Like this:

For this posting I will deviate slightly from my normal format, I will name a few of the highways as a focal or starting point. In 1997 I was finishing up a military civil engineering project in Towaoc, Colorado at the Ute Mountain Ute Indian (native American) Reservation near Cortez, so I decided to take my daughter, Hayat, and my foster daughter, Loretta on the ultimate road trip. We would begin in Denver, the Mile High City for the Trail Of The Ancient Grand Circle tour of the Four Corner region, and then to Disneyland in Orlando, Florida; with a side trip to South Beach in Miami, and a cruise to Nassau, Bahamas from Fort Lauderdale. This road trip would give Hayat and Loretta the opportunity to see first hand what they had been studying in school about the history of the western states, especially New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. They would see that Native Americans have a history as great as ancient Egypt, the Middle East, and the Mayans of Mexico. There are so many ancient ruins and historical sites throughout the West, especially in the Four Corner Region that it would take more than a month to see most of them.  Hayat and Loretta  would also sample flavors of Spain and Mexico without having to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Mexico City, or Morelia. Also they would get an introduction to The Caribbean. To start the road trip, I flew from Cortez to Denver to meet them. We picked up a rental car and began our Trail  Of  The Ancient Grand Circle road trip from there. We took Interstate 70 west from Denver toward Grand Junction, but we exited before Grand Junction just west of Clifton and slightly before Fruitvale on State highway 6 and drove down to Clifton. From there we took State Highway 141 down to where it became alternate route or state highway 141 and or 50/550 to Montrose to start the road trip in earnest at The Black Canyon of  the Gunnison National Park. From there we continued on 550, now the “Million Dollar Highway” to Ridgway, the gate way to the Majestic San Juan Mountains, and some of the most spectacle and scenic byways to the Four Corners Region. Hayat and Loretta had to stop in Ouray, and Silverton. Near Silverton at Molas Pass or Coal Bank at 11,000 feet I pulled over for Hayat and Loretta to take some photos, Hayat said “Dad, are you crazy, we are in the clouds, I don’t think I will be getting out of the car.”  We then slowly made our way to Durango, one of the southern gate-ways to the San Juan Mountains and the Million Dollar Highway where we stopped for the night. The next morning we left Durango on State Highway 160 to Mesa Verde. After spending the day exploring the ruins at Mesa Verde we went to Cortez, where we spent the night at the Anasazi Inn. The next morning we left for the Four Corners Monument. At the Four Corners Monument Hayat Seminole heritage was evidently clear. A Seminole lady, who was selling Native American jewelry, called out to her “Hey sister, come here my Seminole sister with the red jacket, let’s talk.”  We sat for an hour with her and had a soda and fry bread as we talked about the Seminoles and their heritage and culture. From there it was on to Ship Rock, New Mexico, and the birth place of the Navajo Nation, where legend say that a great bird brought them from the north to their present lands. From there we went to the Aztec Ruins Just North of Bloomfield. Then we took the Jemez scenic highway to Jemez pueblo. Then we realized that we had missed Espanola and Chimayo, so we went up and across to them, then back down to Santa Fe, a little out-of-the-way, but well worth the turn around, and double back. Our last stop for the day was at Albuquerque. We spent two nights and a day in Albuquerque. We went up The Sandia Mountains for an unbelievable view of Albuquerque. Hayat and Loretta was awe-struck at the number of people who were jumping off the mountain in the name of hang gliding. They would float and soar on the wind like an eagle in flight. We also did a lot of shop looking and sighting seeing in the old city of Albuquerque. Then we took the trail of the ancient, the Zuni- Acoma Trail to Grants, where we  stopped for the night. Early the next morning it was off to Gallup with a stop at El Malpais National Monument. Then Hayat, Loretta and I very slowly made our way to Window Rock, Arizona, then Fort Defiance and Canyon De Chelley and down to The Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest where we spent most of the day. From there we went to Holbrook and checked into our hotel. That evening we attended a POW Wow, and had dinner. The Chile rellenos were pure fire and were delicious, but gave me heart burn that lasted most of the next day; however they were tame compared to what I had in Espanola. The Chile Rellenos there was fire seven ways to Sunday. There was nothing to eat or drink to put the fire out, you had to let it burn baby, burn, but If you are selective about the Chile peppers, New Mexico food is very good, and is about the best in the Four Corners Region. The next morning we left Holbrook and drove to Winslow, then across the Mogollon Rim to Sedona, then up to Flagstaff where we spent the night. The Next morning we left for Page and Glen Canyon at Lake Powell with stops at Sunset Crater National Monument, Wauptiki Monument and the Grand Canyon, where we spent the night. The next morning we left for Page and Lake Powell where we spent the night. The next morning we drove to Kaibto and through the Navajo Reservation to the Navajo National Monument, then through the Monument Valley to kayenta where we had lunch that included Navajo Taco and fry bread. Then we drove through Red Mesa to Tee Nos Pos back to Cortez, where we stopped for the night. The next morning we went to Hovenweep National Monument, then to a friend’s ranch in Dove Creek. Hayat and Loretta had a chance to go horseback riding and play cowgirl. After lunch we said thanks and our good-bye, then we left for Dolores, Rico, and Telluride, Then on to Montrose and Grand Junction. Finally we arrived in Denver for our flight to Orlando, Florida. Where we went to Disney Land, South Beach in Miami, and Fort Lauderdale for a cruise to Nassau Bahamas. Now, lets see what the travel industry have to say about the Trail of the Ancient and the Grand Circle from The Black Canyon Of The Gunnison and back.
