Tuesday, November 1, 2011
We got a fairly slow start this morning because we didn't have far to go . We drove the old Route 66 through Albuquerque, but didn't stop along the busy street. Our first parks stop was at the Petroglyph National Monument on the west side of Albuquerque. We stopped at the VC to get our stamps taken care of and went out to a trailhead where there were a number of rocks with petroglyphs.
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| A character in the parking lot |
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| Two characters checking out the decorations |
Leaving the rock pictures behind, we took Interstate 40 to Grants, New Mexico, and stopped at a multi-agency VC for our stamps and information. We watched the video there, and then went down to a little park in the middle of town for our lunch. We had hardly opened the campers when the first of several probably skid row residents came by to "chat" and ask for a handout. It didn't take us too long to finish up and get back on the road, headed for El Malpais National Monument. That is pretty much a hiking destination, and since we weren't doing any of that, we just stopped at the VC, chatted with the ranger, got our stamps and then headed on to El Morro National Monument. El Morro is not too far from the western border of New Mexico. It was a pretty drive through wooded hills between El Malpais and El Morro, and the elevation is approximately 7500 ft., so it was cool. It was too late in the day to take any of the short trails at El Morro, but we stopped at the VC, got our stamps and watched the video, after taking numerous photos of El Morro. The ranger told us you can still see the handholds that the Indian women used when they decended from the top to fill the water jugs, then climbed back up balancing the water on their heads. There are ruins on the top, but we didn't get to see them.
Power and shower were needed tonight, so we bypassed the free little campground in the Park, and found a nearby RV campground. I'm sure we've stayed in worse, but can't remember when. At least we have power so we can run our little space heater.
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