March 22, 2010
The road from Gallup, NM to Cortez, CO, used to be numbered 666, but there ws an outcry for several years to change the designation to 491. People loved to call it the “Devil’s Highway,” partly due to its “mark of the beast” name, but also because there were an unusual number of fatalities. The protestors won and now the signs read 491 on top and 666 on the bottom. We followed this road until we eventually arrived in Cortez, CO, the gateway to Mesa Verde National Park. The stretch of road through the Navajo reservation in northern New Mexico is rather barren and bleak, with only an occasional rock monolith that thrusts itself up incongruously (see photo). We spent about an hour and a half driving through Mesa Verde, which is still covered in many areas with a mantle of snow, and stopped at the Museum to take a guided tour of the Spruce Tree House trail. The cliff dwellings we saw are amazing, representing a few of the hundreds of such dwellings found at Mesa Verde. At one time around the year 1250 there were about 20,000 Puebloans living in the area, more people than actually populate the same area today. We are now settled in the Sundance RV Park after a tasty paella dinner at a local restaurant. We leave for Monument Valley tomorrow, trying to stay in front of a storm that may bring snow to Mesa Verde.
I also included a shot of the Navigator for the journey.
I also included a shot of the Navigator for the journey.
Papa ~ with a Navigator like that how do you keep your eyes on the road!? :-) We love you so much and we miss you! Kiss the Navigator and her trusty assistant for us.
ReplyDeleteHope you took your long undies - looks cold in that snow! Did you miss the new falling snow? I really missed you today. A new volunteer was scheduled to read with me. I had all the papers ready, but no time to record anything for a break. No one showed up, so at 10 a.m. I went on the air alone and said "if there are any volunteers listening I sure could use some help down here." Unfortunately, no one showed up. The volunteer did finally arrive at 11 a.m. I motioned him to come in, introduced him to the audience, and gave him a long article to read so I could take a deep breathe! So - I will be happy to get back to the "Steve and Martha Comedy Hour"!!!!
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