APRIL 2008
USA-Texas-Tulia
Tuesday
1st we drove
into the local town of Canyon, to shop for food for diesel. On a
very windy day we drove down into Palo Duro Canyon State Park, it was
not very windy down in the canyon. We toured the park and saw
three White Tailed Deer and many Turkeys. A cloudy start to
Wednesday but
before 0900 we had seen 
a Deer and three Groups of Turkeys with male
birds in attendance. For the rest of the day Mervyn worked on his
new attachments to his Video Editor, and Howard started a jigsaw.
Thursday soon after
breakfast we were visited by three groups of Turkeys, a small herd of
six deer and, while Howard was taking in the electric cable, a single
Deer that came up to within six yards of him, he did not have his
camera with him. On the way out we saw more Turkeys and a pair of
Deer. We drove into Canyon to shop and visited the museum, it was
not one of the best. The remainder of the day was taken up
driving southeast into New Mexico to camp at Clovis. Friday was another day of
driving, from Clovis to Mountainair. While Howard was driving we
saw three Pronghorn Antelopes, but could not stop for a photo.
Saturday 5th the morning was spent viewing the two ancient Pueblo sites of
Querai and Abo, we decided to return to our
camp in Mountainair and not to proceed on to Carrizozo. Sunday we travelled south
to visit the Pueblo at Gran Quivira, and then went on to
Carrizozo. We saw a large herd of Pronghorn in the distance and
three pronghorn crossed the road just in front of the caravan. At
Carrizozo we drove to the camp in the lava flow but there were no
suitable sites for us, so we returned to camp in Carrizozo. The
camp had Wi-fi but it didn’t work. Monday took us eastwards to
Lincoln, site of the Lincoln County war and the country of Billy The
Kid. An interesting town with the old houses still lived
in. In the afternoon we drove on and then turned south-west
through the territory of the Mescalero Apache and camped at an unlisted
site in Tularosa. It was a fine sunny
but windy day. Tuesday took us on a visit
to The Three Hills Petroglyph site. The Petroglyphs have
been there for thousands of years and are in really good
condition. From the site we went into Alamogordo for a service to
the vehicle and to a camp just west of town. Wednesday we drove
southwest to Las Cruces, north to Cabala and finally west and north to
The Gila Cliff Dwellings to camp just south of them. When we
crossed the last ridge we encounter rain, snow and rain again, “very
unseasonable“, we were told. Thursday we spent the
morning at the Visitor’s Centre, The Cliff Dwellings (which were very
good), a small Mimbre’s Cave (separate from the rest) and we looked for
petrographs (we found them eventually). We returned to our
Wednesday camp. Friday
we left fairly early and on the way down we saw a deer grazing near the
road, then two deer crossed the road in front of us and bounded off
into the trees and finally another two deer crossed the road.
Silver City was our stop for food and fuel, and we then drove
northwards to the “Cat Walk” near Glenwood to walk on the “Cat Walk”,
and look down into the Gorge. The ”Cat Walk” is an artificial
walkway fixed to the vertical cliffs, over the river in the bottom of
the gorge. A nearby camp was found.