The Black Canyon of The Gunnison’s unique and spectacular landscape was formed slowly by the action of water and rock scouring down through hard Proterozoic crystalline rock there no other canyon in North America that combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and startling depths offered by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. There are two entrances to the park; the more-developed south rim entrance is located 15 miles east of Montrose, while the north rim entrance is located 11 miles south of Crawford and is closed in the winter. The park contains 12 miles of the 48-mile long canyon of the Gunnison River. The national park itself contains the deepest and most dramatic section of the canyon, but the canyon continues upstream into the Curecanti National Recreation Area and downstream into the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.The Gunnison River drops an average of 43 feet per mile through the entire canyon, making it one of the steepest mountain descents in North America. In comparison, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile. The greatest descent of the Gunnison River occurs in the park at Chasm View dropping 240 feet per mile. The Black Canyon is so named on account of its steepness which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate very far down the canyon. As a result, the canyon walls are most often in shadow, causing the rocky walls to appear black. At its narrowest point the canyon is only 40 feet across at the river.
Montrose is located in the heart of the Uncompahgre Valley on Colorado’s Western Slope. Founded in 1882, Montrose was named for The Legend of Montrose, a Sir Walter Scott novel. The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad reached Montrose in 1882. In the beginning, Montrose was a typical frontier freighting and cow town, gun play and saloon brawls were common. That changed after the 7-mile long Gunnison Tunnel was completed. Montrose is home to the Ute Indian Museum. The museum lies on the 8.65acre homestead originally owned by Chief Ouray and his wife Chipeta. The museum houses one of the most complete collections of the Ute people. In 1998, the museum was renovated and expanded to include the Montrose Visitor Information Center, classrooms, a museum store, and gallery space. The museum complex also includes walking paths, shaded picnic areas and a memorial to the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition, Spanish conquistadores who came through here in 1776.
Ridgway is the northern entrance of the scenic San Juan Skyway, which serves as a crossroad for commerce, transportation, history and scenery. The Skyway, one of the All-American Roads in the U.S., winds through unmatched scenery — a photographer’s dream. Located in the picturesque Uncompahgre Valley and surrounded by majestic snow-capped peaks of the Cimarron and San Juan Mountains, Ridgway is the “Gateway to the San Juans.” This “gateway” position was recognized over 100 years ago when the Rio Grande Southern established Ridgway as a railhead center servicing the nearby mining towns of Ouray and Telluride. The town was named for railroad superintendent Robert M. Ridgway who established the town in 1891.
