Welcoming Highway 53

We are collecting national parks, so we weren't about to miss El Malpais and El Morro in western New Mexico. Neither of us had heard of either park, but what the Hell. We need to fill the windows of the truck with all the national park stickers we can.

We planned to spend just one night in the area. We drove down to El Malpais. True to its name, the earth there is bad, at least for agriculture. It is all lava from an ancient volcano. Like the lava beds we visited in Idaho, the lava here formed fascinating tubes and caves. And this park was lined with beautiful sandstone cliffs--great for hikes.

After visiting the park, we went into a store for a coffee and met a number of people living in the community. A couple, John and Penny, invited us to their house for dinner the following day, and we accepted. That meant a second night in the area. It was well worth it. We enjoyed visiting with them. Penny is an avid quilter, so we shared quilt stories. I think I could learn a lot from Penny. Her quilts are amazing!

We visited El Morro the next day. This park's prized attractions are ancient ruins at the top of a mesa and Inscription Rock. The hike up to and around the ruins is beautiful and the views from the top of the mesa are wonderful. Around a pool of water below the sandstone cliffs is the site of Inscription Rock. The rock forms the side of the mesa and is full of graffiti from ancient petroglyphs to recent messages. However, it is now illegal to write on the wall. The stories that go with the writing are fascinating--Spanish Missionaries visiting to convert Zuni to Christianity. Spanish soldiers visiting to avenge the killing of Missionaries. Apparently, the Zuni didn't appreciate being saved. Still, the Spanish seem to have believed that they were the heroes. One inscription translates to, "Here was the General Don Diego de Vargas, who conquered for our Holy Faith and for the Royal Crown, all of New Mexico at his own expense, year of 1692."

Talking with people of the community, we learned that the Zuni Pueblo was having a festival called Shalako on the weekend. It is one of the few festivals that non-Zuni are allowed to attend. We decided to stay several more nights so we could attend the festival.

While waiting for the Zuni festival, we took a day trip to Sky City, the Acoma Pueblo's settlement. This community atop a mesa is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the U.S. It is believed to have been in the 11th or 12th century. The Spanish built a church on the mesa in 1629, but the Acoma and the Spanish had a very troubling history together. Today, many of the people of the community practice both Christianity and traditional religions. The old adobe homes are beautiful and our tour guide had a great sense of humor as he told the community's history.

On Saturday we headed for Zuni for Shalako. The festival takes place at many homes around town, and while we were welcome to observe, we were asked not to write about the events. So, I will just say we were honored to have the opportunity to go.

Our last day in the area, we went back to the store where we first met people of the community. We met our friends John and Penny again, and enjoyed the community art gallery. The gallery is an old school with giant wire hands out front welcoming visitors. Those hands and the people of El Morro, Ramah, Acoma Pueblo, and Zuni Pueblo made us feel very welcome indeed.