Where am I? -- Volume I

[Utahtea]

That looks like Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico in the 4th picture but I don’t remember the highway number. It is south of I 40 and for years I had wanted to visit. We finally made it up there a few years ago and after the tour we took the path back down from the Pueblo.

Utahtea

[Rick Quinn]

Utahtea, you know your pueblos! The town in the photo is the Sky City of Acoma, perched on its own little mesa, 365 feet above the surrounding terrain. The road is Indian Route 38, which hooks into a short remnant of old Route 66 that runs parallel to I-40, just east of Grants, NM. It's pretty great that you guys took the tour. Not that many people even know about this place, despite the fact that it's just a short detour off the Interstate. Scenic Side Trip #18 runs through the area, and takes in half a dozen points of interest that are all pretty cool.

Next up: Name that hill in picture #1. Hint: there's a road most of the way to the top. Picture #2 is the view from the parking lot. Picture #3 is the parking lot as seen from (huff, puff) the trail to the summit.







Rick

[Utahtea]

I had a guess but waited a while for two reasons.

1. I wanted d to give someone else a chance.

2. I’m not sure of my answer.

My first thought was Sunset Crater, AZ but I think I’m wrong.

Utahtea

[Southwest Dave]

Is this a hill and not a Silly mountain ? Is it on US60 ?

Dave.

[Mark Sedenquist]

And I would play, but I have an unfair advantage, I've seen most of these photographs in the process of publishing Rick's book.

But I am enjoying lurking as you geo-sleuths figure them out!

Mark

[Rick Quinn]

Well, it's not Sunset Crater, and it's not on US 60. It's Capulin Volcano in northern New Mexico. Just a slight detour off I-25, it's nevertheless one of our more obscure National Monuments.

[Rick Quinn]

As I mentioned in my clue, there's a road that takes you most of the way up, and a summit trail that takes you the rest of the way to the top, where you get quite the spectacular view.

This area was originally slated to be part of my book, but it was bumped when I ran out of room for it. That makes it sort of like a "deleted scene." The route ran from Raton, NM to Las Vegas, NM, across starkly beautiful Johnson Mesa, through the little town of Folsum (where they have an interesting museum) to Capulin Volcano. From there, the route followed the Frontera del Llano Scenic Byway to and through the Kiowa National Grasslands before making a stop at Fort Union National Monument on the way to Las Vegas, NM.




There were good sized herds of pronghorn antelope all over the place


When I asked my GPS to take me to the Kiowa Grasslands, it led me to this exact spot, where the wheel tracks just--stopped!


Fort Union has certainly seen better days!

This was actually a pretty cool Side Trip. If anyone is ever in that area, I can recommend it!

[Rick Quinn]

Here's a lovely set of photographs:









See if you can identify the highway in the first photo (above) The church is a major clue, and the rock formations "might" trigger a memory for anyone who has been down that road before.



For bonus points, see if anyone can identify this rather large cliff in the 5th photo. It's close by, but on a different US Highway, and it's so big, it affects the weather, diverting wind and storms!



This 6th photo isn't really a clue to anything, but there are two beaver dams and a beaver lodge in the picture, and I thought it was pretty sweet!

[Rick Quinn]

On reflection, I have to admit that if you're not a fan of unique adobe churches, I didn't give you a whole lot to work with in that last set of photos. To make up for it:

This here is a silver platter:



And this here is your next clue.



Tuck it in just after the church in the above sequence, and if you've been there (and even if you haven't), it shouldn't be too difficult to identify the mystery Highway. Naming the big cliff might require a map. (Unless, like Mark, you happen to have a copy of the Insider's Guide to Rick's "Where Am I?" Quiz! With that in hand, you won't need a map. :-)

[Southwest Dave]

Is the highway is US 84E and the church is St Thomas the Apostle in Abiquiu ?

Dave.