We've also added some more pics to our photo album.
Leaving Albuquerque, our destination for Monday was Gallup New Mexico. Pretty much a freeway drive across north western New Mexico. Since the KOA was on the east side of Albuquerque we decided to follow Route 66 through the city rather than just jump straight onto the I-40 freeway. Route 66 is now Central Ave and crosses through the center of the city. It is neat to see the old hotels and motels that had sprung up along Route 66 many years ago. Some have been converted into the newer chain hotels, some have been kept and upgraded in their original form and some have fallen into disrepair and have become apparent fleabag monthly rentals or closed down and boarded up.
West of Albuquerque we jumped onto the I-40 freeway and passed numerous exits with casino after casino as it seems most, if not all, of the Pueblos are cashing in on this craze, and why not. It does seem somewhat ironic that the Native Americans have found a fortune in selling gambling and alcohol to mostly white folks.
A must see on the drive west to Gallup is the relatively new NW New Mexico visitor center. We didn't take any pics there but you can google "NW New Mexico visitor center" to see more info. What a spectacularly beautiful building and display center. It has large curved windows overlooking the desert. We commented to the park ranger that we thought that he had perhaps the best office window in the world; a stunning desert view. Some of the displays map out driving routes and hiking trails suitable for different types of vehicles and length of stay. We saw some routes which we will return for another time; lots of small roads where we would not take the trailer but which would be good for day trips out from Gallup.
Gallup has to be Native American jewelry central; this is where the high end shops (like Neiman Marcus or Indian art galleries in New York) come to shop. There are numerous trading posts and with most of them apparently being hard hit with the recession; prices are deeply discounted. By discounted, I mean 30% - not 30% off, they are selling their goods for 30% of the regular price. I asked the salesman why everything was so discounted and he said that last year it became apparent that they would go out of business (and they had survived even the Great Depression) if they did not do something to retain at least a core of their staff and that the artists whose work they sold would be destitute as a result. It was better for them to make very little profit than to go under. He said that it would have been unusual in better times for us to come into the store and not find at least 3 customers lined up to speak with each of their sales staff - there were 5 staff that afternoon chatting among themselves; maybe two other potential customers came in while we were there. There is an old historic hotel in Gallup, El Rancho, which we were told had an excellent dining room. We decided to try their chicken enchilada special. The rumors were true... excellent! El Rancho seems to be a neat old hotel with a fabulous historical feel to the lobby. It has been restored to maintain the original decor and was the hotel for movies that were made in the area in the 30's. 40's etc. Lucille Ball, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe ... the list goes on and on. (and Kris knows someone who would absolutely give ANYTHING to stay in a hotel room where Lucille Ball had slept ;-)
Continuing west into Arizona, we opted again to leave the freeway. We went north of Gallup through Window Rock then headed west towards Tuba City in Arizona. Just west of Ganado we stopped in at the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site. When we visited here 30+ years ago, it was still just a trading post. Since then it has become a National Historic Site. New visitor center and more of the whole grounds opened up. Pretty cool place.
The desert scenery on this route west is nothing short of stunningly spectacular. The colors of the mesas rising from the desert floor and the deep canyons show the rich redness of the earth in this part of the world. We stopped for a rest and a lunch in Keams Canyon, a relatively remote community in a beautiful setting.
After stopping at pretty well every Hopi gallery along the way, after Second Mesa it was getting a bit late in the day. We stopped at a Co-op were we had bought some items years ago - such a sad story. The fellow told us that last year was so bad financially that they stopped taking any items for sale - in essence, laying ff about 300 artists. We were the second people in that week - which was an improvement over the previous year, so maybe tourism is returning slowly. We found his story to be particularily sad because the co-op is where many young jewelers get their start so their economic problems affect the artists in a very deep way.
We decided that continuing to Tuba City would result in a late evening arrival in Flagstaff so we headed south across the Navajo reservation to Leupp. The landscape turned to a dead flat desert with distant mesas arising high on the horizon.
We drove through two small, and, thankfully short sand storms which were similar to the snow "white out" conditions we experience in Alberta. Luckily no damage was incurred. We heard later that the I-40 freeway was closed for awhile due to high winds and sand storms.
Flagstaff is one of our favorite "small cities". Very laid back. It has a beautifully situated university so there is lots of activities. It is also part of the Dark Skies initiative to assist the nearby Hubbell Observatory so the streetlights are turned downward and are at a minimum level of illumination. The well kept historic downtown district has a plethora of funky shops. While Gallup is Navajo and Zuni jewelery central, Flagstaff is Hopi jewelery central. We chatted with the owner of one gallery who described to us the difference between Hopi and Navajo designs. In short, symbolism is very important to the Hopi and every figure or design had a meaning, often related to water. The Navajo are interested in balance (in all things, in their religion, lives, as well as artistic work); so if a design has balance they are happy - it doesn't have to have deeper meaninig. Easy to just stroll around for a couple of hours. Stopped in a small bar for lunch where once again we were exposed to a jackalope. This one apparently being ridden by a stuffed lumberjack leprechaun.
Stayed a couple of days in Flagstaff. Stopped in at the "Museum" a bar, on Route 66 which has been declared a national historic site. The lady (Miss Jane) behind the bar asked if we were going to stay for later in the evening because it was 10 cent beer night and $2 you call drinks (basic highballs)... she excitedly told us that "... things get real crazy in here...some of em get like, gaaaaaaa!!!!". We had a couple of drinks but departed before crazy set in. We noticed that everyone, and I mean even the most disreputable looking drinkers, were very deferential to Miss Jane (all 85 pounds of her) - I suspect Miss Jane had some fire power under the counter.
From Flagstaff we headed south through Oak Creek Canyon. This is a beautiful drive with a specacular viewpoint and route through pine forests and deep canyons through Oak Creek Canyon and past deeply colored mesas as you near and pass Sedona. There is also an Indian market at the Oak Creek Canyon viewpoint where you can buy items directly from the artists.
We arrived in Phoenix to triple digit temperatures so registered in the Desert Edge RV Park and immediately jumped in the pool. Phoenix was a rest stop for a few days with a bit of fixin' thrown in... car in for oil change, transmission flush, and general check over; Mac laptop gave up the ghost so found an Apple store where it was confirmed that the video card was on it's last legs. We'll get that looked at when we get home. We went to the JW Marriott Desert Ridge resort for coffee in the mornings. Very nice place to sit outside the Starbucks and admire the beautiful gardens.
Friday night was baseball night at Chase field where we saw the home team Dbacks beat the visting Blue Jays. The game was in the bag for the Dbacks with an 8-4 lead with nobody on base, two out and two strikes in the ninth when a homerun, followed by another 2 strike homerun followed by a 2 strike double brought the tying run to the plate and drove the fans nuts with frustration. The comeback for the Jays fell just short when the next batter hit a long drive to left center but it stayed in the park for the final out and an 8-6 score. Our travel series now sits even with the home teams and visiting teams each having two wins apiece.
Saturday was Kris spa day at Nordstroms and basic shopping; Nordstrom Rack etc, followed by a nice late afternoon pooling. Sunday we got up early and went to the Desert Botanical Gardens. Getting there before any type of crowds form is just the best. We saw a coyote, numerous rabbits and lizards and many, many cacti in bloom. What a wonderful garden park in the center of a large metropolitan area. However, we must note that no jackalopes were seen in the park!
Sunday afternoon we went to the Heard Museum. Another great place. Spent a couple of hours just wandering and admiring the Southwest galleries, then sitting for a nice ice tea in their courtyard area.
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