Ouray has been a special destination of world travelers for more than 100 years. This small intimate community is nestled in some of the most rugged and towering peaks of the Rockies. Set at the narrow head of a valley at 7,792 feet and surrounded on three sides with 13,000 foot snowcapped peaks – Ouray has been eloquently nicknamed the “Switzerland of America.” Remarkably, two-thirds of Ouray’s original Victorian structures, both private and commercial, are still occupied, and have been lovingly restored in order to preserve their turn-of-the-century charm. Originally established by miners chasing silver and gold in the surrounding mountains, the town at one time boasted more horses and mules than people. Prospectors arrived in the area in 1875. At the height of the mining, Ouray had more than 30 active mines. The town — after changing its name and that of the county it was in several times — was incorporated on October 2, 1876, named after Chief Ouray of the Utes, a Native American tribe. By 1877 Ouray had grown to over 1,000 in population and was named county seat of the newly formed Ouray County on March 8, 1877.The Denver & Rio Grande Railway arrived in Ouray on December 21, 1887. It would stay until the automobile and trucks caused a decline in traffic. The last regularly scheduled passenger train was September 14, 1930. The line between Ouray and Ridgway was abandoned on March 21, 1953.
The Aztec Ruins National Monument is located close to the town of Aztec and northeast of Farmington, near the Animas River preserves ancestral Pueblo structures in north-western New Mexico. The site was declared “Aztec Ruin National Monument” on January 24, 1923, and with a boundary change it was renamed “Ruins” on July 2, 1928. As an historical property of the National Park Service the National Monument was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Aztec Ruins was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, as part of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, on December 8, 1987. Follow ancient passageways to a distant time. Explore West Ruin, a center of ancestral Pueblo society that once housed over 500 masonry rooms. Look up and see original timbers holding up the roof. Search for the fingerprints of ancient workers in the stucco walls. Listen for an echo of ritual drums in the reconstructed “Great Kiva.” Adventure into the past. The Ruins are open in the summer from 8 AM to 6 PM, seven days a week, and in the winter from 8 AM to 5 PM, seven days a week.
Salmon Ruins and Heritage Park, with more ancestral Pueblo structures, lies a short distance to the south, just west of Bloomfield near the San Juan River. The buildings date back to the 11th to 13th centuries, and the misnomer attributing them to the Aztec civilization can be traced back to early American settlers in the mid-19th century. The actual construction was by the ancestral Puebloans, the Anasazi. The site was declared “Aztec Ruin National Monument” on January 24, 1923, and with a boundary change it was renamed “Ruins” on July 2, 1928. As a historical property of the National Park Service the National Monument was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Aztec Ruins was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, as part of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, on December 8, 1987.
Dulce Base is the unofficial name for an alleged secret underground facility under the Archuleta Mesa in Dulce, New Mexico, United States. The base is claimed to be a “genetics lab” in which both humans and extraterrestrial beings cooperatively conduct experiments.
The Jemez Valley runs from an area just north of the Jemez Pueblo up through to the Valles Caldera preserve. Along this 66 mile stretch of National Scenic Highway you’ll find natural hot springs, great fishing spots, endless hiking trails, and lovely camp sites. For those looking for more modern comforts there are many places to shop, dine and spend the night. Over 3 million visitors pass through the area each year. Jemez Springs is an easy hour’s drive from either Albuquerque or Santa Fe. Only 45 minutes from Los Alamos. It’s a great place for people looking to get away for the day or weekend. Discover rest and relaxation in the fresh mountain air.
Espanola is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Espanola, incorporated in 1925, is situated in an area that Juan de Onate declared a capital for Spain in 1598. Espanola is well-known as the first Capital City in America. At the 2000 census the city had a total population of 9,688. The area now known as Espanola was the first European-founded capital of the “New World”. In 1880, when the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, the “Chile Line” was being constructed in the area, Amado Lucero and his wife Josefita opened a restaurant to accommodate the railroad workers. The daughter of the famous Don Rafael Lopez of Santa Fe, Josefita could easily trace her roots to the earliest Spanish settlers of the region. Consequently, the railroad workers referred to the restaurant as “Espanola’s”, that is, the Spanish woman’s restaurant. Soon the railroad started calling the area “Espanola” and the name stuck. Amado, Josefita and their daughter Eliza Lucero Hill are buried at the foot of the altar inside the Church of the Holy Cross in nearby Santa Cruz. Descendants of theirs continue to reside in the Espanola Valley. Espanola has grown to include many of the adjacent rural communities.This includes the area in which Don Juan de Onate declared a capital for Spain in 1598 and Don Diego de Vargas’ new villa at Santa Cruz. Onate arrived in the Espanola Valley on July 11, 1598 at the confluence of the Chama River and the Rio Grande, where he established a camp at a place then called Yunque-Yunque. He created a Spanish settlement in an area already inhabited by the indigenous descendants of the Anasazi. The treatment of the natives was typical of the Conquistadores at that time, with enslavement and brutality being a mainstay, despite the initially warm welcome.
