Day 7 The High Desert

Route 66 has been rerouted several times which can be confusing. Reaching New Mexico's high country, I decided to take the pre-1937 route to Santa Fe rather than the newer road which leads straight to Albuquerque. The Santa Fe route follows the Pecos River and merges with the Santa Fe Trail which brings me full circle.

I think I made a good choice. This is a pleasant rolling landscape with the Sangre de Christo Mountains as a backdrop.

On the map above, the red is the Santa Fe Trail, purple is The Old Spanish Trail, light blue is Route 66, and green is The Camino Real. Map courtesy of d-maps.com.

Heading toward the Glorieta Pass, the sight of several battles including the only Civil War Battle fought in New Mexico, I made the unexpected discovery of Pecos National Historic Park. This park is relatively new, established in 1990, and is the sight of a pueblo that was abandoned in 1838.

In many ways this pueblo represents a microcosm of the relationship between the Spanish and the indigenous people of New Mexico. In the 1620's Franciscan Friars came into the Pecos area as missionaries and attempted to forcibly convert the residents to Christianity. This involved destroying kivas and banning ceremonies which, quite naturally, offended the people who were deeply attached to their traditions. 

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 drove the Franciscans out of New Mexico and as revenge for their previous treatment, the pueblo people destroyed Christian churches and any other remnants of the missionaries. The Spanish returned in 1692 but brought with them a kinder, gentler approach to the native traditions. the Franciscans were more tolerant of the indigenous religion and allowed traditional practices to continue.

The remnants of two separate large structures remain here and archaeologists believe one may have been for Christian converts and the other for followers of the old ways.

                         A new church was built and its remains dominate the pueblo sight.

The wars between the Americans and Mexicans and between Unionists and Confederates, followed by Comanche raids took a heavy toll on this strategically placed pueblo and the residents gradually drifted away. The last moved on to Jemez Pueblo in the 1880's. The park is now primarily an archaeology sight.

Moving on to Santa Fe, I lost the Route 66 signs in the confusion of this, to me, unexpectedly large city. I hadn't planned to spend much time exploring there so when I saw a sign for the original route of the Camino Real I decided to follow it. This took me through neighborhoods populated by normal New Mexicans rather than by transplanted millionaires so it was an interesting drive and eventually brought me back to Route 66.

The road between Santa Fe and Albuquerque is dotted with pueblos which include the land allotted to each. Most are far enough from the highway that they are not visible. I think this is purposeful and meant to preserve the privacy of the residents. Many pueblos have festivals when visitors are welcome. San Domingo, for instance, advertises its fall festival on Labor Day weekend.

Past Albuquerque the road passes more pueblos including Laguna and Acoma. In her novel Death Comes for the Archbishop, Willa Cather has an anecdote about Acoma and the Catholic Priest's virtual enslavement of the natives to maintain his elaborate gardens. Today Acoma is notable for its Sky City Casino and for its cultural center. Laguna consists of four separate villages and the one that provides its name is visible from the highway.

The lagun, or small lake, in the foreground is more of a wet land now but in the seventeenth century it was created and maintained by damming a small watercourse. There is some dispute over the origins of Laguna, the sign on the highway states that it was formed after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by members of several Kewa speaking pueblos (probably Christians) but recent excavation has revealed artifacts that substantially predate that period. Obviously the Catholic Church is a prominent feature.

Before reaching Gallup, the highway crosses the Continental Divide which at this point reaches 7245 feet. The road is graded but I still do not feel that this is a very difficult pass. Even so, this was not a heavily traveled route during most of the nineteenth century. The main route to California from Santa Fe was the Gila Trail farther south which lead to San Diego. That trail was used by Kit Carson, General Kearney and, the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican War. Today, Route 66, Interstate 40 and the railroad all follow the northern trail to Gallup and beyond. This was developed by the Santa Fe Railroad and remains part of Amtrak's Southwest Chief service to Los Angeles.

In an attempt to develop tourism in the desert southwest, the Santa Fe Railroad built very attractive stations and hotels in New Mexico and Arizona but only a few remain. The station in Tucumcari is one as is the depot in Gallup.

This building does double duty as a native cultural center. The day I was there they were holding a concert of local singers. Like its counterpart in Tucumcari this terminal loads and unloads Amtrak passengers in the center of the building while using the wings for other purposes.

This statue commemorates the Navajo Code Talkers

Gallup has heavy railway traffic. At times it is almost impossible to hold a phone conversation on the street.

This is the quintessential Route 66 town. The route traverses several miles of the downtown area and is lined with shops and somewhat tawdry motels on the south side while the north side is all rail yards.

Nowhere else that I traveled does the "Mother Road" seem so alive.

The Southwest Indian Foundation, a Franciscan organization, is active here providing social services and boosting native pride.

It is good to see traditional craftsmanship on display in a setting where the artisans themselves get the profits from their labors.

Gallup is the last good sized town in New Mexico and crossing the border into Arizona the high desert flattens out. One of the first sights that greets the traveler is a large coal-fired power plant so it's not surprising that the air along the highway is hazy. It's obvious the coal lobby has clout in this state since Navajo country has several coal plants and I didn't see one wind turbine. It's easy to see why people are concerned about air quality and visibility at the Grand Canyon. It's unfortunate since there is enough sun in the Phoenix area for most people to generate their own electricity with solar panels.

My next stop was Winslow, Arizona where I chose not to stand on a corner. What I did instead was visit the Posada Hotel. 

This is the last remaining hotel built by the Santa Fe for luxury travel.

This beautiful building still functions as a hotel but also contains art galleries a gift shop full of native made jewelry, and a fine dining restaurant.

This is also an active Amtrak station and displays some old Santa Fe luxury cars with domed observation decks.

My next and last stop on Route 66 was Flagstaff, a college town, close to skiing and the Grand Canyon which retains an active downtown with a central plaza and a number of locally run businesses.

There's a lot going on here including a Bluegrass Festival scheduled for June.

                                 

                                  Flagstaff also maintains its old railway station as a museum.

This is the temporary end of my travel on Route 66 and the Santa Fe Trail. I plan to resume my journey on the "Mother Road" in November by driving from Flagstaff to  Los Angeles.  In the meantime I plan to explore other old trails in the area around my home in Salt Lake City so keep checking in as I hope to have a new posting each week throughout the summer. Ciao!