The Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, N.M.

Monday, June 15

After picking up a park brochure at the visitor's center in Mountainaire yesterday, and a good night's rest, we were ready to tour the two missions out of the three in the monument that we had selected for this trip. (Park map his here)

 As far back as 7,000 years ago agricultural based Pueblo societies flourished here. Then, in the late 1500's Spanish explorers established a permanent colony for the primary purpose of mining salt and other valuable minerals they expected to find. Though not much in the way of valuable minerals was ever discovered, the Spanish king decided to finance the colony for the purpose of Christianizing the natives.   The Salinas Pueblo Missions  are the result of those efforts, which spanned about 70 years.

Admittedly, there has been much restoration and preservation work done to keep enough of the original structures intact to enable visitors to visualize the original complex. You can see a comparison of two different repair/preservation operations in this photo. A ranger we talked with said they make the rounds and try to work on each mission every five years or so, so this demarcation is due to differing ages and possibly different materials used in the mortar. He explained that while the fallen wall tops are topped with colored stucco to prevent further erosion, the mortar between stones is a combination of adobe soil and stucco. It does erode with the weather, but not as quickly as plain adobe.

These missions were complexes, or small cities, not just churches. A model in the museum, as well as the maps in the brochure clearly indicate huge settlements. These were all at their peak during the late 1500's through the middle of the 1600's.  Then, around the 1660's or '70's, drought and famine, disease, and the inability of the Spanish government and the Catholic church to maintain the desired level of control over this area led to the Spanish retreating. The people from this area joined other pueblo cultures further to the south, and these villages were never occupied again.

Archeological excavation has revealed some of the structures, but others remain buried under hundreds

of years of melted adobe, sand, and rubble.

A walk around the area however reveals the remaining stones peaking through mounds of adobe, and with a good imagination one can envision a thriving community. The area behind this main ruin at the Abo site is covered with mounds, most with bits of wall protruding.

In Pueblo tradition, the men do the weaving and the women build the houses (perhaps because they own and control the property!). . . lending a new meaning to the term "house work"! 
This church was built by Tia Pueblo women over a span of five years. The complexity of the church is amazing, and there was considerable help from men as the heavy timbers used for the roof and windows had to be lifted up and installed as the walls were built.

There are a few more photos of the mission ruins in the album here if you'd like to see some of those details.


After touring the ruins of the missions at Quarai and Abo we moved on to Datil Well Campground,http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/socorro/datil_well_campground.html just outside the town of Datil. We've stayed here before and have always enjoyed the quiet.

The campground is never very full, and it's well maintained. The signs displaying the historic information for the area, and the little visitors center, are nice touches that one doesn't usually find in a BLM campground. The best part is, the camping fee is only $5, which is cut in half with a Golden Age Pass. Now, you can't beat that! From the BLM website: "Datil Well Recreation Area Campground includes one of 15 water wells along the old Magdalena Livestock Driveway. The old cattle trail was established in the 1800s and stretched 120 miles from Springerville, Arizona, to Magdalena, New Mexico. The area includes 3 miles of hiking trails in piñon-juniper and ponderosa pine woodlands, with scenic views of the San Augustin Plains."

I had never noticed the sign leading to the trail before, but when we saw it on our loop around the campground this time I decided to give it a try. In the morning Steve was occupied with trying to resolve some electronic gremlins  (I think your gremlins hitched a ride with us Grayce!) so Shiner and I explored part of the trail.

It's beautifully maintained, and probably not heavily used. There wasn't a spec of litter anywhere!

The trail starts at space 6, then crosses a gravel road where you hit the trail head sign and a log book box. A few yards from the trail head there is a nice little gazebo with benches. This time we took the loop to the Crosby Canyon overlook. At the overlook there is another shelter with a bench, clearly marked so you know you've arrived at your destination. Next time we visit we'll try out some of the other branches of the trail. Here is a great map of the campground and the hiking trail.

As the day was ending Steve brought my attion to the view just behind me. . . what a perfect way to end the day!

Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly ...that's pronounced "Canyon da Shay". The Navajo word for the gorge is "tseyi" ... meaning "in the rocks" so the name is a mixture of Spanish and Navajo.

3,500 years ago, perhaps more, the canyon was home to hundreds of people who farmed the valley floors while they lived high above, in pueblos tucked safely in shallow caves in the high canyon walls. This culture thrived so many years ago we can only make "educated guesses" about many aspects of life then, based on the ruins and other cultural artifacts we find. It is fascinating to stand on top of the canyon rim and peer down into the ruins and imagine what life was like for the the people who lived here then. We know from plant materials that have been found that the climate was much wetter then, so farming would have been easier than it is now, and game probably more plentiful.

This archeological treasure is in the center of the Navajo Nation. Navajo farmers and ranchers now have more conventional homes on the valley floor, where they raise sheep, cattle, horses, and various crops to feed their families. Some old families own the rights to land in the canyon, but live in town, and come out to their ranches to work them as needed.

This canyon is also a geologic wonder. Brilliant red sandstone cliffs have been deeply eroded into fascinating shapes, and contrast beautifully with the green of the juniper trees. By afternoon each day there are usually puffy white thunderheads building on the horizon, and with the addition of a few stray wildflowers and blooming cactus here and there you just can't paint a prettier picture.

Visitors can no longer go into the valley floor without a guide, as I did with my family 40 years ago, which is understandable seeing how many residences are there. We stayed on the rim, looking down, admiring the depth and beauty of the canyon, the ruins in the cliffs, the rock art on the canyon walls, and the fluffy clouds overhead. What a wonderful experience.

Our touring was divided into day one, the visitor's center, day two, the south side of the canyon, and day three, the north side of the canyon. The visitor's center was a bit disappointing as far as the information/displays it offered, but we fortunately have other resources, so at least we knew what we were looking at.

Every lookout or parking area is populated with several vendors, anxious to sell their jewelry, pottery or paintings. The economics of the reservation have improved over the years, but most are still needing to make that extra dollar to supplement whatever their regular income is. We chatted with several of the vendors and found them very friendly, informative, and not at all pushy about selling their wares.

Day one - The south rim tour includes Spider Rock, where Spider Woman gave birth to the twelve gods. It was Spider Woman who taught the Navajo how to weave.

In any of the photos, look closely for the details like roads through the bottom of the canyon. These will give you a better sense of how deep and wide the canyon is.

There are several places where visitors can walk to the edge of the canyon and look down on the ranches below. At one of the stops while admiring the canyon below we noticed odd, bare circles in the green areas. It made the area look a little like moon craters.

The park ranger who was talking with visitors there explained they were caused by ant hills. We had already noticed a lot of ants in our campsite, but wow! These are huge! Compare them to the road cutting across the top, left corner of the photo.

While viewing the canyon with a group of other visitors we observed a major breech of travel etiquette that I can't help but comment on. Please, fellow travelers, don't go into Navaho Land and lecture a young ranger on how the Navajo should run things, just because you saw something done on a tour of Laos. This isn't Laos. The Navajo know what they are doing. They are successful capitalists, 'have been for generations, and will figure out for themselves what suits their culture!

Day two - The south rim tour includes Mummy Cave, in Canyon del Muerto.

The alcoves making up this site take their name from two mummified bodies, found still wrapped in yucca plant fiber, by an archeological expedition in 1882.

Antelope House is another stop on the south rim. It is so named because of the many antelope drawings on the canyon wall near the ruins. The paintings are just above the dark streak on the canyon wall to the left of the ruins.

 We were thankful we'd brought the binoculars to this site, as with the naked eye we would never have known where to look for the paintings.

As it is our zoom lenses weren't as adequate as we would have liked. You'll need to look at the photo of the paintings in full screen in order to seen them.

