We made our move to Elephant Butte, NM, yesterday. We will be here for a month which is good because it looks like there is plenty to do around here!
El Morro National Monument was from our last stop in Gallup. This is a must see place if you are going to be anywhere near it. It is not a large monument with just a few miles of trail but it is rich in history. The huge sandstone bluff is home to hundreds if not thousands of inscriptions from the petroglyphs of the Ancient Puebloans, to the Spanish and then the early settlers. The bluff was located on a major travel route and lots of folks passing by left their marks.
If that is not enough, the trail takes you by the base of the bluff and all the inscriptions and then continues on to the top of the bluff where, after a fun jaunt across the sandstone, you come to a ruins which has been partly excavated to expose 16 rooms.
One of the oldest and most famous of the inscriptions is this of the first governor of New Mexico, Don Juan de Onate, inscribed in 1605, fifteen years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
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| Notice the writing goes right through petroglyphs |
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| translation below.... |
The Civilian Conservation Corp dug out the trail in the sandstone leading to the ruins
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| Atsinna Ruins excavated partially in 1954 |
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| Caught this beautiful window in the late afternoon sun in Zuni Pueblo |
where are you staying there as we will likely pass thru there next spring...
ReplyDeleteWe stayed in the only RV campground in Gallup....USA RV Park, it was nice enough but you are at the end of a run way, next to highway 66 and right across the street from the railroad tracks which were very active. Never been so boxed in before;) Having said that, we were running the heater most of the time due to the temperature so we did not notice some of the traffic;) Sometimes it is the only game in town!
DeleteWhat a cool site! Now we have some things to look forward to if we ever make it to Gallup area!
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