Albuquerque / Los Alamos:
Since much of our trip has also been a musical journey, we thought it
appropriate to drive on the short stretch of Route 66 called the Musical Highway. Surprisingly, there are not many of these
roads, this one probably being the best.
Of course it took us a few tries to get used to staying on the rumble
strips and maintain the proper speed (thanks to cruise control). But the short refrain of “America the
Beautiful” made it a beautiful experience!
What better place to experience America than on Route 66:
Speaking of highways, look at these fantastic designs on the highway
overpasses!
This is the overpass to the hot air balloon festival grounds:
Although I have lived in New Mexico and visited many times, I had never
been to Los Alamos. My first surprise
was to learn that this city is on the top of a mesa, actually 2 mesas connected
by a bridge.
In order to better understand Los Alamos, we visited two museums: the Bradbury
Science Museum and the Los Alamos History Museum.
The Bradbury Science Museum
traces the history of the WWII Manhattan Project including stories about the
people who were involved. It also
highlights current projects by the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The Los Alamos History Museum presents the history of the
Los Alamos Ranch School which was taken over for use during the Manhattan
Project. There are other historical homes on the property that are fun to
tour. The Hans Bethe House on Bathtub
Row features a replica of a Cold War Los Alamos living room and exhibits
throughout the house highlighting the 70+ years of post-World War II history. Here is a real Nobel Prize!
Farmington:
This farming community embraces it’s native cultural
heritage with these beautifully decorated vases on the street corners:
Chaco Culture
National Historical Park was the primary reason for our trip to this
northern city. This is a National World
Heritage Site and a must see! It’s not
easy to get to, across Navajo lands on very rough unpaved roads – but it’s
worth the trip.
Our previous visits to Taos Pueblo and Puye Cliff Dwellings
only provided a part of the story about the northern New Mexican native
tribes. Chaco showed us that these
Native Americans were engineers, astronomers, master masons, urban planners and
more!
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| Multiple kivas to accomodate various functions |
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| Ceremonial Kiva |
Here’s a shot of Shiprock Monument as we “sail” out of New
Mexico and into northern Arizona:
Arizona, pt. 2
Chinle:
We are now on the Navajo
Reservation! We are staying a few nights
in Chinle, Arizona as it is the gateway to Canyon de Chelly National Monument
where native people have lived for nearly 5,000 years!
Our first stop is the Visitor
Center at Canyon de Chelly where we are able to go into a Navajo hogan.
There are many ancient dwellings in
the Canyon and tons of awesome views!
Here are my favorites:
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| Spider Rock |
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| White House |
Four Corners:
Before we continue our journey into western Colorado, we go
through Four Corners. What fun it is to
be in 4 states at once!
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| New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado |
Next we continue our exploration of native cultures in Colorado …