Inner US Loop - Fall 2014
This is the beginning of our Fall trip I am calling "Inner US Loop - Fall 2014". One of the goals of this trip is for me to complete visiting all of the National Park sites in the Lower 48. My husband accomplished this over the summer. I am shy twelve sites, mainly scattered within a loop covering the upper South and Central US. We expect the trip to last from 4-6 weeks, mostly dependent on weather. The furthest eastern point will be West Virginia. For the next week we will be making our way to Santa Fe where we will be attending a letterbox gathering. From there we will continue East with Arkansas as our first goal.
Stay tuned. . .
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Tuesday, September 16
Start: Winslow, AZ
Finish: Cottonwood Campground (Navajo Nation), Canyon de Chelly NM, Chinle, AZ
Lightning in the distance as we went to bee coast night, strong winds during the night, then breezy in the AM. Cool enough to sleep comfortably. After showers and breakfast continued east on I-40 to US191 north. In Ganado we stopped at the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, always a favorite place to visit. The back rooms of the Trading Post hold exquisite jewelry and rugs by local Native American artists. A great place to shop for authentic crafts. This past summer my sister was fortunate to be selected for a week long Artist-in Residence here. They stayed in the stone hogan pictured below.
Hubbell Trading Post NHS - Stone Hogan
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Our primary goal today was to get to the Nazlini Post Office before their closing time at 2 PM. This is one of the few current Arizona postal cancellations my husband needs for his collection. Once leaving I-40 this AM we were an hour ahead, the Navajo Reservation in Arizona honors daylight savings time. The rest of Arizona does not change its clocks twice a year. This always causes confusion for tourists. We made it to Nazlini, with an hour to spare. This was definitely new road for us, Indian Route 27 through Nazlini all the way north into Chinle. Shortly after passing Nazlini it becomes dirt, an OK road in dry weather. It parallels US 191, and goes straight up a valley.
Along IR 27 to Chinle
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Once in Chinle we stopped at the Canyon de Chelly National Monument visitor center. They have the standard passport stamps and 2 beautiful bonus stamps. I picked up the Junior Ranger program.
Passport and Bonus stamps
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After getting a campsite at Cottonwood Campground we drove the South Rim road to the a Spider Rock Overlook. Besides the main feature of Spider Rock you can see ruins in the cliffs across the canyon.
Spider Rock
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Ruins from Spider Rock Overlook
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Another view from Spider Rock Overlook
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We returned to the campground for a quiet, comfortable evening, upper 70s with nice shade. For years this campground was free, in recent years the Navajo Regional Parks have started to charge. Currently the price is $14. Restrooms are modern with sinks and flush toilets, the sites are paved with picnic tables and grills. Water faucets are scattered throughout the campground. It was about 1/4 full tonight.
Passport Stamps
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site- Ganado, AZ
Canyon de Chelly NM- Chinle, AZ
Bonus
Pictorials at Canyon de Chelly - 2
Wildlife Sightings
Side-blotched Lizard
Common Raven
Turkey Vulture
Cliff Swallow
House Sparrow
Say's Phoebe
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Wednesday September 17, 2014
Start: Chinle, AZ
Finish: Chaco Culture NHP, NM
Woke up to a very light rain in camp, looks like we will be missing most of the heavy rain to the south. We enjoyed a tasty breakfast of Blue Corn pancakes at the Thunderbird Lodge cafeteria. We drove the North Rim Drive to Tsalie, then headed north on IR 12 to IR 13, through Lukachukai. This was new road for us and a beautiful drive on paved roads. It was steep and curvy at times, but the red rock and mountain habitat was beautiful. Any car or small RV could make the drive. This is a great way to link Canyon de Chelly NM or Window Rock to Shiprock, Farmington or our goal of Chaco Culture NHP.
View along IR 13
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This road brings you to the community of Red Rock or Red Valley. My husband had conflicting information about whether there was an active post office. There was no USPS sign at the trading post, however when he went in there was a post office window. The clerk happily cancelled a stamped envelope with the Red Valley, AZ cancellation. From there we immediately crossed into New Mexico and came up behind the Shiprock formation.
Shiprock along IR 13
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We drove up to Aztec Ruins National Monument for passport stamps and our picnic lunch. There was a most unusual pot in their visitor center, all white with white spikes. After getting fuel and food we continued south on US 550 past Nageezi to the turn off to Chaco Culture National Historical Park. This is the north road, and it appears it has been 'upgraded' quite a bit from previous visits. There is still 13 miles of dirt road, but no deep ruts, just a few slick areas from recent rains and several significant washboard sections. Any car can make the drive, however I realize rental agencies would not be happy to get a call if your vehicle broke down while there. I was surprised that there was enough cell service for text messaging.
Aztec Ruins NM
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We had reservations for 2 nights at the park campground, Gallo campground. This night the campground was about 1/2 full. Very overcast when we arrived, you could see rain in the distance, however it never made it to camp.
Thursday, September 18
Start & Finish: Chaco Culture NHP
Incredible night sky - clouds all gone and stars, stars and more stars! Woke up to cool air and a cloudless sky! The rest of the lower Southwest is getting intense rain from the Pacific hurricane. We seem to have been traveling on the northern edge of the storm, so far.
All morning was spent in camp. Besides working on my Night Explorer program ( started last Fall while in the Rocky Mountain region) and the Chaco Junior Ranger booklet there were several ruins and petroglyph panels in the campground to explore.
Ruins in campground
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After lunch we went back to the visitor center to have my booklets reviewed and to receive my Night Explorer patch and Chaco Junior Ranger Badge. From there we drove out to Pueblo Bonito for the ranger led walk. Excellent information was given during this walk through the pueblo.
