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Phase Six

Albuquerque – Santa Fe – Mesa Verde Park – Monument Valley – Page – Zion Park – Las Vegas

June 19 – July 4

Glancing at this trip’s itinerary, you might be wondering why we turned around and traveled back west again. We decided that there were just way too many interesting things to see in the four corners region (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico) to take in with just one west/east sweep. You also might be wondering why we did not visit the Grand Canyon, one of the most popular parks in the country. Just three years ago, Sandra rode a mule down to the bottom of the canyon, and I hiked down to meet her. That was the first entry I completed on my bucket list. This two year adventure around the country is the second one.

We began this trip in Albuquerque, where we spent some time in Old Town which dates back to 1706, and still has most of its original Spanish architecture that has since been converted into art galleries and touristy stores. Even though it is a major tourist destination, the neighborhood still has a very unique charm. We especially enjoyed exploring the areas numerous hidden courtyards.

On our way out of town we stopped at the Petroglyph National Monument. Sandra is very interested in petroglyphs and ancient civilizations. Being that this preserve with its nearly 25,000 carved images is considered one of the best in North America, we could not pass it up. Experts date most of the carvings in the park as being 400 to 700 years, old, but they have found a few that are believed to have been carved over 4,000 years ago.

Old Town Courtyard

Petroglyph National Monument

Our next destination was Santa Fe, which is at the top of our list of possible retirement destinations, assuming we ever get the opportunity to actually retire. Santa Fe has virtually everything we are looking for. 1) The city of 84,000 is bordered on two sides with National Forests offering over 100 hiking trails; 2) it probably has more arts and culture per capita than any other city in the country; 3) The city lies at 7,200 feet above sea level, so it’s climate is very pleasant; and 4) Santa Fe, which was founded in 1610, has much of its original Spanish architecture still intact, so it is overflowing with old world charm.

The only things we did in Santa Fe was to explore its various neighborhoods, and visit Meow Wolf. Meow Wolf is a large converted warehouse filled with art installations. I find myself at a loss to explain Meow Wolf? It's promoters describe it as an; “Immersive and interactive experience that transport audiences into fantastic realms of story and exploration. Inside guests will discover multidimensional rooms with secret passages, portals to magical worlds, ” Sandra described it as being on an acid trip without taking any drugs.

Sandra's journey from the dryer to a magical world.

Georgia O’Keeffe's Front Porch

After Santa Fe we headed out to Mesa Verde National Park. Along the way we stopped at the Abiquiu Ghost Ranch and the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The Ghost Ranch is now a retreat and education center. Formerly it was the home and studio of Georgia O’Keeffe. The ranch is located in a beautiful setting which was the inspiration for many of her paintings. I was expecting to see a collection of these paintings, and was very disappointed not to see a single one on display.

The Chaco Culture National Historical Park which sits at the end of a rough 16 mile washboard road is the home to the largest collection of pre-Columbian ruins north of Mexico. The park consists of 15 complexes spread throughout the Chaco Canyon. These communities which were founded by Ancestral Puebloans in the 800s, were home to over 4,000 people until they were abandoned in the 1200s during a prolonged drought. The ruins are in very good condition, and were far more extensive than I was expecting. Pueblo Bonito, the largest community is an impressive four-story high complex with 650 rooms.

At Mesa Verde I was happy to go camping again. Sandra is a very fair weather camper, so the last time we went camping was in Mount Rainer back last September. Though at 7,500 feet above sea level, the campground was still a little chillier at night than Sandra would have preferred. Mesa Verde is a large archaeological preserve with over 600 Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings scattered throughout the park. The most impressive of these dwellings can only be seen on ranger guided tours. We were lucking and were able to obtain tickets for all three of their tours.