Chimayo is about 30 minutes north of Santa Fe, in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Chimayo was founded near the end of the 17th century by Spanish settlers in a fertile valley nourished by the Santa Cruz River and protected by the surrounding foothills. The settlers became experts in farming, stock raising and wool weaving. To protect themselves from the threats inherent in a frontier life they created the fortified plaza of San Buenaventura, now the Plaza del Cerro. It is the last surviving fortified plaza in the United States. The descendants of those early settlers are still expert in many of the traditions for which Chimayo became famous, including its high-quality weaving, red Chile, horse and sheep raising, and fruit orchards. Chimayo is also famous for traditional Hispanic and Tewa Indian arts including wood carving, paintings of saints on retablos (flat wood slabs) and bultos (sculptures), tin working, colcha embroidery, and pottery. Chimayo is also believed by many to be the site of a miracle which occurred about 200 years ago. Miraculous healings are believed to have occurred at the site where a wooden crucifix was unearthed. Because of this a chapel was built in 1816 called el Santuario de Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas. This chapel, now commonly called el Santuario de Chimayo, is the destination of thousands of pilgrims and travelers each year who come for various reasons; some hoping to be healed, some simply for curiosity, and some hoping to be restored spiritually by the tranquility and hospitality of the surroundings. Many believers in the Santo Niño de Atocha also come to Chimayo. In the beginning of World War II many New Mexico soldiers were stationed in the Philippines because of their fluency in Spanish.
Santa Fe is the capital city of New Mexico, and is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of Santa Fe County. Santa Fe (literally “holy faith” in Spanish) had a population of 62,203 according to the April 1, 2000 United States census. The population estimate for July 1, 2006 was 72,056. Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The founding of the city in 1610 pre-dates the settlement of Plymouth Colony (1620-1621) in Massachusetts and compares with Jamestown, Virginia (1607). It is the third oldest surviving city in the United States after St. Augustine (1565) and Pensacola (1559), both in Florida and the oldest capital city. Settled by Spain and heavily influenced by its years as a Mexican city, Santa Fe is a unique blend of Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo-Saxon cultures. It is an important southwest cultural center. Its Opera is known throughout the world, and it enjoys a reputation as a gathering place for writers and artists. A large part of Santa Fe’s charm, reputation, and attraction to visitors is the character of is architecture and housing style. Officially nicknamed “The City Different,” it is filled with high-walled adobe structures and narrow, winding streets that have been carefully preserved. In addition to being the political capital of the state, it is also a center for commerce and light industry as well as a center for science and technology. The first known inhabitants of New Mexico were members of the Clovis culture of Paleo-Indians (10,000 to 9,000 B.C.E.). Later inhabitants include Native Americans of the Anasazi and the Mogollon cultures. By the time of European contact in the 1500s, the region was already settled by the villages of the Pueblo people and groups of Navajo, Apache and Ute.
New Mexican cuisine is a regional cuisine found in New Mexico, reflecting the regional climate and long history as part of the Native American, Mexican, and United States cultures. This form of southwest cuisine is most popular in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and California. New Mexican Cuisine is also very different than the preferred Tex-Mex style of Mexican-American food in Texas and Arizona. One of its most defining characteristics is the dominance of the New Mexican chile—in red and green varieties, depending on the stage of ripeness when picked. Other distinctive elements include blue corn, the stacked enchilada, and sopapillas into which honey is added moments before eating.The New Mexico chile, especially when harvested as green chile, is perhaps the defining ingredient of New Mexican food compared to neighboring styles. Chile is New Mexico’s largest agricultural crop. Within New Mexico, green chile is a popular ingredient in everything from enchiladas and burritos to cheeseburgers, french fries, bagels, and pizzas, and is added to the standard menu of many national American food chains. In the early twenty-first century, green chile has also become increasingly available outside of New Mexico. Before the arrival of Europeans, New Mexico’s current borders overlapped the areas of the Navajo, Mescalero, and Chiricahua tribes. The Spaniards brought their cuisine which mingled with the indigenous while the area was part of Mexico. At the end of the Mexican-American War, New Mexico became part of the United States, and was strongly influenced by incoming U.S. tastes.
