October 20th 2016 - Albuquerque, New Mexico

October 17th - Albuquerque, NM

Well, yesterday turned out to be a longer day. Ray and I left Aztec shortly after 9:30 and began our drive on Highway 550 to Albuquerque. Surprisingly, we climbed another 2000 feet to 7450 feet elevation at the highest and the first 2 hours stayed at around 7000 feet. Only the last hour of the drive do you start to descend down to 5700 feet. The first couple of hours is pretty much like travelling through "badlands". Not very interesting. The last hour, as we started to descend, is spectacular with the fall colours, hills of red and white rock and the green of the pine trees. I can see why the balloon tours are so popular here.

We'd planned to stay overnight at the Star Ana Casino which is 15 minutes away from the Ford Dealer, so we were only a short distance away for our 8 am appointment today. Unfortunately they no longer allow overnight camping so on to Plan B. After having a quick bite of lunch and a walk for Freya (unfortunately there was tons of goathead and I went to help Freya and Ray as they had it stuck everywhere!) ... we went directly to the Ford Dealer and dropped off the car, signed all of the paperwork and will wait to hear from them tomorrow as to what the problem is (and how much it is going to cost.). The Ford Dealer had a deal with Enterprise car rental a mile down the road so we went there and rented a car for 2 days so we can explore the area.

Our new wheels.

2017 Dodge Journey

Next we needed a place to stay and I'd already earmarked a place that takes Passport America, The Enchanted Trails RV Park and Trading Post, right off I-40. A little noisy but for $20/night for 50 amp when the temps reached 86 F yesterday ... I'm all in. We need to be plugged in as we need to leave Freya at home while we explore the city. This park is very eclectic with several vintage trailers you can rent out to stay in. Route 66 plays a big part of their display. There's a great dog walking area behind the park, but Freya needed to wear her boots due to the goathead. Her first few steps were funny but she soon was comfortable running around without getting stickers in her paws.

1950 Hudson Commodore towing a 1954 Vakashunette

1959 Spartan

1963 Winnebago with a Hudson as a tow vehicle.

Where the R-Pod idea came from???

October 19th - Petroglyph National Monument

Tuesday is shopping day for Costco and Walmart as "Mother Hubbard's cupboard" is bare. We decided to stop at a Brew Pub, called the Blue Grasshopper. We shared a wood fired margarita pizza and drank a glass of beer. Yummm. The call came from Ford shortly after lunch regarding the car. Yes the steering pump was shot and it was going to cost! They won't be able to get it fixed as they have to order the pump and it won't be in until late Thursday. Fortunately, I'm able to book 2 more days at the campsite at 20% off. They are extremely accommodating here.

Wednesday we were out the door by 9 am on our way to the Petroglyph National Monument. The park volunteer at the Visitor's Centre noticed Ray's camera and suggested we take a less popular trail as it's better for pictures. The trail was 1 1/2 miles long (we only went two-thirds of it) but flat and sandy so easy to walk in the Piedras Marcadas Canyon. The glyphs are all on lava rock. It didn't take us very long to complete.

One of the most publicized glyphs.

Some of the glyphs were made after the Spanish came to America as this depicts a horse and rider.

This roadrunner was hopping along following us.

Once back at the car, we decided to go to "Old Town" Albuquerque and scare up some authentic Mexican Food. We ate at the Hacienda del Rio Restaurant and Cantina. A margarita is definitely in order after all that walking. Our meals are excellent and we ate so much we had to walk around the plaza and a few of the stores just to wear off our food. There are lovely shops and hidden plaza's everywhere. They also have lovely jewelry, but we just window shopped.