On the fourth day we went in to the closest town, Chinle [Chin (as in where your beard grows)-lee ] It's not a large town, but there was a pretty good grocery store, and we had good enough "connections"  to pick up email, and then we went for lunch at a local restaurant. We'd asked a couple of locals for recommendations and let that guide us. here are only a couple of restaurants in town and we heard the "locals" ate at the Best Western restaurant. It was full of locals, no question about that! TA Navajo taco and what amounted to a shredded beef sandwich on fry bread were our choices. We were a bit disappointed at the lack of any type of spices, but then, we are used to Texas cooking!

We spent all four days at the only campground in the area, Cottonwood, which is operated by the Navajo Nation Park Service. Nicely shaded with cottonwood trees, it was comfortable enough. There's no water or electric service, but the restrooms do have running water. 

Our only complaint... well, it was really Shiner's complaint, is that the sandy ground is full of goat-head burrs, and her poor feet suffered frequent stabs as she investigated on her daily walks.


Next stop, Hopi Land and Tuba City.

Oasis State Park, New Mexico

Friday and Saturday - May 31 and June 1- Oasis State Park, New Mexico.

Well named, but a very small oasis this is, in the form of a fishing pond that probably originated during gravel mining operations many ago. It’s now rimmed with large red sandstone blocks that provide a secure shore for local fishermen, quite a treat in the middle of such a desert environment.

The park has provided picnic tables, some with shades, and benches too. The pond is home to several types of bass and catfish and a wide variety of birds. You can pick up a bird watcher’s checklist at the park office. Though I didn't get very many checked off, I can say I heard several varieties. They love to hide in the trees and chip and sing in the evenings and early mornings. Cotton tails and jack rabbits abound within the park, and poor Shiner found it very frustrating that she wasn't allowed to chase them.

The campground offers several spaces  with services for RVs, and another area for tents or other rustic campers. Some of those would also accommodate a small RV. You'll find a good breakdown of the types of camping facilities here. The restrooms have showers, and the park is neat and well maintained overall. 

Oasis makes a good base camp while exploring the local attractions. There are several museums and  other points of interest in the two closest towns, Portales and Clovis. We divided our time between the Blackwater Draw museum, near Portalis, and the Blackwater Draw archeological site.  

You’d never guess it now, to look at the arid environment, but about 14,000 years ago this valley was a lush meadow, with lakes and running streams, and plenty of food for the herds of mastodons that ranged here, as well as the earl humans that hunted them. They know that because researchers have retrieved the bones of many of them, of all ages, some with spear points imbedded in their ribs, so obviously there were humans here at the time too. In fact, the terms “Clovis” and “Folsom” as descriptors for the ages of stone point (arrowheads) and other cultural artifacts originated with research done in this area, near the towns of Clovis and Folsom.   

The Blackwater Draw museum presents the findings of the human side of the research as well as a bit about the mastodons and other animals that lived in the area at the time.

excavation in progress

The archeological site has a covered display of an in-progress excavation of bone beds. It explains the layers of sedimentation and how the positioning of bones as they are found can be interpreted to learn a lot about what happened those many thousands of years ago. Interesting stuff!

We did a bit of basic shopping in town in the afternoon then went back to camp to enjoy the scenery. Steve spent a bit of time helping our neighbor work on his coach hydraulic jacks. . . his idea of afternoon entertainment. Shiner and I took a walk outside the park fence, where interestingly enough there was not a single bunny to chase. Those little devils are smarter than I thought! We found a dry lake bed with the remnants of what was probably a small market or concession stand that needed investigating, she thought. She had a great time exploring, but didn't scare up a single thing to chase until we were back in the park, and she was on a leash by then. Too frustrating!  

We're not in Kansas anymore!

We left Buffalo Bill State Park shortly before 10 AM under a cold, gray and cloudy sky. By 11:00 AM we were in McCook, in SW Nebraska, and admiring the gently falling snow. It wasn't exactly a blizzard, but there was enough to make the roof-tops and ground white and more drifting down, a chilly 35 degrees, but thankfully no wind!

The rolling grain fields of Nebraska flattened considerably once we entered Kansas, looking more the way we've pictured the plains, and the snow stopped! No doubt because it had warmed up to 36!

