Back into New Mexico we make a stop at Fort Sumner to visit the Billy the Kid Museum - he is buried nearby. This small town is in hot, dry desert. A rail line carries long double storey containers of freight - not many passengers. "Oh, one train did have a passenger carriage a few weeks back" we are told.
North to Santa Rosa where we meet Route 66 which takes us into Alburquerque and an overnight stop at the same RV Park we stayed in a month ago. This completes another long driving day. Alburquerque is overlooked by the Sandia Mountains rising to over 10,000 feet and it is a nice change to see some mountains again. Further northwest we start to see some 'badlands' type country, treeless hills of porous looking earth in pinks and greys. Arriving at Bloomfield we visit some peublo ruins and a little further north at the town of Aztec there are some very well preserved ruins. These were mistakenly named Aztec Ruins but are in fact peublo ruins from 11th century. The masonry is very good. The stones are uniform is size and skillfully set with darker rows of stone in places. Rows of smaller stones are set between the larger ones, perhaps for decoration or to help hold the mud in place. Wooden beams of pine and mesquite were used for the ceiling and base for the second storey. About 500 rooms have been found around a central plaza. Within the plaza is a giant kiva (ceremonial room) which is partly underground and partly aboveground. The 90 ton roof is supported by four huge pillars constructed of crisscrossed layers of timbers which have been plastered. The kiva has been restored and is impressive. Stayed overnight at Farmington at an RV Park advertising shade trees. The chatty manager delighted in showing us his vintage care collection, one 1932 Ford bought from Australia. The park rate is expensive and has no bathrooms! We negotiated a lower rate - not our best choice!
Further west at Shiprock in the Navajo Indian Reservation we pass the Shiprock formation rising 2000 feet out of the desert. It is a sacred site and can been seen for miles.
We take a short detour from the main road to the Four Corners Monument. This is the only place in USA where four states meet - Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. There are native jewellery stalls representing all states. It is very windy during the afternoon and the RV is a bit of a handful. There are duststorms and whirlwinds and at times visibility is low. Late in the day we arrive at Monument Valley. This is a beautiful area visited last year and we wanted to show it to Ross and Jill. Giant red sandstone buttes rise singly out of the desert and canyons surround the area. The area has been the scene of many western movies. John Wayne was in four movies here including "Stage Coach" and "The Seekers". The wind has died down somewhat and Ross and Jill take a guided tour in an open jeep into the valley which they thoroughly enjoy. We had done this tour last year. The campground (a small dirt area, no facilities, fantastic view) is just too rough for our big RV so we decide to 'park' in the parking lot at the hotel and viewing area - still fantastic views, had dinner at the hotel and got up at 5.30am to watch the sun rise over the buttes - magic!
The scenery is attractive driving south to Flagstaff. Pink sandstone hills finally give way to pine forest as we climb to an altitude of 5000 feet. From Flagstaff we take a scenic route along Oak Creek Valley to Sedona - pine forest, lovely pink hills rising from the creek. There are camping areas along the creek, holiday cabins and resorts. Hugely popular area and as it is a Saturday, summer holidays and hot, the area is crowded with campers and day visitors. Swimming holes along the creek are filled with people cooling off as we slowly drive the narrow winding road into Sedona. We have no reservation and are lucky to get a site large enough for us at the RV Park. Coincidently, we are placed in the same site we had last year. It is time to clean the RV and empty the cupboards and pack for our flight home (hope I don't need an extra suitcase!) Not looking forward to going from this cool mountain area to Phoenix where the temperature is forcast to be around 44 deg. celcius for our last day there.
Some obversations from the trip: The people everywhere have been very friendly and helpful. Children are polite - "excuse me sir, yes ma'am, yes sir" are heard often. Motorists are courteous. Food is very cheap and fruit and veg are good quality. There is a big problem with obesity here. This is encouraged by supermarkets offering everything in huge containers, a mind boggling number and variety of fast food outlets and restaurants giving large servings and offering "take home boxes".
Our 39 foot RV has served us well and has been very roomy for four people. We have visited or touched on nine states and enjoyed a wonderful diversity of scenery and culture from the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico to gulf of Mexico and the bayous of Louisiana; the technology of the NASA Space Centre and tasted a variety of cuisine - huge beef ribs, green chili, enchalada, fried green tomatoes, gumbo, etouffee', po boys catfish, crawfish, margeritas!.
What a great trip!!
Fantastic Trip
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