Travels of Geo Nova

On To New Mexico

We move on to the last state in our Caravan tour, New Mexico a new state for me. Farmington is our first stop. Not much here in Farmington but it is a good launching point for a visit to Chaco canyon, a major cultural and trading center for the Ancestral Pueblos People. The trip to Chaco brought back memories of The Trans Labrador Highway. The road connecting Chaco Canyon National Park to the rest of the world is an Indian Road through Indian reservation. As it turns out the Indians are not happy that their ancestral property has been made into a park. Thus the gravel road on the Indian land has received no attention for some time. It is difficult to find fault with their feelings, nonetheless the road was an adventure at best.

Chaco Canyon is a magical place with a fascinating history. The ancestral pueblo people made this the center of their world some 1000 to 1200 years ago. The construction of a large community with a series of roads leading out in all directions was a monumental task that required a huge expenditure of recourses. They also lined up walls exactly north/south and east west. Special windows were put in to capture the summer and winter solstice. Remember they didn’t have the wheel, used rocks to cut rocks and trees that grew 50 miles away. Everything was carried on their backs. The National Parks decided to put in a dam to control water, after exhaustive scientific study for locating the dam they dug down for the foundation and found that the Pueblo people had used the same spot. What amazing people. The strangest thing is that they occupied the site for only about 300 years. It is not known why they up and left. All evidence is that they just walked away.

A visit to another Ancestral Pueblo, Aztec ruins on the surface may seem more of the same but they had a very large Kiva that was recreated by an archeologist back in 1932. The reconstruction was made as close as possible to the original based on their studies. The architectural detail was amazing including the base for the 4 large pillars supporting the roof. At the base of each pillar were 3 large stone disc, each weighing 300lbs, about 3 feet in diameter used to accommodate any natural movement of the structure. These may have been ancient people but they were as sophisticated as any contemporary culture.

Now we are on to Gallup. Here we were given a tour of a real Indian Trading Post. This institution acts as sort of a bank and safety deposit box for the local Native Americans. They may bring a valuable ceremonial item and hock it for a very low price. The trading post will store this item safely for up to at least a year when it can be reclaimed for the original amount paid out. The vault was filled with an enormous amount of jewelry, not to mention hundreds of saddles, buffalo robes and many other culturally valuable items. Gallup is where we were to have a balloon ride. Half the group had a wonderful ride but our half had our ride canceled due to weather. Fortunately both of us have had a balloon ride in the past.

Another trip was into Canyon de Chelly. This is Navaho land. We went on a tour into the lower north section of the canyon. Our Navaho driver, at least 75 years old, owned land at the end of the canyon. It was a wonderful treat to see where he and his family lived. The vehicle we were in had a flat tire, our drivers nephew Danny who was driving one of the other tour vehicles was gracious and helped fix the flat. It was all part of the adventure. The jack the had was not the correct jack so they had to dig a hole under the wheel to enable placement of the new tire.

PBS has done a piece about Canyon De Chelly. Google “Canyon songs: National Park” and you will see Danny and his children. It is beautiful.

After our trip in the canyon we had time to drive the southern rim road. We had enough time to go to the end overlook and saw Spider Rock. In Gallup we had bought a small rug made by the women that own this area of the canyon. They are the only ones that can weave the Spider rock pattern.

Our next stop was Sky City where we visited the Acama Pueblo located high up on a Massa. This is an active community where people still live today, however it is used primarily for ceremonial special occasions. The people were some of the nicest people we have meet on all of our travels. They seem not to have any of the lingering hostilities toward the White culture that usurped their ancestral lands. As our guide said they have forgiven those atrocities in the past. A very pleasant and happy people!

The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was a highly anticipated event for us and it more than meet our expectations. We were parked with about 150 Airstream Trailers in a lot that was only 300 yards or so from the field where the balloons were launched. There were about 550 Balloons in the Fiesta and they ranged from small colorful to very large specialty balloons. It is truly a spectacle to be among 500 balloons being inflated and launched. In the morning before dawn they would have 10 balloons inflate and glow. Once they launched some would go high and fast others would go low and slow to determine what the rest of the balloons would do. The balloonists call this area a box. By staying low and slow you go one direction but once you go higher the winds take you back to where you launched so now you are a box.

At night they would do what was called static inflation where the balloons would be inflated to upright but not take off. To see the glow in the dark was beyond belief. Saturday and Sunday were caped off with fantastic fireworks displays.

++++++