You never know what unique sites you'll encounter on the road. We stopped for fuel and while it was pumping watched this semi tow a wind turbine tower around a sharp corner. You've got to admire the skill some of these truck drivers demonstrate in managing large loads like this one.There are a few of these wind generators on the horizon across the plains, but so far none of the huge installations that we've seen in Texas and California.

 

 We later crossed over a rail line with a multitude of cars carrying these tubes, and passed truck after truck transporting them. Apparently this is a booming business in the area.

We skirted around the west side of Oakley, the county seat of Logan County. Oakley wasn't named for the world-famous performer "Annie", the town-site was laid out by David Hoag in 1884 and named after his mother, Elizabeth Oakley Gardner-Hoag. Annie Oakley did performed with the "Wild West Show" in the area.
There's a museum honoring Buffalo Bill at the entrance to town, and nearby is this amazing sculpture of Buffalo Bill in action. It commemorates a buffalo shooting contest near the town between William Cody and William Comstock. Cody won, earning the name "Buffalo Bill".

The seemingly flat terrain across Kansas is deceptive. As we left the highway for our new temporary home at

Our site, looking toward Horsethief Canyon

Scott Lake State Park we suddenly found ourselves in a deep canyon filled with rocky cliffs and a wide variety of hardwood and evergreen trees.
Scott Lake is primarily a fishing lake, but there are also accommodations for equestrians, and judging by the concession stands around the lake shore it must be a very popular family hangout during the summer. Everything is closed this time of year. In fact, we never saw any park personnel, and only a handful of other campers.

An unusual feature of the park is an archeological site - Pueblo Indian ruins. Pueblo tribes are generally considered to live in the southwest, but on two occasions two different groups ventured clear up here, stayed only briefly, then returned to their homelands. Several signboards around he excavation explain the history of the area.


There's also an historic home, once belonging to the couple that donated this property for use as a park.

It was not open, closed for the season as is everything else, but looked quite cozy tucked in a copse of trees near one of the limestone cliffs. High up on top of the cliff is a monument to the family, and a stone shelter for those ambitious enough to climb up the narrow trail to view the monument.

There are vague trails up the rocky canyons here, making for interesting walking, but cutting cross-country is a bit hazardous. It seems a strange combination, but the forest of trees is carpeted with sharp, spiny yucca and cactus.

Do I look cold enough?

Venturing off the trail is hazardous to one's shins!  The multiple blossom stem remaining from the yucca that bloomed in the spring illustrates just how many of them there are.

Under other circumstances the trail would have been of interest to me, us but with the 34 degree day and intermittent snow showers  a quick view of the archeological site was about all we could muster up. We made a quick tour of the site and then dove back into the RV for a nice, comfy day watching football.

Just before we left the state we stopped for fuel in Liberal, Kansas, home of Dorthy and Toto. Their house was just down the Yellow Brick Road from the fuel station! (That really is the name of the street!)

A few miles down the road we left Kansas and enter Oklahoma. Across the narrow panhandle we saw extensive oil and natural gas wells, cattle, and lots of wide open spaces. By evening we were in The Republic, at our overnight stop, Collingsworth Pioneer Park, near Wellington. See the next post for a report on that site.

Susan Creek and Crater Lake

Between football games we went down to Susan Creek, on the Umpqua River, where we met up with our daughter, son-in-law and grandson. We camped alongside the creek, enjoying the deep shade, cool weather and the sound of the Umpqua River rushing by. The weather was a bit chilly, and the chill was enhanced by the deep shade, but no complaints from us. Susan Creek is one of our favorite campgrounds, and we've been there several times before.

We used to have our pick of sites, but as we've found with several other Oregon campgrounds this year, it was fairly crowded and we had to snag the first site that was long enough. We did have a nice view of the river from the back of the site, and our own path directly down the cliff to the river. The campground has nice showers, which worked well for us as handling shower schedules for four adults in an RV is a bit of a challenge. This was little Jax's first camping trip and he took right to it. Happily exploring every stick and leaf he could reach.