Saturday 12th we returned to Glenwood, in order to turn north and eventually northeast to Grants where we found an expensive KOA camp. On the way Howard
saw a Golden Eagle perched on a roadside tree,
and we passed through the lava flow, El Malpais National
Monument. Sunday
with a leisurely start we drove to Sky City in the Acuma
Reservation. From the Visitor’s Centre we were taken by bus, with
a guide, to tour the Pueblo which is the oldest inhabited Pueblo in the
USA. Most of the inhabitants were offering their hand crafted
pottery for sale. They live there, generally with their
grandchildren, to keep their heritage and language alive. A
restful afternoon followed. Monday we collected
our post and set off for El Morro where there is some European graffiti
from the1700’s. Tuesday
Mervyn went off to see the sixteenth/seventeenth centaury graffiti, and
then to walk up to the cliff top. When he returned we drove to
Gallup to camp at the Red Rock State Park. On Wednesday we saw some
Prairie Dogs as we were leaving the camp and then we visited a very
good Navaho Museum. Our journey was broken when we stopped at the
100 year old Hubbel Trading Post and met some English
Caravaners. We left for Chinle, we missed the turn and went 20
miles out of our way. The English Caravaners, Chris & Fred and
Katherine & Tony were at the camp when we arrived and we visited
them before dinner. Thursday
we took the morning tour of the Canyon De Chelly in an old army troop
carrier with six wh
eel drive. We drove
through the river, and at times used it as a road. The vehicle
stopped at three ruins (First Ruin, Junction Ruin and Ledge Ruin),
before stopping at Antelope House Ruin for a break. Hot chocolate
and an excellent Navaho Fry Bread were bought for tea break. Next
was Standing Cow Ruin where we turned back. At another junction
we turned up the Canyon De Chelly to the White House Ruin. We
took the afternoon to recover. During the trip the vehicle went
up and down slopes of 3 in 1 (30%), some of these slopes also went
sideways 5 in1 (20%). A real experience. We spent the
evening chatting with the four English Caravaners. Friday was the day for
touring the canyon rims. First the north rim with the Antelope,
the Mummy Cave and the Massacre Cave overlooks. Back into Chinle
where we shopped and lunched and then we toured the south rim with six
overlooks, the Tunnel, the Tsegi, the Junction, the Sliding House, the
Face Rock and Spider Rock. We returned to camp for a dinner in
the Lodge café, reasonable,
Howard thought wrongly that it was a restaurant.
Saturday 19th was a day of driving north and east to Farmington, back in New Mexico. We passed many Mesas on the way, red, black and beige. Sunday was a day for relaxation, except for a tour of the town looking for a non-existe
nt camp with a
laundrette. We did manage some shopping. Monday we set off for Aztec
to visit the Pueblo “Aztec Ruins“ (the Aztecs never got this far
north). The ruins were very good. Then we drove south to
Chaco Canyon, the last twenty one miles along a local road, only half
of it was paved the other half was mainly corrugated gravel, very slow
going. While we drove along the corrugated part two Mule Deer
passed us and crossed ahead of us. We arrived at 1400, picked a
site and went off to the Visitor’s Centre to pay. We then relaxed
to recover from the last few miles. Tuesday a day of visiting
the Pueblo Ruins. The first one was Hungo Pavi, Then we drove on
to Pueblo Bonito where there was a guided tour, it was very good and
the guide took us through a series of rooms with connecting doors three
to four feet high. We returned to the
caravan for elevenses
before walking to Chetro Ketl and the Petroglyph trail. After
lunch we went to Casa Rinconada, to the largest Kiva in the
canyon. Back to the camp for Mervyn to take the Wijiji
trail to more ruins. Wednesday
we made a very early start as Mervyn wanted
to walk up the mountain trail to Pueblo Alto, It took him three
hours and was followed by a restful afternoon. During our visit
we saw several Cliff Chipmunks. Thursday was a long day
when we drove to Bandelier where we arrived late afternoon, the fee
machine would not accept credit cards or cash. Friday we drove to the
Visitor’s Centre, they didn’t accept camping fees either. We set
off on the loop trail seeing Tyuonyi Pueblo, the Talus House, various
cliff dwellings including a reconstructed Kiva and the Long House
(800ft. of terraced houses) built three stories high, backing on to the
cliff where there were caves as part of the dwelling.
Saturday 26th we made a reasonable start, we paid our camping fee at the gate on departure. A short drive took us to Santa Fe where we camped in time for elevenses. Sunday we visited the reception where the receptionist said she would help with the washing by assisting with the machines in the ladies wash room. Mervyn went off to visit Santa Fe. Monday on the road again. We left Santa Fe for Taos, passing enroute The Camel Rock (it does look like a Camel) and we drove through The Rio Grande Gorge. We arrived before lunch and afterwards toured Taos looking for a garage to change our fuel filter. Tuesday from Taos we continued north into Colorado to camp at The Great Sand Dunes National Park. Mervyn went for a late afternoon walk to overlook the dunes seeing some Mule Deer on the way. Wednesday we took a short drive to the dunes trail so that we could cross the Medano Creek with it’s surging waters, to walk to the dunes. We then left the park to travel westwards to South Fork, seeing some Prairie Dogs on the way. The first camp we tried was closed, but the owner phoned Tourist Information to find us a camp that was open.
a Deer and three Groups of Turkeys with male
birds in attendance. For the rest of the day Mervyn worked on his
new attachments to his Video Editor, and Howard started a jigsaw.