Albuquerque is a tapestry of cultural centers, architecture, artwork, cuisine and ethnicity. Traditions and customs handed down from generation to generation are evident in the daily life of this vibrant southwestern city. More than 70 different ethnicities are found in Albuquerque New Mexico including Native American, Asian, Middle Eastern, And Hispanic and Latino creating an exceptional and unique community blend. Visiting one of the many museums and cultural centers in Albuquerque New Mexico gives a good idea of the heritage and traditions encompassed in the city’s history. Two cultural centers to note are the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and the National Hispanic Cultural center where history, culture and local art are intertwined. Albuquerque’s Museum of Art and History gives a new perspective to the city with
exhibits on the city’s origins as a colonial Spanish village. Albuquerque is home to the University of New Mexico (UNUM), Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia National Laboratories, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, and Petroglyph National Monument. The Sandia Mountains run along the eastern side of Albuquerque, and the Rio Grande flows through the city, north to south.
Grants, The 3 Grant brothers — Angus, Lewis and John were contracted to build the railroad through this region of New Mexico. As they established base camps during their work westward, the first in this region became known as Grant’s Camp, then Grant’s Station and eventually simply Grants. The town grew as a farming community until 1950 when a Navajo rancher discovered uranium on Haystack Mountain, 10 miles west of town. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission contracts immediately created a mining boom in Grants for what turned out to be one of the largest uranium reserves in the world. This prosperity lasted until 1983, when a recession forced the closure of Grant’s uranium mines and mills.Although Grants was founded in the late 1870s, people had been making this region their home since the 12th century, when the Anasazi established an advanced civilization in Chaco Canyon to the north. With more than 5,000 inhabitants, Chaco included 40 underground ceremonial kivas and communal living quarters with more than 600 rooms. The Anasazi suddenly disappeared, but anthropologists trace the roots of today’s Native American Pueblo Indians living throughout western New Mexico to these ancient people. Today, Grants is a growing tourist destination favored for its fishing and boating at Bluewater and Ramah lakes, its championship golf, its proximity to Anasazi ruins and its outdoor recreation in national monuments and forests.
Gallup was founded in 1881 as a railhead for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The City was named after David Gallup, a paymaster for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It is the most populous city between Albuquerque, and Flagstaff, Arizona. Gallup is sometimes called the “Indian Capital of the World”, for its location in the heart of Native American lands, and the presence of Navajo, Zuni, Hopi and other tribes. One-third of the city’s population has Native American roots. Gallup’s nickname references the huge impact of the Native American Cultures found in and around Gallup. Route 66 runs through Gallup, and the town’s name is mentioned in the lyrics to the song, Route 66. In 2003, the U.S. and New Mexico Departments of Transportation renumbered US Highway 666, the city’s other major highway, as Route 491, since the number “666″ is associated with Satan and Devil worship, and thus it was considered offensive to some people. Some local Navajo felt that the renumbering would prevent the route from being “cursed.”
El Malpais National Monument, There is much evidence of past volcanic action in New Mexico, including Capulin Volcano in the northeast. Several lava plugs – inner remnants of ancient volcanoes – near Ship-rock in the northwest and large lava fields around Carrizozo, south of Socorro and south of Grants, together with various smaller areas. The deposits near Grants are the largest, and most are contained within El Malpais National Monument, a relatively little-visited preserve to which entry is free and facilities are somewhat limited, to one extended trail, three shorter loop trails and a few overlooks, though there is much scope for off-trail, backcountry exploration. The lava covers an area of 60 by 35 miles; interstate 40 crosses the northern margin, location of the visitor center, but the scenery is much better viewed from NM 117 which heads south from I-40 exit 89, right along the edge of the twisted black rocks which stretch westwards to the horizon. The far side of the monument is reached by NM 53 starting at exit 81 of the interstate, also running next to the lava for a while before moving away to the west as the land becomes more hilly (sloping up to the continental divide) and wooded; most of the western parts of the monument are only accessible by unpaved forest tracks. El Malpais National Conservation Area is a separate preserve with slightly less regulation that encloses the national monument on most sides and also contains volcanic remnants, together with sandstone cliffs, mountains and forests.   To Be Continued, see part two 

The Trail Of The Ancient..the grand circle Part 2

Advertisement