Pueblo Bonito
Fine masonry walls - estimated 50 million stones cut & dressed at Chaco
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Spider web at 3rd story
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View through window
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Plaza view
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Returned to camp for initially a quiet afternoon. Around 6 PM a high school group of at 50 plus invaded the campground. Lots of energy expended as they set up camp.
Passport Stamps
Aztec Ruins NM - Aztec, NM
Old Spanish NHT - Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM
Chaco Culture NHP - Nageezi, NM
Bonus
Chaco Culture NHP pictorial
Wildlife Sightings
Cottontail Rabbit
Elk
Bat
Plateau Striped Whiptail Lizard
Common Raven
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Mourning Dove
Canyon Towhee
Meadowlark
Sagebrush Sparrow
Turkey Vulture
Heading East - I-40 through New Mexico, Texas and into Oklahoma
Monday, September 23
Start: Santa Fe, NM
Finish: Tucumcari, NM
A few stops in Santa Fe before leaving. Found gas for $2.99! A section of the original Santa Fe Trail runs by Museum Hill which has the massive bronze statue celebrating Journey's End. Besides describing the event, one of the panels tells how this statute was cast and assembled. Unfortunately I deleted pictures I took here before I transferred them to My Photos. The website imbedded above has good photos and background information.
Our next stop was at Pecos National Historical Park. Today was the first inclement weather - light rain off and on, at times a soaking rain. I had planned to spend more time here and work on the Junior Ranger program, but the weather was not conducive to exploring. We did drive up to the picnic area and did a quick walk around the ruins from the last church built in the early 1700s. This park has a stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Part of this park includes sections dedicated to Glorieta Pass, site of Civil War actions in March 1862. In the visitor center their display of pottery is impressive, many dating to the 1400s.
Pecos National Historical Park - Mission Church
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While in Pecos we had lunch at Frankie's Casanova - Southwestern Grill. Green Chile Stew was perfect on this rainy day! From the outside it looked like a basic building, not so on the inside.
Frankie's Casanova - Pecos, NM
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Not what I expected from the outside
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Eventually we needed to head SE, so at Las Vegas we exited I-25 on NM 104, new road for us. Outside of town we took a short detour to the Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge headquarters. Unfortunately the building was closed while staff were out on the refuge. We did see some of the birds listed below while out there.
Back to NM 104 which at first drove through grasslands. At the town Trujillo the terrain changed dramatically. We found ourselves winding down along a canyon edge. To make things more interesting, besides rain and a curvy, narrow road, there was a boulder the size of a SmartCar in the northbound lane. Luckily no one was in that lane as we passed by. No cell service to call it in to the highway department. It was along a fairly straight section, marked at 25 mph, so it should be easy to avoid. A few miles down the highway we passed a highway yard, the gates were locked and it appeared no one was around.
As we got close to Conchas Lake State Park we were pleasantly surprised, and pleased to see an Osprey perched on the side of the road. We arrived in Tucumcari, NM on I-40 and opted for a motel. Good choice, more rain into the evening.
Tuesday, September 23
Start: Tucumcari, NM
Finish: El Reno, OK
Here it comes - I-40! As you can tell from most of my posts we prefer to drive the Blue Highways - the 2 lane roads that show up blue on road maps, paper ones. But, sometimes you need to cover some ground. We are on our way to Arkansas for a couple of new National Park sites for me.
One way to break up the trip is letterboxing. A short description is hunting for Tupperware. Actually, this is a world-wide hobby, or addiction, that began in SW England over 100 years ago at what is now Dartmoor National Park. Another description is the Luddite form of geocaching. With clues from the websites, listed below, you look for a container which includes a hand-carved stamp (sometimes commercial stamps) and a logbook. You carry your own personal stamp and logbook. At the box you stamp their logbook with your stamp and place their stamp in your logbook. Both websites are set up for you to 'log' your find, if you want. Kids love this activity. This hobby can be done on your own or with a group, like the gathering we attended this past weekend in a Santa Fe.
The 2 websites that will further explain and lead you down a very fun way to travel;
LBNA
AQ
Typical contents of a Letterbox
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Of course while traveling along I-40 in New Mexico and Texas you are following alongside sections of Route 66. While looking for some letterboxes I took some photos of Route 66. For anyone interested my husband has a website with extensive links related to Route 66.
New Mexico Route 66 - looking west towards Tucumcari
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Texas Route 66 - looking west at NM/TX border
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Slug Bug Ranch, along Route 66 in Conway, Tx
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Route 66 - Phillips 66, McLean, TX
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We ended the day at El Reno, OK, just west of Oklahoma City. We camped at El Reno Lake, near I-40. Saw about four new bird species around the lake. Tent sites are $5 per night and RV sites are either $15 or $20. The bathrooms in the West RV area include non-coin showers. The evening was breezy, but clear and lower 70s. Thoroughly enjoyable to sit outside until bedtime.
Passport Stamps
Santa Fe National Historic Tral - Santa Fe, NM
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentre NHT - Santa Fe, NM
Old Spanish NHT - public Lands Information Center, NM
Old Spanish National Historic Trail - Santa Fe, NM
Pecos NHP - Pecos, NM
Pecos NHP - Route 66 pre-1937
Pecos National Historical Park - 150th Anniversary of the Civil War
Bonus
New Mexico BLM
Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area
Letterboxes
Monday - 5
Tuesday - 8
Wildlife Sightings
Red-tailed Hawk
American Crow
Common Raven
Rufous Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Mourning Dove
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
American Coot
Northern Shoveler
Dark-headed Junco
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Greater Roadrunner
Great-tailed Grackle
Swainson's Hawk
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Killdeer
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Blackbird