Thursday soon after
breakfast we were visited by three groups of Turkeys, a small herd of
six deer and, while Howard was taking in the electric cable, a single
Deer that came up to within six yards of him, he did not have his
camera with him. On the way out we saw more Turkeys and a pair of
Deer. We drove into Canyon to shop and visited the museum, it was
not one of the best. The remainder of the day was taken up
driving southeast into New Mexico to camp at Clovis. Friday was another day of
driving, from Clovis to Mountainair. While Howard was driving we
saw three Pronghorn Antelopes, but could not stop for a photo.Saturday 5th the morning was spent viewing the two ancient Pueblo sites of
Querai and Abo, we decided to return to our
camp in Mountainair and not to proceed on to Carrizozo. Sunday we travelled south
to visit the Pueblo at Gran Quivira, and then went on to
Carrizozo. We saw a large herd of Pronghorn in the distance and
three pronghorn crossed the road just in front of the caravan. At
Carrizozo we drove to the camp in the lava flow but there were no
suitable sites for us, so we returned to camp in Carrizozo. The
camp had Wi-fi but it didn’t work. Monday took us eastwards to
Lincoln, site of the Lincoln County war and the country of Billy The
Kid. An interesting town with the old houses still lived
in. In the afternoon we drove on and then turned south-west
through the territory of the Mescalero Apache and camped at an unlisted
site in Tularosa. It was a fine sunny but windy day. Tuesday took us on a visit
to The Three Hills Petroglyph site. The Petroglyphs have
been there for thousands of years and are in really good
condition. From the site we went into Alamogordo for a service to
the vehicle and to a camp just west of town. Wednesday we drove
southwest to Las Cruces, north to Cabala and finally west and north to
The Gila Cliff Dwellings to camp just south of them. When we
crossed the last ridge we encounter rain, snow and rain again, “very
unseasonable“, we were told. Thursday we spent the
morning at the Visitor’s Centre, The Cliff Dwellings (which were very
good), a small Mimbre’s Cave (separate from the rest) and we looked for
petrographs (we found them eventually). We returned to our
Wednesday camp. Friday
we left fairly early and on the way down we saw a deer grazing near the
road, then two deer crossed the road in front of us and bounded off
into the trees and finally another two deer crossed the road.
Silver City was our stop for food and fuel, and we then drove
northwards to the “Cat Walk” near Glenwood to walk on the “Cat Walk”,
and look down into the Gorge. The ”Cat Walk” is an artificial
walkway fixed to the vertical cliffs, over the river in the bottom of
the gorge. A nearby camp was found.Saturday 12th we returned to Glenwood, in order to turn north and eventually northeast to Grants where we found an expensive KOA camp. On the way Howard
saw a Golden Eagle perched on a roadside tree,
and we passed through the lava flow, El Malpais National
Monument. Sunday
with a leisurely start we drove to Sky City in the Acuma
Reservation. From the Visitor’s Centre we were taken by bus, with
a guide, to tour the Pueblo which is the oldest inhabited Pueblo in the
USA. Most of the inhabitants were offering their hand crafted
pottery for sale. They live there, generally with their
grandchildren, to keep their heritage and language alive. A
restful afternoon followed. Monday we collected
our post and set off for El Morro where there is some European graffiti
from the1700’s. Tuesday
Mervyn went off to see the sixteenth/seventeenth centaury graffiti, and
then to walk up to the cliff top. When he returned we drove to
Gallup to camp at the Red Rock State Park. On Wednesday we saw some
Prairie Dogs as we were leaving the camp and then we visited a very
good Navaho Museum. Our journey was broken when we stopped at the
100 year old Hubbel Trading Post and met some English
Caravaners. We left for Chinle, we missed the turn and went 20
miles out of our way. The English Caravaners, Chris & Fred and
Katherine & Tony were at the camp when we arrived and we visited
them before dinner. Thursday
we took the morning tour of the Canyon De Chelly in an old army troop
