DAY 1: An early start, coffee in Silverthorne, and a stop at Grizzly Creek rest area on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon.
Confluence of Grizzly Creek and the Colorado River
Double decker I-70
Bike/walk path along the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon (13 miles)
On to the Colorado Border in Fruita and a stop for lunch in the Colorado Monument (perhaps to be a national park in a few years) which is only a few miles off the interstate.
view from picnic area over Grand Junction
The road leading to Fruita
Scenic route to Moab
views from LaSalle circle
The LaSalle circle (about 40 miles) is an adventurous bypass of Moab I had been thinking about trying whenever I saw the signs but never had the time. So I did it, and it was a bit adventurous. There were a lot of back roads up there, with hard to read weathered signs and broken, narrow pavement/gravel. I stopped to ask a couple of guys if this was the correct way, and they were guessing based on general direction as I was. Turns out these brothers grew up in an area of Idaho on the back side of the Teutons that I had driven through a few years ago, so it was a nice conversational stop. I had a couple of excellent hikes that trip, and seeing the other side of the Teutons was great.
DAY 2: After leaving Monticello, UT I was on that beautiful route I have used several times. The tiny town of Bluff, UT is amazing. These pictures will barely show how surrounded by red bluffs it is. While still living in Pueblo, I had first seen Bluff while stopping at the tree below for lunch with the Rex and Gambit after a visit to Hovenweep (That ancient Puebloan site is well worth the effort to get there.) and was blown away by the place I had never heard of. The San Juan river runs along the road, and irrigated fields make for an oasis appearance inside the circle of huge red rocks.
On to the drive before and after Monument Valley. It's really hard to get pictures showing the grandeur of all this, but one can always watch certain western movies to see Monument Valley up close.
San Juan River
The three above pictures are on the drive to Monument Valley. The next one is the only one in Monument Valley itself. The next time I'm through here I plan to pony up and take the Navajo tour through some different parts of it.
Roadside scene of colored hills near Tuba City
I stopped at connected national monuments just outside of Flagstaff. Waputki NM is an ancient Puebloan site. Sunset Crater NM shows great views and information about volcanic activity, the most recent being around 1000 years ago.
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Lava flows
DAYS 3: After an interesting, but scattered talk by a self-described ADD geologist/archaeologist, an afternoon outing close to Flagstaff was to Walnut Canyon. Cliff dweller caves were the main attraction. The canyon itself did not seem worth the risk of knee strain early in the trip, so I just walked around the rim. So the following pictures may not show the caves unless enlarged. Even then they are hard to spot if you don't know what to look for.
DAY 4: After our caravan drove about 100 miles, we arrived at the Hopi Cultural Center where a native guide and Kachina doll maker demonstrated his craft. I couldn't resist "Crow Mother" carved and painted by him. After lunch there, he guided us through the oldest USA continuously inhabited village a few miles away. (This claim is disputed by other villages.) The few homes there have been updated to some extent but are still without electricity and running water. I remember visiting my Smiddy grandparents, who also did not have those amenities until the mid-1950s. But these people live in a desert and do not have wells.
We continued driving for another 100 miles or so to reach tomorrow's big attraction and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express almost at the gates of the NM.
DAY 5: Canyon de Chelly NM is simply astounding. In the morning we explored the rim and visitors center. After lunch we were taken on a wild heavy duty 4-wheel drive truck ride over the river through the canyon, about twenty miles. The truck had a twenty passenger rack on the back. Lots of pictures will speak for themselves. Ancient Puebloan dwellings and pictographs appear in some, but most are of this awesome canyon.
Modern day Navajo summer farm/ranch
DAY 6: More driving today with a couple of interesting stops. First was Hubbell Trading Post, a national historic site. Again I was reminded of my grandparents farm by all the horse drawn implements.
A visit to the Window Rock (Tony Hillerman fans alert) and Code Talkers Memorial in Window Rock, AZ was a stop on our way to Gallup, NM after driving through a high plateau of ponderosa pine forest. I finally remembered I had driven this road before in 2003 on the way to my first Elderhostel trip in the western, Indian owned portion of the Grand Canyon area. I was struck then by the change from desert to mountain terrain for about 40 miles.
DAY 7: The climax of the trip was a day in Chaco Canyon national historic and world heritage site. I knew something about this mostly ceremonial ancient Puebloan site from a Nova program. My theory is that the butte discovered less than a mile from the ruins is the key to why they were there. On the summer solstice a long dagger like ray of light strikes a prominent crack in the butte. The people had climbed to this crack and added a spiral pictograph to emphasize the importance of the natural marker. The park service now prohibits anyone climbing on the butte to preserve the astrological features.
oThe rest of the pictures are of the ruins, which are so impressive up close
Pueblo Bonito
Many kivas at Pubelo Bonito
A three story high wall
This tower will collapse,
as this one did right near a park ranger!
Chetro Ketl is a short walk from Pueblo Bonito but was built later, as shown by the building style.
DAY 7: I was looking forward to the ten-hour drive home straight north out of NM and into beautiful Colorado. My route took me right by yet another ancient Puebloan site, Aztec NM. This is an unfortunate name, as it has absolutely nothing to do with the Aztec. Early settlers had named the town where the site is located this. I could only spare enough time to know that next time we're visiting Mesa Verde to drive into NM a ways to see this excellent site. It was excavated later than some in the 20s and is well preserved. At one point I walked through several connecting room, stooping carefully through the small doors. Another attraction here is a restored kiva, which allows one to really appreciate these places of ceremony.
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