Route 66 in New Mexico

 In the spring of 2022 we completed 7 of the many New Mexico Route 66 Adventure Labs (for geocaching) as we headed back to South Dakota. Last October we completed 5 more on our travels to Arizona. On Saturday, we added 4 more of New Mexico's Route 66 Adventure Labs. We think there are only two - from Santa Fe to Albuquerque - that we have not completed.

Adventure Labs are a recent addition to the types of geocache finds. There is not a container to find, but there is a location and a question that must be answered to get credit for "finding the cache." The Route 66 Adventure Labs follow the original Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. Route 66 is filled with stunning scenery, historic landmarks, and unique attractions that make for an unforgettable road trip.

US 66 covered 380 miles (610 km) in New Mexico and passed through many Indian reservations in the western half of New Mexico. East of those reservations, the highway passed through Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Vegas. As in Arizona, in New Mexico, U.S. 66 paralleled I-40.

Our road trip on Saturday was on Central Avenue in Albuquerque. This is the main road through and to Old Town. We found old motels, eating places, service stations that were once bustling businesses.

this was one of our location stops

we had burgers and fries at the historic Route 66 Diner

Another stop was at Enchanted Trails RV Park & Trading Post where we saw vintage RVs and cars.

our last stop was in Grants

our accomplishment this trip

40 historic locations related to another era of road travel

Visiting Santa Fe via Geocaching

 I found my photos from our last and only visit to Santa Fe in 2009. We spent some time exploring Old Town Santa Fe and buying souvenirs. Some of the buildings and areas looked familiar but I took very few photos of that stop. We did see some new to us sites this time, because of geocaching. And now I take many more photos.

The Roundhouse, New Mexico's State Capitol Building, is round in shape.

Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the US. It was established as capital of the Spanish Kingdom of New Mexico in 1610. (The Palace of the Governors is the actual oldest capitol building and is still standing in Old Town.)

main doors, with the state seal and statue

The capitol building is designed in the shape of the Zia sun symbol that is seen on the state flag and most everywhere in New Mexico. The statue is Morning Prayer created by Allan Hauser.

Gate/Negate sculpture by Apache artist Bob Haozous

7½ m (18') high steel gate, marked with 12 cut-out silhouets of faces, with dollar signs, Christian imagery, model airplanes and bullet holes. Razor wire is strung along the top. On the bottom the names of 458 extinct North American Indian tribes has been painted.

Passage, bronze sculpture by Dan Namingha

Estella Loretto’s Earth Mother

More than 500 pieces of artwork from New Mexico artists are on display in the Capitol. The artwork honors the Indian, Spanish and Anglo heritage and influence in New Mexico's history. Some pieces are permanent and others are on loan. The Capitol Art Collection was started in 1991 during the renovation of the capitol building. 

San Miguel Chapel

Spanish colonial mission church

Originally completed in 1610 by Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico, it is often referred to as the oldest church in the US. Original adobe walls remain under the stucco exterior. 

It was rebuilt twice; once in the mid to late 17th century and again in 1710 following the Pueblo Revolt. Mass is still offered at the chapel on Sundays. (It was closed on Friday when we were there.)

Buttresses were added in 1887 and 1889 to stabilize the original walls of the mission. History of the church can be found here: San Miguel Chapel

Across the street/alley from the oldest church was the oldest house, the De Vargas Street House. The people in the photo are standing in front of the oldest house, at least that was the building (not a two story) where the sign was located.

The De Vargas Street House is a two-story adobe building; the first floor is original and the second floor was reconstructed based on the original in the 1920s. Most of the house is constructed from adobe brick, which was a Spanish colonial technology, while a few lower wall sections are puddled adobe characteristic of pre-Spanish pueblo buildings. The first-floor ceiling is original and includes vigas dating to the mid-18th century. The first floor interior has two Spanish colonial-style rooms with corner fireplaces, while the second floor is "a dummy" and not open to visitors. ~ Wikipedia

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi

The cathedral was built between 1869 and 1886 on the site of an older adobe church. It is designed in the Romanesque Revival style. The Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi was officially elevated to a basilica by Pope Benedict XVI on October 4, 2005.

Saint Francis of Assisi

This statue of St. Francis, the patron saint of the diocese, was installed at the cathedral during the 1967 renovations. ~ Wikipedia

Saint Katerina

Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680) is the first North American Indian to be beatified, and was canonized in October 2012. She was an Algonquian-Mohawk woman of New York State who converted to Christianity at an early age. The statue was created by Estella Loretto, a sculptor from the nearby Jemez Pueblo, and installed in August 2003. A plaque noting Kateri's canonization was added in October 2012. ~ Wikipedia

a colorful mural 

Día de Muertos decor in the Plaza

The Plaza, a city block, dates back to the early 17th century when Santa Fe was settled by conquistadors. Santa Fe's Central Plaza is at the heart of the Basilica, The Palace of Governors, San Miguel Mission (and the oldest house), many shops and restaurants. The Plaza hosts special events and is decorated for special holidays.

Historic Route 66 from Holbrook to Albuquerque

 Today we completed 4 of the 6 Adventure Labs highlighting the Historic Route 66 from Holbrook to Albuquerque. One of the two in AZ highlighted and emphasized the Native culture along The Mother Road.

Weather Rock

always fun to read

As I mentioned yesterday, this area of AZ focuses on dinosaurs, petrified wood, and the culture of the Natives who live in this area. This is the first blue dinosaur I have seen. Who says dinosaurs were green or brown? Maybe they were blue!

and more wigwams (or teepees)

More beautiful petrified wood. My personal thought: how tragic it is to see amount of petrified wood that was taken from the petrified wood now national park prior to it being recognized as a landmark that should be saved. We have driven through part of the national park and there is not many fallen trees to show it was once a forest area. 

typical green dinosaurs

Querino Canyon Bridge

This bridge over the Querino Canyon was built in 1929 as part of a grand rehabilitation and relocation of Route 66 across northern AZ. It was just one of several bridges, drainage construction, and at least 25 miles of roadway.

The bridge is a concrete decked steel trestle with three Pratt deck trusses supported by steel piers. Concrete abutments support the 77 feet long, 20 feet wide bridge from below.

It had a beautiful view of the Querino Canyon, but as you can tell by the first photo the road is not paved. This is a section of Route 66 which has not been preserved, but is an important connection for the native communities north of I-40.

Gallup, New Mexico

R.E. "Griff" Griffith, the brother of the famous movie director D.W. Griffith visited Gallup in the 1930s, fell in love with it, and in 1936 commissioned Joe Massaglia to build a hotel. The result is the three-story structure of brick, stone and wood on Historic Route 66 that feels like a cross between a Southern mansion and rustic hunting lodge. Employees were trained by the Fred Harvey Company.

From the day of its inception, the hotels been linked to the film industry, serving as a filming location for Billy the Kid (1930), The Sea of Grass (1947), Four Faces West (1948), Only the Valiant and Ace in the Hole (1951), escape from Fort Bravo (1953) and The Hallelujah Trail (1965), among others.

During its glory years, the El Rancho was the definition of luxury and included many amenities that were lacking in other typical tourist hotels of the day. With the opening of Interstate 40, the property fell into decline. Armand Ortega bought the hotel at a bankruptcy auction and restored the property. The Ortega family has a long history dealing in Native American jewelry and artwork in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The hotel is open and rooms can be booked. We noticed some renovating going on on the outside of the hotel. If you chose to stay at El Rancho you would be joining such film starts as John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Errol Flynn, Kirk Douglas, Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracey, Mae West, Lucille Ball and Joan Crawford (and probably many others) who also signed the guest book at El Rancho.

We did not take the time to go inside to see this historic stop.

Is It Snow or White Sand?

 

This the last post as we traveled from SD to AZ. We arrived November 8th and have been busy ever since. 

"Like a mirage, dazzling white sand dunes shimmer in the tucked-away Tularosa Basin in southern New Mexico. They shift and settle over the Chihuahuan Desert, covering 275 square miles - the largest gypsum dune field in the world."

plants: Little Bluestem & Rubber Rabbitbrush

Mesquite Trees? 

"White Sands National Park preserves more than half of this oasis, its shallow water supply, and the plants and animals living here."

The Andres Mountains along the north edge of the Alkali Flat, provide the winds that create and also move and shift the grains of sand. The mountains also provide moisture from snow melt.

In the area we are allowed to drive, we noticed more plant life closer to the southern edge or entrance area of the WSNP. The drivable area is 8 miles in and back out on maybe 5 miles of paved road.

It really looks like snow banks to this girl from South Dakota! We did not see any sledders but did see someone in the gift shop with a sled.

Imagine. It can be seen by astronauts from space.

comparison of other gypsum fields

Looks like and feels like grains of sugar.

"People arrived in the Tularosa Basin after the last ice age ended 11,000 years ago. The Jornada Mogollon were the first to farm the area, and lived here until drought forced them out in the 1300s. American Indians returned in the 1600s and European Americans came in the late 1800s. Soon the railroad rolled in - and so did the settlers."

President Herbert Hoover proclaimed it a National Park in 1933. The US military tested weapons in the dune field beyond the park in WWII and the first atomic bomb was detonated 100 miles north of here in 1945.

We visited the WSNP in 2010. Here is that blog post: Tuesday's Adventures in New Mexico

And finally, an interesting story to go with this photo: We first met this gentleman and his furry friend at the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitán NM. The furry companion did not enjoy the forest service video showing at the historical park center. We met them outside on the walking path near Smokey's burial and learned he had also served in Desert Storm. The next time we met was in Alamogordo while we were geocaching at the John Stapp Space Park. Again, we said Hi and we chatted a bit and teased each other about stalking and we moved on.  On the third occasion, we were coming back to the car from the Interdune Boardwalk when the two of them were in the parking lot. I was busy taking photos and looking for animal tracks in the snow...I mean...sand when I noticed Hubby in deep conversation. He finally got the story: The gentleman had lost his wife last year and his furry friend was helping him cope with her loss. The two of them (man and dog) were doing the travel bucket list of places he and his wife had planned but did not get to complete. 

We are blessed.