New Mexico

On Monday we left Williams, AZ on a very nice day.  Most of the snow had melted and the temperature was coming up.  We have two weeks before we are due in the Kansas City area for an event with relatives.  As a result we are driving for a couple of hundred miles and stopping for 2-3 days.  Our route will take us through New Mexico then a brief drive through Texas and Oklahoma and then through Kansas into Missouri.  Since we had stayed in Gallup, New Mexico last year we decided to pick another town and went about 60 miles east to Grants, New Mexico.  A very small town on the old Route 66.  There are a few RV parks in town and none of them are anything special as all are designed for overnight travelers.  The one we picked is the cheapest park we have stayed in to date, only $19 per night  It is near the highway and some train tracks (as most RV parks catering to overnighters are) but the noise has not been an issue.  The park is nothing special but it provides us with full hook-ups and a laundry room, which is all we needed. We decided to stay for 3 nights as there was some sight seeing we wanted to do.

What was interesting when we checked is the host asked if we had reservations.  I told him no as I did not think it was needed for this type of park and he said that at this time of the year it becomes necessary as all are the snowbirds are heading back home (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota) and use this as a stop over.  Fortunately he did have an available space for 3 nights, but each evening the place does fill up around 5 to 7 pm.

Today, Wednesday, we went out sightseeing.  This area has numerous old volcano’s and lava flows plus some very nice rock formations.  We went to the El Morro National Monument which is a rock formation that has an interesting history to it.  The formation has a natural spring at its base so it was a stop over point for the Spaniards when they were in the area, the Calvary as well as other travelers. Some inscriptions date back 300 years.  These travelers would stop for the water and then write on the sandstone walls indicating they had been there.  In addition the Indians would carve drawings on the walls.  It was very fascinating to see the inscriptions then hike to the top and see the views of the area.

This is the natural spring

Here is an inscription from 1709

Here is a view from the top

Following our visit to El Morro we drove to another monument, La Ventana Natural Arch.  This is where nature has created a natural stone arch in the rock formation.

The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.  Tomorrow we leave for Tucumcari, New Mexico to spend the weekend.