For Photos: http://willemcoetzee.blogspot.com/2014/04/fotos-20.html
On leaving Santa Fe we passed the Santa Fe National Cemetery, a gripping 79 acre expanse of almost 40,000 graves that give pause for thought http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_National_Cemetery. The more so when the New Mexico National Guard's involvement in the Bataan Death March is viewed in conjunction: http://www.bataanmuseum.com/bataanhistory/.
On leaving Santa Fe we passed the Santa Fe National Cemetery, a gripping 79 acre expanse of almost 40,000 graves that give pause for thought http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_National_Cemetery. The more so when the New Mexico National Guard's involvement in the Bataan Death March is viewed in conjunction: http://www.bataanmuseum.com/bataanhistory/.
Our next stop, after Santa Fe, was Navajo Lake State Park in
New Mexico http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/navajolakestatepark.html . This selection was made years ago during
the planning stages out of curiosity for where the momentum would carry us
within the time constraint of having to still progress westward. Little did we
know at that time about the historic significance of the ‘four corners region’,
that is where New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona connect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Corners . Road
maps indicate ‘scenic routes’ in the region, including the second largest body
of fresh water in New Mexico, Navajo Lake. The trip was indeed scenic and
although the maps we had were short on detail in the immediate vicinity of the
State Park, the GPS guided us with trailer en tow right across the dam on an
extremely narrow and dazzling high road, from where one could see the
alternative wide road hundreds of feet way below and climbing steeply to the
common destination. Needless to say,
that is the way we departed 3 days later!
This is a very beautiful spot, where we found a terrific
campsite in the only open, but virtually deserted campground. Not quite the
busy season yet, when multiple campgrounds with scores of campsites would be
available. But we had it really good with friendly, helpful personnel, electric
and water hookups and spotless clean restrooms with unlimited hot water as an
alternative to the in-house bathroom facilities of the RV. Marinas abound, yet there
was no aquatic activity; not even a single boat out on the open waters. It
could perhaps perk up during weekends. Being well rested after the slow pace of
the last few days at Hyde Memorial State Park, we took a road trip during the
only day we had available into Colorado via, of course, an advertised scenic
route. We did so by looping around a bit
on Routes 511,151, 160 and returning on 550 and 173; all very beautiful. It
corroborated observations since Santa Fe about the increasing admixture of
beef, oil and gas production amidst abundant horse farming and the odd herd of
sheep and goats. The real West was unfolding in front of our very eyes ,
including large areas of Indian Territory, which we traversed. And this brings
us to the significance of the area.
Many Indian tribes and tribal groupings have called the four
corners area home – as far back as the time before the first Spanish explorers
and settlers. Anything anybody says about those and those times are subject to
challenge, so we tread carefully in remarking that the main groupings of
Apache, Navajo and Comanche and their sub-grouping constituents seem to have
been quite at odds with one another. They
were mostly nomadic, as compared to the pueblo Indians, such as what we
commented on before regarding Bandelier. Some of the strife had far reaching
consequences, for instance Comanche having driven Apache south into Mexico,
while the Spaniards were applying a squeeze from the south. The Navajo seemed
to hold their turf to this day – especially in present day northern New Mexico,
where we traveled through Navajo country for miles. And let’s not forget that Geronimo was Apache,
having given Mexicans and Americans alike a lot of grief into the Twentieth
Century. The four corners area thus remains a living testimony to a history
that goes back far beyond the first Europeans in North America. We have found a
wealth of information (including on Google) regarding the area and its native
past; enough encouragement to continue engaging the subject.
The real surprise of our day-trip was Durango, Colorado.
This is an astonishingly pretty place. Susan was ready to declare our search
over, after having spoken with two California expat ladies in the Post Office.
Unfortunately Willem had to cool the enthusiasm by asking about the closest
airport and general accessibility of this jewel. They are still looking!
We took to the road early the next morning and aimed for
Route 491 South to Gallup. We were warned about the unattractiveness of the
scenery but disagreed, as the gigantic landmark of Shiprock Pinnacle became
visible and remained so for a long time http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiprock
. It has been referred to as the most iconic landmark in New Mexico, standing
1,583 feet above the high-desert plains of the Navajo Nation. The route
certainly was different and more arid than other parts but we had no regrets
about having taken it to our very attractive campsite at http://www.usarvpark.com/ in Gallup, New Mexico. We took it really easy for the single night
stay and were off to Alpine, Arizona the next morning. This called for taking
Route 191 off Interstate 40 West, some 40 miles outside of Gallup. The exit ramp
was closed, though, and the detour wasn’t exactly well indicated. So we simply
continued to the Petrified Forrest National Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrified_Forest_National_Park and spent at least 90 minutes at the lookout
points and very interesting museum. Back on the road, we still had two hours to
go. Luna Lake State Park have not opened yet, so we found a spot at the Alpine
Village RV Park http://www.alpinevillagerv.com/
This is a private establishment, owned and operated by Bob and Mikey Nelson,
the most helpful and hospitable folks one could ever hope for. That night we
discovered how tired we were by sleeping some ten hours (!), to which the 8,000
feet altitude may have contributed, and decided to make it a two-night
stopover. We spoke with the owners, who directed us to where we could find the
odd supply item and also advised on the route going forward from Alpine. Both
Bob and the friendly lady in the one and only grocery store advised us to swing
back into New Mexico for the parallel route 180 south and return to route 191 in
Arizona, via route 78. This would avoid many hairpin switchbacks, although not
eliminate such altogether. But it would make for much easier going with an assembly
such as ours. This proved to have been excellent advice, well worth the
inflated prices of produce at her store. In addition, the sausage Willem got at
there, mixed in with some ground meat we had, was the base of an excellent
creation by Stella that evening. The
next morning we were off to Roper Lake State Park in Safford, AZ. If ever there
were great scenery, the route taken from Alpine delivered.
Roper Lake was virtually like an oasis in a landscape that
hasn’t seen rain in a long time http://azstateparks.com/Parks/ROLA/index.html . In addition, these folks missed out on
significant snow this winter, which appeared to be the general case for much of
the Rockies in the south. The multitude of dry river beds, creeks and the
seeming irrelevance of many road signs warning about flooding suggest that this
part of the world can be much different under more normal circumstances. This situation
is softened somewhat, once again, by considerable
irrigation from wells, resulting in lush green animal feed production on many
acres right into the town of Safford. We had a lovely pull-through site in a good
campground with impeccable restrooms.
Another plus was the close proximity of a Walmart, which simplified
stocking up for us, even getting a good supply of meat for bar-b-q. The following afternoon saw this done and we
were set for the next few weeks. We were enjoying the lovely warm weather that
accompanied the drop from 8,000 to 3,000 feet and readied ourselves for more of
it as we set out for Kartchner Caverns State Park, 100 miles south.