carrier with six wheel drive. We drove
through the river, and at times used it as a road. The vehicle
stopped at three ruins (First Ruin, Junction Ruin and Ledge Ruin),
before stopping at Antelope House Ruin for a break. Hot chocolate
and an excellent Navaho Fry Bread were bought for tea break. Next
was Standing Cow Ruin where we turned back. At another junction
we turned up the Canyon De Chelly to the White House Ruin. We
took the afternoon to recover. During the trip the vehicle went
up and down slopes of 3 in 1 (30%), some of these slopes also went
sideways 5 in1 (20%). A real experience. We spent the
evening chatting with the four English Caravaners. Friday was the day for
touring the canyon rims. First the north rim with the Antelope,
the Mummy Cave and the Massacre Cave overlooks. Back into Chinle
where we shopped and lunched and then we toured the south rim with six
overlooks, the Tunnel, the Tsegi, the Junction, the Sliding House, the
Face Rock and Spider Rock. We returned to camp for a dinner in
the Lodge café, reasonable,
Howard thought wrongly that it was a restaurant.Saturday 19th was a day of driving north and east to Farmington, back in New Mexico. We passed many Mesas on the way, red, black and beige. Sunday was a day for relaxation, except for a tour of the town looking for a non-existe
nt camp with a
laundrette. We did manage some shopping. Monday we set off for Aztec
to visit the Pueblo “Aztec Ruins“ (the Aztecs never got this far
north). The ruins were very good. Then we drove south to
Chaco Canyon, the last twenty one miles along a local road, only half
of it was paved the other half was mainly corrugated gravel, very slow
going. While we drove along the corrugated part two Mule Deer
passed us and crossed ahead of us. We arrived at 1400, picked a
site and went off to the Visitor’s Centre to pay. We then relaxed
to recover from the last few miles. Tuesday a day of visiting
the Pueblo Ruins. The first one was Hungo Pavi, Then we drove on
to Pueblo Bonito where there was a guided tour, it was very good and
the guide took us through a series of rooms with connecting doors three
to four feet high. We returned to the caravan for elevenses
before walking to Chetro Ketl and the Petroglyph trail. After
lunch we went to Casa Rinconada, to the largest Kiva in the
canyon. Back to the camp for Mervyn to take the Wijiji
trail to more ruins. Wednesday
we made a very early start as Mervyn wanted
to walk up the mountain trail to Pueblo Alto, It took him three
hours and was followed by a restful afternoon. During our visit
we saw several Cliff Chipmunks. Thursday was a long day
when we drove to Bandelier where we arrived late afternoon, the fee
machine would not accept credit cards or cash. Friday we drove to the
Visitor’s Centre, they didn’t accept camping fees either. We set
off on the loop trail seeing Tyuonyi Pueblo, the Talus House, various
cliff dwellings including a reconstructed Kiva and the Long House
(800ft. of terraced houses) built three stories high, backing on to the
cliff where there were caves as part of the dwelling.Saturday 26th we made a reasonable start, we paid our camping fee at the gate on departure. A short drive took us to Santa Fe where we camped in time for elevenses. Sunday we visited the reception where the receptionist said she would help with the washing by assisting with the machines in the ladies wash room. Mervyn went off to visit Santa Fe. Monday on the road again. We left Santa Fe for Taos, passing enroute The Camel Rock (it does look like a Camel) and we drove through The Rio Grande Gorge. We arrived before lunch and afterwards toured Taos looking for a garage to change our fuel filter. Tuesday from Taos we continued north into Colorado to camp at The Great Sand Dunes National Park. Mervyn went for a late afternoon walk to overlook the dunes seeing some Mule Deer on the way. Wednesday we took a short drive to the dunes trail so that we could cross the Medano Creek with it’s surging waters, to walk to the dunes. We then left the park to travel westwards to South Fork, seeing some Prairie Dogs on the way. The first camp we tried was closed, but the owner phoned Tourist Information to find us a camp that was open.
USA-Colorado-South Fork