Susan Creek Falls

The trail to Susan Creek falls is so well maintained that we had no trouble navigating the trail to the falls with the stroller. In spite of the low water level in the creek the falls are still beautiful, and the water is amazingly clear in the pools at the bottom.

A big change from our previous visits here, the trail to the archeological site at the top of the mountain has been blocked.  All information related to the Indian Mound site has been removed, the trail has been covered with large fallen trees and brush, and the creek bridge has been extended to block access to the trail. Based on other experiences I've had with archeological sites in Oregon, I suspect the tribes and the Forest Service have agreed to limit public access only to supervised visits.

Susan Creek bridge

This site is rather difficult to supervise as it's so remote. During our last visit we observed trash thrown behind the fence protecting the site, and other indications of a complete lack of respect for what was a ceremonial location. I would suspect that the decision reflects a reaction to that kind of behavior. There are a few photos of the area, the old information sign, and the rock mound in the album from that 2008 trip.

After a day of lounging around camp we headed out for a day trip to Crater Lake. Skot had never been to Oregon before, and Crater Lake was on his " bucket list", so off we went. Taking Hwy. 138 (N. Umpqua Highway) we took time to stretch our legs at Clearwater Falls.

The pull-off to the viewing area for the falls is on the south side of the highway. It's a small parking area, so would be difficult for large rigs, though they do have a pull off at the entrance that would serve one large vehicle. We'd never stopped there before, and what a treat! Some of the most fascinating mosses flourish in the pools below the falls, fed by the beautifully crystal clear water just gushing out of the side of the mountain. Moss grows everywhere, on logs and the side of trees, and covers the ground giving an almost fairy tale like feel to the surrounding forest. We all scrambled around on the logs and paths to photograph the falls, though I'm sure photos alone just don't do the scene justice. The falls are by a cluster of springs about a mile away, so the flow is fairly consistent year round, averaging about 12-15 cubic feet a second. It's a site definitely worth a visit.

Crater Lake was beautiful, as always, but sadly when we arrived we found the beautiful blue it's so famous for was a bit dimmed by smoke from the several fires that have been burning around the area. It's hard to completely obscure the beauty of the lake though, and as the sun's angle changed the lighting improved and the delicate coloration around the shoreline became easier to see.

Over the years we lived in Oregon we had taken several family photos in the park, all in the area of the stone wall that runs along the path near the visitors' center. It was nice, with our now enlarged family, to continue the tradition.

Jax thoroughly enjoyed the chipmunks too. Those little critters have the tourists thoroughly trained, and they eat pretty well during the tourist season. If you aren't careful they'll actually jump onto your hand, which is a little creepy if you've ever looked at their very sharp little teeth.

Lunch in the lodge was a nice break and gave us a chance to admire the restoration work. The lodge originally opened in 1915 and been in a terrible state of disrepair until it was restored. It reopened in 1994.

A short drive part way around the southern shore of the lake for views of Vidae Falls and Phantom Ship formation completed the day, and we headed back to camp with a tired little boy still clutching his favorite forest stick.

On to Eugene the next day for another football game!!

There are a few additional shots of the trip here. 

Gila Cliff Dwellings

One of the big attractions of this area is the Gila Cliff Dwellings, and we've allowed a whole day for the trip.

We took hwy. 35 north through the tiny town of Mimbres toward the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. It's about a two hour drive on a gently winding narrow road through a steep  valley.

A stream supports cottonwoods, orchards and pastures so it's greener than anywhere we've been lately. Climbing higher, following the "Trail of Mountain Spirits" the junipers and yucca give way to several varieties of pine. There are numerous cattle and horse ranches along the way, and deer wandering on the road.

About 30 minutes into the drive we crossed the Great Divide, elevation 6,569 at this point. We had clear skies when we left, but as soon  as we crossed the divide the skies filled up with smoke that we could smell even with the truck windows up and the air conditioning on. 

There's nice chance for a rest stop along the way: Ruins Viewpoint has restroons and an accessible trail leading to a view of Lake Roberts as well as an archeological wite with the remains of Mogollon pit dwellings that have been excavated. A placard gives an explanation of the history of the area.