The Plaza

San Felipe de Neri Church

They have these dried chili's hanging everywhere in Old Town

It certainly is a busy day for Ray, so he spent the rest of the day reclined. I sat outside with Freya and enjoyed the breeze. (We tried to see as much as we could before moving on Friday)

October 20th - Rio Grande Nature Centre

Thursday, our last day here hopefully, we decided to check out the Rio Grande Nature Centre in hopes of getting close to the Rio Grande River for some pictures. Ray always wanted to see this river as it stars in a lot of westerns and country songs. The Visitor Centre at the nature centre is quite interesting as it has a room with glass viewing windows  facing into a large pond with lots of ducks and turtles. There is even a couple of ladies painting.

Red Eared Slider Turtle

Trail to the River

After walking the short trail to the river we were unable to get a good picture of it due to the heavy foliage. We decided to drive to Tingley Park and try again. We drove by lots of ponds where people are fishing at, but no river! Finally at the end of the road there appeared to be a path down to the river so we slogged through. Yes ... there it is. I found it to be very muddy and very narrow, not what I expected.

As both places only took about an hour we decided to go back to the Petroglyph National Monument to take the most popular trail to see a few more glyphs. I'm glad the park volunteer sent us to the other trail the day before, as it was an easier walk and hundreds more glyphs to see. At the Bocco Negra Canyon Ray only walked up one-third the way up the hill as it's too steep to carry on.

After all that walking, we wanted to try out a Diner's Drive-in's and Dives location called Nexus I'd read up on.  Bonus, it's a Brew Pub!  We sampled four of their beer and every one is great, as is the food.   Ray ordered an appy of Catfish Nuggets for $8 and got a bowl of three fillets cut up and breaded in cornmeal.... yumm!

Back at home we waited for the call on the car. Ray took the rental back and they drove him to the Ford Dealer. He was back home by 5:30, so another long day. Tomorrow we leave and get back to the things we planned.

Although we didn't expect to see Albuquerque this trip we enjoyed it. We found the people  here to be extremely friendly and considerate from the Ford service people, rental car people, RV Park resort people and everyone else we came in contact with. We would definitely come back again.

October 14th - 15th 2016 - Aztec, New Mexico

October 14th - Aztec New Mexico

Friday morning we left the Mesa Verde RV Park by 10 am for the short drive to Durango and then south on Highway 550 to Aztec, New Mexico. The drive was spectacular, up over the La Platta Mountains and then down into the valley with all of the fall colours. We even passed a small ski-hill chairlift being serviced for the coming season. No snow yet. but it is a commin!

We arrived about 1 1/2 hours later into Aztec and were set up shortly after. The plan is to visit the Aztec Ruins National Monument, and hunt up some sandstone arches. There's only 2 days to see stuff so that will probably be as much as we get done. The weather is forecast to be around 75 F for the next few days so we will take it! Not a bad campsite and the walk along the river is excellent for Freya.

Dry camping area. Too treed for Satellite Dish but beautiful.

What! I want both sticks!

Saturday, October 15th

OH NO!!! Trouble in Paradise! Saturday as we enjoyed a lazy morning, we decided to check out the Aztec Arches and see the ruins at 8 am on Sunday so Ray could get some good morning sun. The arches location map available at the Visitor's Centre just gives you approximate directions and distance using your odometer.  There are also GPS co-ordinates, which don't help us.  The roads are soft sand among all of the oil wells and pipes.

We only got to one area and then the power steering went in the car. Last time this happened it was a burst hose and the motor almost caught on fire. This time fortunately, it was the pump we think, as no smoke! Ray will now have to tow the car with the coach into Albuquerque for an appointment Tuesday morning. Good thing we have "jello plans". We will just rent a car and tour Albuquerque while the car is being fixed. Probably take 2 to 3 days. Not sure where we will stay for the duration yet, but there is a casino close to the Ford dealer, where we will stay Monday night.  We'll have to tow the car ... not drive it for the 8 am appointment. I do not have enough muscle to do that very long and it's unsafe!

