We were able to do part of one quick hike, but threatening thunderstorms and the fear of a flash flood had us turn around. The part that we did do was super fun though, lots of shimmering through tiny slits in giant rocks. We had even planned to camp, but the thought of camping in another storm was not well received. Instead we are in Farmington, New Mexico. We had a great dinner out, an awesome call home to my mom, and enjoyed an okay firework show.
Today I came across the following quote in the book I’m readng, “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi and couldn’t help but this of it’s relevance as we learn more about the history of our country.
“We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too. From there, you begin to get a clearer, yet still imperfect, picture.”
(I’m sorry the pictures are so out of order today. The blog always uploads them in total random order. It’s too late and I don’t have the patience to sort them out.)