The first tour we took was of the Cliff Palace. This is by far the largest and most preserved of all the communities. It is also the most popular, with a new tour passing through the village every fifteen minutes. The village hugs tight to a recess in the cliff wall, and can only be reached by taking an extremely steep trail. It is difficult to visualize the natives navigating this trail multiple times a day while carrying their supplies. Fortunately, the Park Service made this journey easier for us by adding steps and guardrails. Cliff Palace contains 150 rooms and 23 kivas and is estimated to have been home to a around a 100 people. Most of the rooms were used to store grain, while nuclear families would share a single room.

Our second tour was of Balcony House. This complex is much smaller, containing only 40 rooms, and being that it is more difficult to access is also much less overrun by tourists. It was an adventure reaching this settlement. To enter the complex we had to climb a 32 foot ladder, and to leave we had to crawl through a 12 foot long tunnel and then climb a series of shorter ladders. Our third tour was to Long House. This was our only tour where our group had the settlement all to ourselves. We appreciated the peacefulness and magnificent views from these dwellings.

Cliff Palace

Balcony House Exit

Balcony House

Long House

Our next destination was Monument Valley. where we camped again. We had quite an adventure setting up camp as it became very windy and our large tent became a sail ready to take off. You would recognize this valley from the numerous westerns that were filmed there, including five of John Wayne’s movies. They even have a tiny museum dedicated to Monument Valley's movie trivia. What makes this valley distinct is its cluster of massive sandstone buttes that dot the area. Because this land is in the Navajo Nation, much of the area is only accessible by Navajo led guides. So we decided to hire a guide to shuttle us to the various sites along very rough roads. There is only one trail in the area and even though it was a very hot day, we decided to hike it. We both almost passed out before getting back to our car, but we did it!

The next day we drove to Page. The city of Page is nothing special. Entering Page from the East you would not imagine that that there is anything of interest to see here as you drive past mile after mile of flat boring desert. The gem of this desert is hidden below ground in a series of amazingly beautiful slot canyons. To give you an idea of how stunning these canyons are. The most expensive photo ever taken which, sold for $6,500,000, was shot here. To see the photo, click here. https://eugenearttalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Antelope-Canyon-Sunbeam-4.jpg

The three most popular canyons are on Navajo Nation land, so you can only visit them on a Navajo led tour. These are the Lower Antelope, Upper Antelope, and Canyon X. The Upper Antelope is considered the most beautiful, but is very crowded. We opted for the other two. The Lower Antelope is reached by taking a long steep staircase; so many people pass on this tour. Sandy water flowing through the extremely narrow passageway over the years has carved out smooth flowing shapes in the rocks that wrap in and out throughout the canyon. We both agreed that this was by far the most incredible hike we have ever done. Because every turn would reveal a different amazing view, both of us were compelled to take a new photo every other minute. It was a very difficult process choosing just three photos to represent this canyon. The next day we did Canyon X. This canyon was not as beautiful as the previous one, but it was even less crowded, and twice as deep, offering a unique perspective and experience.

The three other major attractions in Page are boating in Lake Powell, the waterways created from the Glen Canyon Dam, the dam itself, and the far eastern finger of the Grand Canyon. It was very strange seeing so many cars pulling boats in the middle of the desert. We took a pass on the boating and instead visited Lee’s Ferry and Horseshoe Bend. Lee’s Ferry is where the folks who raft down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon put in, and Horseshoe Bend is a very scenic bend in the Colorado River which has a shape that resembles, well, a horseshoe.

Our next and final destination before dropping off the car was Zion National Park. Before reaching the park we stopped to do a short hike to see the Toadstool Hoodoos of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The trail ended in an area filled with balanced rock formations left by erosion that resemble giant mushrooms. We visited two canyons in Zion, Pine Creek Canyon and Zion Canyon. Zion, is a long deep canyon lined with sheer cliff walls that are adored by rock climbers. As you proceed into the canyon, it becomes narrower and narrower. with the road ending at the beginning of a seven mile stretch filled with shallow rushing water appropriately called , "The Narrows". Before dropping of our car and spending an evening of noise and urban excess in Las Vegas, we drove through Red Rock National Park for one last hike, a good ending for this tour.