Outcrop Arch

Pillar Arch

Unnamed Arch

October 16th, 2016 - Aztec National Monument

October 16th - Aztec National Monument

Ray here for this one.  This morning saw me out the door and down the 2 blocks to the Aztec National Monument.  This is another great pueblo of, not the Aztecs, but the ancestral Chacoan Puebloan People.  The Spanish explorers screwed, up just like naming Montezuma Castle in Cottonwood.  This site is one of the larger sites we've been able to enter (Tuzigoot and BeshBaGowa are some others). The following pictures show an overview of how large the site is:

North Wall and Fall Colours

West Wall Kiva with my Very Own Diva! lol

The largest kiva at the site is called The Great Kiva.  Between 1921-1934 a team led by Earl Morris excavated and then reconstructed the structure.  A unique feature of this kiva is 15 surface rooms surrounding the central chamber.  Here are two pics of the exterior:

Deb showing the size of the interior chamber of The Great Kiva

 

There is a second large kiva a short distance away from The Great Kiva.  The experts postulate this second kiva was used as another kind of ceremonial chamber.

Second Large Kiva with The Great Kiva in the background.

Interior of the Second Kiva

Here's some pictures showing some close ups of the most preserved part of the site:

At other sites we've viewed a couple doors leading along a straight pathway.  These doorway paths are certainly pronounced at this site.  This is the fist site where we've so many windows do the same thing.

Ahh Yes.  That lower brace in the door gave me a rather large "rash" on the top of my head.

This site also includes quite a few original artifacts and other unique structures.  Keeping in the doorway theme, the next two pictures are of a mat of willows sewn with yucca cord.  The mat is still in the location the inhabitants left it over 800 years ago.

Also door related is the next picture of a door connecting rooms at their corner.  These corner doorways are rare and unique to Chacoan Puebloan Great Houses.

The next pictures show roofing in the rooms that, once again, are original to the site.  The larger beams were packed from up to 20 miles away.  These beams, or vigas, are made of widely spaced Spruce, Douglas fir or Ponderosa Pine.  The overlying smaller beams, or latillas, are made of aspen or pine.

The pictures below show various timbers still in their original location and the stone structure used to hold these up.

The last pictures are two more items rare or unique in the various pueblos found around the Four Corners area (where Utah, Colorodo, Arizona and New Mexico state lines meet).  The first two show how the people incorporated lines of green stone within the exterior walls.  Of course the meaning is lost in history, however these are associated with water and community protection according to more recent local Puebloans.

The second rare feature is these remnants of the upper walls of an unusual tri-wall structure, one of only a handful found in the Southwest.

The Aztec Ruins National Monument is recognized as a World Heritage Site... I can sure see why.
I'll turn the next blog back over to Deb.

Mesa Verde 3

Thursday, Ray and I spent a relaxing day at the RV Park doing a little of this and a little of that in preparation for moving on tomorrow. Ray even had a hot tub early in the afternoon so I could wash his towel and bathing suit to be able to pack it away until the next time whenever that will be ... Christmas in Casa Grande???

Anyways by 2 pm my boy was antsy and he "hummed and hawwed" for an hour and then finally made the decision to go back into the park to take some more photos, all locations driveable he promised. This was the first evening that there were not any clouds to hamper his efforts since we arrived. He had a marvelous couple of hours so here are a few more pictures.

On the way up the mountain Ray stopped at this viewpoint to capture a picture of the Mancos Valley and the LaPlata Mountain.

The road to the Cliff Palace had some wildlife. Ray spotted a coyote on the road in front of him.  The coyote strolled right past the window and just stopped and looked at him when he got out of the car so he could take a picture  A little before that he spotted a flock of wild turkeys.

I guess the turkeys felt safe as American Thanksgiving is not until the end of November and ours is over! :)

The next pictures are of Cliff Palace as the sun was setting in the sky.

Next was more pictures of Spruce Tree House.

The final 2 pictures are of Cortez City Park that Ray took earlier in the week while walking Freya. Absolutely beautiful.

It is a wrap for Mesa Verde and area. Ray and I thoroughly enjoyed the area and would definitely come back again.  Five days here and we still didn't manage to tour the many pueblos in Canyons of The Ancients National Monument.