A note of caution for this route - bring plenty of food and water as there is none to speak of along the way. Every little "cafe" we passed was closed, and the two little establishments that try to pass themselves off as stores have litte in the way of wares to sell other than ice and beer.

The Gila (pronounced Heela) Cliff Dwellings National Monument has a small but very informative visitors center. Their displays and video do a nice job of setting the context for the cliff dwellings themselves. A short drive into the canyon, and then a .6 mile walk (gaining about 175 feet in elevation) takes you into the actual cliff dwellings.

Few places allow tourists to actually walk into the structures, as this one does. You can take a self guided tour with a brochure, take a guided tour with a ranger, or latch on to a volunteer like we did. Scott has been volunteering at the park for 10 years. In fact, he became so fascinated with the history of the dwellings that he went back to school and got a degree in anthropology. He's very knowledgeable about the history of the dwellings, and we learned a lot from him.

These dwellings were only occupied by a few families for one or two generations. The residents probably left because  the climate had become drier, making it harder to raise food, and there was competition for food from other groups moving into the area. They know a lot about the residents as they left behind pottery, small amounts of stored food and personal items. Wikipedia has a nice, brief description of the site.

In one sense we've time our trip just right, as the park was closed for three weeks in late May and early June due to the fires. We saw evidence of the fire all the way up the trail, and marveled that so little real damage had been done.

Scott explained that the had run a hose all the way up the canyon with sprinklers on all of the little bridges where the trail crisscrosses the creek. The sprinklers created large areas that slowed the spread of the fire and made it easier to control As it is large areas were burned but no structures were lost and they were able to open the park back up as soon as the fire was out.

On the way out of the park we made one more brief stop to examine a panel of pictographs. Many of the dark red painted designs are badly faded but others are remarkably clear.

Fire had burned the area all around the base of the panel, and destroyed one post on the placard explaining the site. The sign is enamel on metal, so wasn't damaged at all.

Inspired  by that cookbook we bought yesterday, we had a  crockpot pork roast waiting for us when we get home. Shredded and wrapped in a warm tortilla with salsa it 'made a fitting finish to a delightful day!

To see more photos, visit the album.  View as a slide show or individually. You can click on any of the above photos for a larger version.

Susan Creek Falls, Trail and Campground

Our trip this past weekend was the perfect finale for the season! Good weather, beautiful fall colors, and great hiking trails. See the photos in the album for a few examples.

Steve and Molly left home on Wednesday so they could grab a good spot - and they were successful. We had a great view, and a nice big site with stone steps leading down to the river. The Susan Creek Falls campground has been lovingly supported since the early 1990's by Eagle Scout and Boy Scout troops from the Roseburg area. Over the years they've built really nice benches and railings at viewpoints all along the trail, and they've installed stone steps at several points leading down to the river. They've also contributed picnic benches and other efforts across the road at the Susan Creek Falls trail. Materials were donated by local building supply companies. What a great partnership! This is one of the nicest BLM campgrounds we've ever stayed at - they're usually pretty austere, but this one has nice showers, and really well maintained trails, and they are in the process of making several of the sites "accessible".

On Sunday we hiked to the falls, enjoying the ferns and deep woods along the way, and then continued up the steep hillside to the "Indian Mounds" - more properly called cairns, these piles of stones were supposedly made by Indian youth during their vision quest. The stone piles have been contained by chain link fencing for protection from souvenir hunters, which is probably a good thing, but makes photography a challenge.

The water level is fairly low this time of year, but the falls are still very pretty, and the fall colors are beautiful in that part of the mountains. The vine maple turns a beautiful cherry red, and the broad leaf maple are a brilliant yellow. The drive home was pretty too, and I stopped to take a few pictures at Colliding Rivers, in Glide. This is the site of a unique geologic phenomenon that causes the North Umpqua River and the Little River to meet head-on. The information center is housed in one of the picturesque 1930's ranger stations, known as "Uncle Sam's Cabins".

All in all it was a great weekend - though too short, as usual!