When We Could Travel – A Look Back (III)

For this post, we’re continuing with our 2006 vacation to the Southwestern USA.  Yes, I was still working so this was actually a vacation.  Being retired now, such an adventure would be called a ‘road trip’. 

Our next stop on this particular vacation was at the El Morro National Monument.  This park covers about 1,273 acres and it’s located on an ancient east-west trial in western part of New Mexico.  El Morro was established as a National Monument in December of 1906. 

Loved the spectacular flowers that we spotted on this cane cholla cactus in the park.  This usual height for this variety of cholla is about 3.2 feet but in the right environment, they can grow up to 4.5 feet tall and they can live for 20 years or more.

Notes: There are 35 species of cholla cactus and they are known for their barbed spines that tenaciously affix to skin, fur and clothing.  Stands or groups of cholla are referred to as cholla gardens.  Many individual plants in a cholla garden will often have the same DNA because they were formerly tubercles of the original plant.

This is a view along one side of the mesa at El Morro.  In Spanish, ‘El Morro’ means the headland.  Between roughly 1275 and 1350 AD, as many as 1,500 people of the Ancestral Puebloan culture lived on top of El Morro in an 875 room mesa top pueblo.  The pueblo ruins on top of the mesa are accessible via a trail but it was too hot for us to climb to the top.  The village was situated on the old Zuni-Acoma Trail, an important prehistoric trade route. 

So what was the historic attraction toward this mesa or promontory in middle of the desert?  The answer is simple…water!  As shown in the photo, there is an oasis hidden right under the edge of the cliffs.  Its on the other side of that fence.  This place has served as a critical stopover over the centuries for a variety of travelers crossing through this arid and desolate area.

We were surprised to learn that the pool at the base of El Morro isn’t spring fed.  Quite simply, it’s a natural catchment basin that is filled by water runoff from the cliff face and it’s the only perennial water source in the monument.  As you can see, the pool is situated so that it isn’t directly in the sunshine.  

Over the centuries, travelers have left their signatures, names, dates and stories on the walls of the sandstone cliff.  Many are faded but a number of them can still be seen today.  The oldest historic visible inscription was left here back on April 16, 1605 by Juan de Onate.  He was the first governor of the Spanish colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico.  The earliest inscription by Anglo-American emigrants dates back to 1858.

To learn more about El Morro National Monument, you should go to https://www.nps.gov/elmo/index.htm. 

Our next stop was at the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site near Ganado Arizona.  In 1878, ten years after the Navajos were allowed to return from exile to this area, (their historical homeland), John Hubbell purchased this trading post.  It was considered a meeting ground of two cultures, the Navajo and the settlers in the area who wanted to trade.

When the Navajo returned to their homeland in the Four Corners area, it ended what their people refer to as the “Long Walk of the Navajo.”  They had been forced off their lands and forced to take an 18-day, 300 mile trek to federally designated lands in eastern New Mexico.  At least 200 Navajo died during the “long walk’.  Return to their homeland marked one of the few times that the U.S. government permitted a tribe to return to their tribal lands.
 

To learn more about the exile/long walk of the Navajo, you can just go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Walk_of_the_Navajo.

Although the Hubbell Trading Post is currently closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, when it reopens you’ll find that it’s an interesting place to visit…and to shop!  The Trading Post has been selling merchandise and some amazing Native American art since 1878.  This historic site also includes a native hogan (home), a farm, the visitor center and Hubbell’s home.  Check out this attraction at https://www.nps.gov/hutr/index.htm.  FYI, the Hubbell family lived here until 1967…

Driving along the back roads to our next destination, we passed a couple of cattle.  They looked pretty healthy but there sure wasn’t much of anything to graze on in the area.

Laurie’s eagle eye spotted this little burrowing owl sitting on a fence post right next to the road.  He’s so small he’d sure be easy to miss as you drove by!  Just a little larger than a robin, these owls are from 7.5 inches to 11 inches long, weigh between 4.9 and 8.5 ounces and their wing span is no more than 24 inches.  The good news is that these little hunters are not endangered as their range has expanded as humans change the landscape.

Borrowing owls can be found in any open dry area with low vegetation.  As per their name, they nest and roost in burrows…such as those excavated by prairie dogs.  Unlike most other kinds of owls, they are often active during the day but most of their hunting occurs at night when their night vision and hearing work to their advantage.  Interestingly, due to the fact that they live in open grasslands instead of forests, these owls have developed longer legs, enabling it to sprint along the ground, as well as fly, when hunting.

Now we will be the first to agree that this attraction is overblown.  But, as a geography fan, I just had to visit the spot...and it is one of a kind.  This is an overview of The Four Corners Monument where the state lines of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico meet at a single point.  

This site is maintained as a tourist attraction by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department.  This is a political boundary that is unusual to the degree that it’s a tourist destination just because it exists.  Note the raised platform for taking photos!  Despite its commercial nature, this is a popular destination…

The monument consists of a granite disk embedded with a smaller bronze disk around the point, surrounded by smaller, appropriately located state seals and flags representing both the states and tribal nations of the area.  Circling the point, starting from Colorado, the disk reads with two words in each state "Here meet in freedom under God four states".  Starting from New Mexico, the disk reads "In freedom under God four states here meet"; starting from Arizona, the disk reads "Under God four states here meet in freedom"; and starting from Utah, the disk reads "Four states here meet in freedom under God".

…and yes, like almost every tourist who visits this place that is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, we had someone take our picture!  From here, its 30 miles to the nearest gas station and there isn’t any electricity or running water at the monument.  Around the plaque and viewing platform, local Navajo and Ute artisans have set up booths where they sell souvenirs and food.  

Currently, visitors pay $10.00 per person to view and photograph the Monument.  Website: https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/four-corners-monument/.

That’s all for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave