A volunteer at the Aztec ruins told us about this place. We were feeling adventurous.
April 18, 2015 (Saturday)
Got up early for us (around 8:00 AM). When we opened up the drapes in the bedroom, Michael said he thought the tree outside the window had bloomed overnight. Then he looked further and realized it had SNOWED during the night. It was beautiful in the trees and around Durango. Just a light dusting. Magical. The temperature today went from 40’s to 60’s.
We packed up and left around 9:30 AM. Our first stop was at the local McDonald’s Restaurants for our travel morning breakfast – egg white McMuffin, coffee, and we split an orange juice. We were on the road by 10:00 AM. Our drive today was to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The drive should have been about 250 miles but we wanted to go to Farmington, New Mexico to see a museum there. Before we got to the museum we saw a sign for the Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico. We figured they would be pit ruins (my least favorite kind) but it turned out to be a fascinating place. The visitor center loans you a laminated “map” to follow with wonderful descriptions of what you’re seeing (numbered markers). They had a little bit of everything there and it was great! They even had an 800 year old window/door type screen woven from reeds. They had a wall that lined up to the summer and winter solstice. Can’t even imagine how they figured that out. There was one great ceremonial room where you push a button and Native music plays. You can close your eyes and just imagine all the activities going on. Great place. While we were talking to one of the Rangers, he told us about another place where the Natives had figured out about the 19 year moon cycles – Chaco Culture National Historic Park.
Want to mention that we didn’t have to use our “old people’s pass” (National Parks Pass for Seniors) as everyone gets in free for this weekend only!
After that we drove to Farmington, New Mexico to see the “Lost Egypt, Ancient Secrets.” It cost $10.00 per person to get into the exhibit. It was a nice exhibit but it was geared towards young children. We did enjoy the exhibit about Annie, a mummie and what her life would have been like. We also enjoyed seeing a replica of the Rosetta Stone. The museum building is quite lovely and you can go outside and walk along the river. As we were leaving the museum, we saw a bunch of old cars and it looked like they were setting up for a car show. Fun.
We left Farmington and drove a little bit and got some lunch. Michael opted for Subway and I went next door to the DQ and got one of their $5.00 lunch specials.
We left and saw the signs to Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The sign said it was 21 miles off the main road. We had only two squares left on our gas gauge but knew we could do it – until we got on the road. The road went from a really nice road, to a gravel road, to a rutted mess of a road. The road had livestock grates, ruts, wash outs, all sorts of dramatic things.We also saw wild horses and some sheep grazing alongside the road while the sheep dog watched from a distance. We thought about turning back several times. When we finally got to the park the road suddenly became wonderful. We went to the visitor center and got a map of the park. The Ranger said the loop road was nine miles. We were getting a little worried about the gas situation (still on two squares), but wanted to especially see Pueblo Bonito. Not only did we get to see Pueblo Bonito, but we saw so much more. It was beautiful and Michael and I talked about how this was so much like the ruins we saw in Europe.
We left Chaco Cultural National Historical Park and drove back to the main road. By the time we had reached the main road, we were down to one square and our wonderful Prius had told us (beeping) that it was time to gas up. When we stopped at the stop sign, we looked across the street and saw a gas station. We were so relieved because we knew the closest town was about half an hour away and we didn’t want to walk.
By this time it was 3:30 PM or so. We figured we needed to get it in gear and get to Santa Fe. The drive was pleasant enough and the landscapes changed many times. At one point it looked like we were in Sedona with the beautiful red mountains. Just a little before we got into Santa Fe, we saw a sign for Coronado Historic Site and just could not resist.
The gate was open to the site, even though the sign said it closed at 5:00 PM and the time was 5:45 PM. We drove to the parking lot and just took a quick look around. Looks like a fun place. Maybe we’ll go back.
We got into Santa Fe and stopped at a Panda Express for dinner. The place was packed so we got it to go and took it with us to the hotel.
We are now in our room, bellies full, and exhausted. That was our day. Hope yours was great!