Southwest Trip 2010 - Monday March 15

The next morning we got an early start and stopped at Petroglyph National Monument, an area that has volcanoes, archaeological sites and thousands of petroglyphs, dating back as much as 3,000 years.




Old-Style Ovens at Petroglyph National Monument Visitor Center


We spent an hour or so hiking and studying the petroglyphs.





Once again, St. Patrick kept us safe from snakes (thanks Jude!)



Dragonfly Petroglyph
Used to Signify Water, Spring, Renewal and also Shown As a Messenger

Old Mesa Top Corrals



Roadrunner Running Away

 The Sandia Mountains in the distance beyond the city of Albuquerque were beautiful in the morning light with the low-lying clouds.


Then it was time to move on, to drive I40 (which replaced Route 66 in most areas) toward Acoma Pueblo. I had been doing a lot of reading about the area and liked seeing Mount Taylor, one of the 4 Sacred Peaks of the Navajo, in person. They called it Blue Bead Mountain.

Sacred Mesa Near Acoma Pueblo

We arrived at Acoma Pueblo to be told that the next tour wasn't for 2 hours. You are not allowed up onto the mesa top on your own. Luckily for us, they added another tour...we had many miles to go that day so didn't have time to wait for two hours.



Acoma Pueblo, also called Sky City, is built on top of a 367 foot sandstone mesa and is the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States.  It was founded sometime between 1100 and 1200 AD.  It has a bloody history due to some incidents with Spaniards, but is a very peaceful place now.  You could easily miss it, driving by, because the dwellings are built of rock or adobe and blend so well into the mesa. 


Acoma Pueblo In the Distance

  The site was probably chosen for settlement for defensive reasons due to it's sheer sides. Until modern times the only access was by a hand carved staircase cut into the sandstone. The houses are handed down from mother to youngest daughter. Only 30 people live there year-round, the other houses are used for ceremonial times, etc. Some look very, very old and others have modern items around. We were not allowed to take pictures of the church or in the cemetery, which is on it's 4th layer. Some of the inhabitants farm on the valley floor below the mesa and other people live down in the valley instead of on the mesa top.


One of the Older Dwellings

Jack made friends with one of the Acoma dogs. I later found out that one of my favorite writers, Douglas Preston, has a dog named Acomita that he got here.

One of Several Basins Used to Capture Rainwater



San Estaban Del Rey

 Acoma Pueblo's mission church was built between 1629 and 1640 using building materials that had to be hand carried or hauled up the steep slopes of the 367 foot high mesa.  No photos are allowed.  The simple interior features a dirt floor, and birds fly and nest freely inside.  It is beautiful in a stark way.

View From Acoma Pueblo

These Very Old Ovens Are Still In Use

Metate, Ancient Grinding Tool

We walked back down to the visitor center and our car instead of taking the bus. The old stairway was blocked off, we had hoped to walk down that way.



Hidden Stairway to Acoma Pueblo

 Our next stop was in Gallup, NM for groceries and then we headed up Hwy. 491 through Tony Hillerman country. Tony Hillerman is a favorite mystery writer of mine...his stories are full of Navajo legends, culture and history. I wanted to stop at the Two Grey Hills Trading Post, which is featured in several of Hillerman's books. It was established in 1897 and is one of the few remaining historic posts on the immense Navajo reservation. Unlike most of the historic trading posts that have disappeared as the locals are more able to reach shopping malls, this one has remained open serving the local population with basic grocery needs as well as serving as a place for local residents to sell their handmade items. This area is known for it's rugs. Local women sell their prized woven tapestries that are made from the wool of local sheep. Most of the rugs only have the colors grey, black, brown and white.  Very few tourists seek out this spot and the roads are atrocious but I was very happy to reach it. On the door is a handwritten note from Tony Hillerman: "The real west starts on the porch of the Two Grey Hills Trading Post. Tony Hillerman".



The kids bought ice cream bars, and I talked to the owner about Tony Hillerman, and I had to ask about the rugs, which I only knew about from Hillerman's books. I was taken  to "the rug room", a tiny room in the back of the store. It is a treasure chest...I could have spent hours just looking at all of the beautiful rugs. He told me about each weaver...her age, her family, how many rugs she made per year, how long she had been weaving.   The Two Grey Hills rugs are unique due to their colors - the weavers prefer to use natural colors that come from their sheep instead of dyed wool. 

I want to go back and spend a whole day here.

The Small Rug I Purchased

For more information go to:     http://www.twogreyhills.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hillerman


Navajo Country Sacred Spots

We drove on to Shiprock, another holy site of the Navajo. It does indeed resemble a ship shimmering in the distance on a sea of desert sand. Unfortunately from the road we were on, it was impossible to get a picture without power lines in the way. The town of Shiprock was full of loose dogs and skateboarders that we had to dodge when we stopped for a bathroom at Burger King.

We decided to camp in Bloomfield, as close as possible to Chaco Canyon, where the campground can fill early in the morning. Logan and I went into town to the grocery store which closed 10 minutes after we arrived.  So, we went on a quest for firewood. There was no wood to be found anywhere in town! Mid-March isn't exactly camping season though. We went to bed early and spent another very cold night.